Page 13 of Whispers of the Elderoak

“No family. It’s just me,” she answered, throwing a broken pot into the large trashcan they had brought inside. “Eleanor is a childhood friend, so we’ve been hanging out… but that’s it.”

“The librarian?”

“Yeah. We used to play together as kids when I came to visit.”

Henry glanced at her. “Wow, that’s cool. Was it weird to reconnect with her?”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “It’s easy. We still have a lot in common even though it’s been twenty years.”

“Twenty years?” he asked as he turned to work on the next shelf. “Why have you been gone so long?”

Taking a rag, she wiped dust from one of the potting benches as she answered. “My mom and I just moved around a lot.”

He stopped and looked at her as something subtle flashed in his eyes but it was gone so fast, she surely imagined it. “That must have been hard.”

“Actually… yeah. It was. It was almost impossible to make friends.” She fiddled with the rag in her hand. “Umm… what about your family?”

He walked to his toolkit and grabbed more supplies, then stood in front of the shelving right next to where she was standing. Taking a nail and beginning to hammer, he answered over his shoulder. “Kind of the same story. Moved around a lot. Don’t have any family left and ended up here. I like the quiet.”

That was why he had that look. He’d been through something similar it seemed, though she decided not to ask about it. She didn’t feel it was appropriate to push when they barely knew each other.

Ava leaned over, grabbing a bag of soil to move it outside. “I like it here— ahh!”

A mouse darted out from among the soil and Ava shrieked, dropping the bag and quickly backed into Henry. She turned around and faced him, her back now against the potting table behind her.

She looked up at him and laughed. “Sorry. There was a mouse.”

“Are you afraid of mice?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, it just startled me.”

Henry was standing close, looking down at her with a hint of mischief in his eyes. He inched even nearer as she pressed into the table behind her, his eyes dipping to her lips. “Whatareyou afraid of?” His voice had gone low, sensual.

She cleared her throat. “Don’t laugh… horses,” she answered.

“Seriously?” He tilted his head.

“Kind of,” she rambled as she often did when she was nervous. “I mean I’m notafraidof them, but I’ve never ridden one, and they make me nervous and always freaked me out as a kid and they’re big and can stomp?—”

Henry interrupted her rambling. “Ava.”

“What?”

“Stop talking so I can kiss you.”

Her heart leapt in her throat. “Okay.”

Henry leaned in, looking deeply into her eyes. She met his gaze, unable to look away as he leaned in further and tilted her chin, lightly kissing her. Their lips met, soft and careful. Cautiously, he parted her lips with his tongue, and they explored each other. Her hands moved to his chest as his went to her hair, fingers intertwined in her soft locks.

It was a delicate kiss full of warmth and she wanted more. She didn’t care if they were covered in dirt and sweat or that she barely knew him. She wanted him. Needed him; like she was not in control of her actions. She wouldn’t have been able to say no even if she wanted to so she pushed the loss of control from her mind and allowed him to keep going.

As if he read her mind, he increased the intensity, passion building as his body pushed hers into the shelving. Gasping, she moved her hands to his hair and deepened the kiss further,throwing all her qualms away as she was only able to focus on her need. Henry’s hands roved over her body and grasped her waist, lifting her to sit on the bench before him. She could feel him hard against her as he stood in between her legs and pressed closer, one arm on her lower back pulling her toward him and the other cupping her breast over her shirt.

He kissed her neck and she threw her head back and moaned, begging for more when his cellphone rang.

Henry backed away and ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry, I have to take this.” He walked out of the greenhouse, answering his phone, leaving her there panting.

After adjusting her hair and clothing, Ava exited the greenhouse as Henry was hanging up the phone. “I’m so sorry. One of the businesses has a broken window and wants me to come look at it right away.” He didn’t appear embarrassed at all about what had occurred.

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