Page 15 of Serial Love

“Oh, yes!” Sally exclaimed, “Bethany told me what happened. Nice to meet you.” She eyed him from head to toe and must have liked what she saw because she immediately said, “Bethany was over at the dock, but I think I saw her at the edge of the woods a few minutes ago. I’m taking Ann in for a bite of lunch, or I’d show you myself.”

Jack nodded and said, “Thank you, but I’m sure I can find it.”

The two women walked into the lodge, leaving Jack striding determinedly toward the woods near the lake. The sounds of whacking and cursing soon met his ears.

Bethany stood next to a large stump where she had placed a smaller piece of wood that she was attemptingto split. She had watched her grandfather split wood for years. He would always make her stand back for safety but with one swift slice he would have the pieces ready for her to scramble to gather for the woodpile.

Oh, Gramps. You made this seem so easy.She managed to slam the axe into the bottom stump, completely missing the wood she was trying to hit. Jerking hard to get the axe loose took all her strength. “Damnit!” she huffed.

Finally dislodging the axe, she stumbled back a few steps. Pushing her hair away from her eyes, she stood in place once more, determined to chop the wood. With another swing, she was able to land the axe in the right place but without enough force to completely split the wood. Pleased that she had managed to improve her aim, she attempted to keep slamming the wood onto the stump to finish the task. Unfortunately, the effort of lifting the entire tool attached to the chunk only resulted in her slinging the axe around wildly.

“Aughhhh!” she screamed as she lifted the handle once more over her head, almost toppling backward in her efforts when suddenly the tool was snatched from her hands. Whirling around, she stared into the face of a large, visibly furious man.Jack?

“What the hell are you trying to do?” he growled, moving around her while completing the chop with one swift hack. The two pieces of wood fell to the side.

Lifting her gaze to his as he turned back around, she placed her hands on her hips, saying, “Obviously I was chopping wood.”

“Waving a sharp axe around wildly, not able to hitthe side of a barn, is hardly chopping wood,” he retorted. “You could’ve hurt yourself.”

“It was heavy!” she shouted.

“All the more reason to not attempt something you can’t handle,” he argued back, taking two steps closer to her, forcing her to lean back to maintain eye contact. “The way you were swinging it around if that block fell off on the descent you could have chopped your leg off!”

“Who says I can’t handle the axe? I was getting it if you hadn’t jumped in to rescue the poor, little woman,” she said sarcastically. Her hair had fallen toward her face again and as she pushed it out of the way, the realization that she was hot, sweaty, dirty, and disheveled once more when in his presence shot through her. She tried to tamp down those feelings but seeing him standing at the edge of the woods, his blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his thick forearms and jeans that showed off his massive legs and…Nope, not looking there.She lifted her gaze once more, this time seeing him smile at having caught her ogling.

“Oh, never mind,” she bit out, pulling her long hair back into a messy ponytail. “What are you here for anyway?” she asked as she turned to walk back up the path.

“I wanted to see you again,” he pronounced with candor.

She stopped in her tracks before turning to peer into his face. What she saw was honesty staring back at her. Licking her lips nervously, she cocked her head to the side, waiting for his explanation.

Instead of answering, he placed another piece of wood on the stump and within a few minutes he had chopped several more before tossing them onto the woodpile. She watched his body as it moved in perfect harmony with the task. His muscles as they corded with strength and power.What would it be like to have that power over me? His body moving into mine? His—blah, stop!

Schooling her expression, she smiled as he turned back to her. “Thank you…again. It seems as though you have a habit of rescuing me. I’m sorry that I was so…um…unaccommodating.”

He reared his head back in laughter, the muscles in his neck working as the sound reached her ears. Meeting her gaze again, he said, “Unaccommodating? Try downright angry, darlin’.”

Pursing her lips, she agreed, “Okay, fine.” She held out her hand for the axe, which he ignored.

Swinging it up on his shoulder he gave a nod toward the shed. “I’ve got it.”

Refusing to argue anymore, she met his nod and turned to walk up the path.The Paul Bunyan look is good on him, she thought. Reaching the shed, she opened the door while stepping back to allow him entrance.

His eyes were riveted to her perfect ass showcased in the tight jeans. The tank top she was wearing was slightly stained with sweat and dirt, but looked as good as anything she could have had on as far as he was concerned. As she stopped at an old shed, he forced his eyes to go back to her face.

“Anywhere special?” he asked, looking around the orderly space.

She pointed to a hook on the wall and watched as he replaced the axe in its place. Closing the door behind him, she caught his incredulous expression. “What now?”

“You don’t have a lock on that door?”

“Um, I think Gramps did, but I just haven’t thought about it. Why?”

“Woman, you’ve got a shed full of tools that can be used as weapons, a constant changing group of guests that stay here that you don’t know from shit, and you’re wondering why the shed needs to be locked?” he growled.

Angry because she knew he was right but also because he had to point it out to her, she turned to stomp toward the lodge. He followed in her tracks, making a mental note that a lock was the next thing he planned on buying for her.

Bethany stopped stomping, realizing how childish it was when he was right. She should have a lock on the shed. Heaving a huge sigh, she glanced over her shoulder, seeing him right behind her. And caught him staring at her ass. Her hands immediately swiped at her bottom, fearing there was something she sat in. His eyes jumped up to hers, a twinkle in them letting her know he had been staring at her ass because he wanted to. A warm blush rose across her face as she turned back toward the lodge.

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