Page 3 of Autumn be His Wife
Thunder rolls in the background, and Eli scrunches his little nose at her. “You really know when to travel, lady.”
“Eli.” Scolding him, I sigh. “It’s rude to call her that.”
He pops a fry into his mouth, shrugging his shoulders. “Well, I don’t know her name.”
He’s got a point, and the light laugh that leaves her doesn’t help the heat that forms on the back of my neck.
“You can call me Piper.” Her smile softens as she nods. “I really do, don’t I?”
Trying to remember what I’m doing, I hunt down our phone. It’s a landline, the buttons worn from well use. Unfortunately, it’s on a cord, so I lift it to catch her attention.
To avoid leaving a trail, she sheds herself of her shoes and her jacket. Leaving behind small, wet footprints like she can’t help it, she drifts across the floor, and she practically floats before stopping just in front of me.
“Thanks, um…”
“Dusty.” Choking out my name like it’s a foreign word, I choke on more than my voice as her fingers brush mine to collect the phone.
Pausing as she stares at the number pad, she squints and slowly types in a number. There’s doubt, and she catches my eye.
“I dropped my phone in a puddle.” Her eyes fall, and she grimaces. “Talk about luck, huh? I’m hoping this is the right number…”
Am I a bad man for seeing her bad luck as a good fortune on my part? Damn, might as well call myself greedy.
Wanting to give her space and privacy, I try to find something to fiddle with.
Next to me, my son snorts. Now would be the perfect time to remind him how much time he puts in making sure he looks good whenever I drop him off.
It’s been years since I’ve felt anything for anyone. I’ve forgotten all about how this feels.
The sound of a soft sigh quickly pulls my attention right back toward Piper.
From the way her brows pinch together as she clutches the receiver, I can tell the call isn’t going well, if at all. When she types in the number again with the same result, something pushes me to approach her once more.
“This isn’t going my way at all.” Setting the phone down, I watch the way she forces a smile onto her lips. Even now, she’s like light slipping through a blanket of clouds. “Dusty, thank you. I guess I should move on. Eventually, I’ll have to find who I’m looking for.”
Thunder shakes the walls of the cabin, and I picture one gust of wind swooping this woman away. What if she gets hurt? What kind of man would that make me if I willingly let her step out while the weather is this bad?
“It’s terrible out there. Why not continue the hunt once the weather clears up? Tonight, you could…stay? I mean, Eli wouldn’t mind giving up his bed. Would you?”
I raised the kid to be giving, but not even he can hide the way his face scrunches up.
Expecting her to say no, because the idea is a crazy one, I’m caught off guard by the color that fills her cheeks as she stares up at me like I’ve grown a second head. Slowly, she nods.
“That would be amazing.” Hugging herself, I watch the way she tries to contain her light. “I’ll return the favor tenfold.”
I won’t ask her for a single thing. Instead, I’m a giving man. And right now? I want to lift a little bit of whatever weight she has against her shoulders.
Giving myself a few more seconds to appreciate the blush on her cheeks, I shift my eyes toward the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
A sweet sound of a relieved sigh leaves her lips. “Starving.”
2
Piper
When I open my eyes, I expect to be blinded by sunlight, not drowned in darkness.
What time is it? Too early for me to be awake.
