Page 21 of New in Town

Taking clothes out of the dresser for himself, Grey heads for the bathroom door. He’s intent on a shower after a day of work on the ranch but seeing her uncomfortable gives him pause. He can’t stand seeing her like this, he wants to take the feeling away for her. God knows he’s felt nervous himself enough times.

Stopping in the doorway, he turns back around. Before he can think about if it’s a bad idea, he crosses the room and wraps his arms around her. He pulls her against his chest, one arm around her back, the other cupping the back of her head. She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she burrows into him and takes a deep breath. At her reaction, he tightens his grip on her.

“This is going to be a bad one, this storm,” she says against his chest.

“You don’t like storms much, I’m assuming.”

She shakes her head against him, her hair catching in the scruff on his chin. “It’s usually not this bad. I don’t know, I’m so off these days. The way the clouds look, the way the storm came in so fast… It reminds me of this time I was caught in a storm growing up.”

He pulls her ponytail free and runs his hand through her hair. She doesn’t say anything else for a moment, but she does lean further into his embrace. Dragging his hand through her hair in a steady rhythm, he waits for Maddie to share more.

“It was just my mom and me. She worked nights at the hospital, so I had a lot of time alone. When the storm started that night, I got scared and decided to try to leave for my best friend’s house. In the car, it seemed like she was only a few blocks away. But on my bike that night, I realized how far her family’s farm actually was from my home. I got caught in a flash flood on my way. My mom found out when the paramedics brought me into her emergency room, unresponsive.”

“Shit, Maddie. That must have been terrifying for both of you.” Grey feels his heartbeat quicken at the idea of her unresponsive. When he pulls her tighter to him, it’s to soothe himself this time.

“There’s been so much going on. Maybe it’s just all too much. So, when the storm started today on top of everything else—”

“You’re safe here, I’ve got you,” he whispers against the top of her head.

“I’m usually not like this.”

“I get it. I really do. What helps?”

“Being distracted is good,” she replies. And then with a wave of her hand adds, “this is good too apparently.”

He chuckles, feeling some of the tension in his chest loosen. She finds him comforting.

“Go ahead and shower, I’ll meet you on the couch,” she says, pulling back.

“I’ll light a fire and I can distract you all night.”

“That sounds dirty.”

“I’m at your disposal, sweetheart,” he drawls, winking at her as he moves into the bathroom. He waits until he hears her ask Pippa to snuggle on the couch with her. Feeling better about her more relaxed tone, he turns the shower on.

Even still, he showers and dresses quickly, restless to get back to her. When Grey steps into the living room, he finds Maddie tucked into the corner of his L-shaped couch like she belongs in that spot.Because she does, she fits here, he thinks. Pip is snoring contently on her lap and as he moves to sit beside her, he gently slides the dog over to her own cushion.

As if it’s a natural, regular occurrence, he drapes his arm around Maddie’s shoulders and she leans in, her legs curled up, falling onto his lap. Herbarelegs, because all she is wearing is his old, worn Yellowstone National Park sweatshirt. He wants nothing more than to run his palm against the alluring skin of her exposed thighs and feel her curves.

“I don’t want to take you back out in this, even if it’s just to go up to the main house. I can tell Brett we decided to stay here? Everyone thinks we’re dating so it would make sense,” Grey says gently.

“Oh, we can—” thunder booms over her words, rattling the cottage, “on second thought, let’s stay here. Besides, it would be a little weird if I showed up wearing only this.” She motions to his sweater, hanging loosely against her bare skin.

His hands are still itching to trail her bare skin, thinking of his promise to provide a distraction. Instead, he goes for a strand of her hair, running it between his fingers as he says, “I’ll talk to Brett. Are you hungry though? I can make us something.”

She rests her head against his shoulder, “Do you have any specialties?”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve. A fan favorite is something Cooper named Pasta alla Grey.”

“Who’s Cooper?”

“He was the kid out with us on the ATVs today.” He pauses when he sees pink creep into her face.

“I can’t remember seeing a kid out there,” she says sheepishly.Because she was focused on me? He feels a swell of hope.

“Tall, lanky twenty-year-old. Floyd and Mary’s son, but he lives in the cabin next to mine now. He wanders over for food sometimes,” he says.

“Okay, I want Pasta alla Grey.”

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