Page 26 of Challenged By the Rugged Lumberjack

Josh is nothing like Jordan. Where Jordan was charming and smooth, Josh is gruff and direct. Where Jordan demanded attention, Josh shuns it. Where Jordan took and took until there was nothing left, Josh gives without seeming to expect anything in return.

And the way he is with Mason... I can't even imagine Jordan getting down on the floor to play, or hoisting a toddler onto his shoulders, or patiently answering the same question for the fifth time. Jordan saw Mason as competition. Josh sees him as a person, small but complete, worthy of respect.

The sound of footsteps on the porch pulls me from my thoughts. I turn toward the door, my heart suddenly racing, and then he's there, silhouetted against the porch light, opening the door and stepping inside.

He looks tired but not defeated. There's a new openness to his expression, a loosening around his eyes and mouth, as if some tightly-held tension has finally been released.

"Hi," I say, the word coming out softer than intended.

"Hi." His dark eyes find mine across the room. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay. How did it go? With Riley?"

He sets his keys on the table by the door. "Better than I expected. Worse than I hoped. But we talked. Really talked, for the first time in twenty years."

"That's huge," I say, genuinely pleased for him. "Are you... okay?"

He considers this, head tilted slightly. "Yeah. I think I am." He glances around the cabin. "Where's Mason?"

"Asleep. He was exhausted from our adventure in town. I barely got dinner into him before he was out."

"Good," Josh says, and there's something in his tone that makes my pulse quicken.

"Good?" I echo, taking an unconscious step toward him.

And then he's moving, crossing the room in three long strides until he's standing right in front of me, so close I can smell the pine and soap scent of him, can see the amber flecks in his dark eyes.

"Elisa," he says, my name a rough caress in his deep voice.

"Yes?" I breathe, barely a whisper.

And then his mouth is on mine, one hand cupping the back of my neck, the other at my waist, pulling me gently against him. The kiss is shy at first, a question asked with lips and breath, but when I make a small sound of surprise and welcome, it deepens into something hungrier, more certain.

For a moment, I'm too stunned to respond. And then I'm kissing him back, my hands finding his shoulders, feeling him beneath my palms. He tastes faintly of coffee and mint, and his beard is softer than I expected against my skin. There's a restrained power in the way he holds me like he's afraid of crushing me if he gives in completely to what he's feeling.

When he finally pulls back, we're both gasping. He rests his forehead against mine, eyes closed, as if gathering himself.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I shouldn't have—"

"Don't." I place my fingers against his lips. "Don't apologize. Not for that."

He opens his eyes, searching mine. "I needed to do that. Been thinking about it all day. Hell, since I saw you watching me chop wood yesterday morning." A hint of a smile touches his lips. "Saw you looking."

Heat rises to my cheeks, but I don't deny it. "You're worth looking at."

His smile widens—a real smile this time, transforming his face. "Forty-eight hours," he says, shaking his head slightly. "That's all it took. Forty-eight hours, and I made peace with my brother. Invited a woman and her son to live with me. Rethought everything I thought I wanted."

"Is that a bad thing?" I ask, suddenly unsure.

"No." His answer is immediate, certain. "It's the most right thing I've felt in twenty years." He brushes a strand of hair from my face, his touch gentle. "I want you here, Elisa. You and Mason. I want to see where this goes—us, together."

My heart swells with emotions too complex, too new to name. "I want that too," I admit. "But Josh, there are things you should know. About why I left Portland, about Mason's father."

"You're running from someone," he says, not a question but a statement. "I figured that much. The way you flinch sometimes, the way you check exits, how you're always listening for sounds that aren't there."

I nod, not surprised he's noticed these things. "His name is Jordan. He doesn't know where we are, but... he might look for us. For Mason, especially. He's not a good man, Josh."

"He won't find you here. And if he does, he'll have to go through me to get to you or Mason." His hand cups my cheek, thumb stroking gently over my skin. "You're safe here, Elisa. Not just with me but with the whole town if need be. Cedar Falls protects its own."

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