Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
C hevy’s muscles burned as he swung the axe the next day, splitting the log with a satisfying whack. He swept the two pieces into the growing pile of firewood and grabbed another chunk of the tree that had fallen victim to a lightning bolt in a thunderstorm earlier that summer.
He’d come up to their family’s cabin, tucked up into the mountains behind their ranch, to get away from everyone and have some time to think.
But his body and mind were restless, and chopping firewood always had a way of relieving stress for him.
Sweat dripped down his back as the afternoon sun beat down on his bare skin, his t-shirt discarded and tossed over the stacked pile to dry in the summer heat.
Frustration and exasperation fueled his next swing. He didn’t know what was happening with Leni. She’d seemed happy to have him around the house the day—and the night—before but then something had happened after he’d danced with her on the porch.
It was like a cloud had crossed her face, and she went inside and didn’t come back out again.
Lorna had told him she was upstairs working when they’d stopped for lunch and then again when he’d gone in to tell her that he and Dodge had finished the railings. It had taken them into the afternoon to sand and paint them, but they were sturdy, and no one would get a splinter when they ran their hand along them.
He’d texted Leni the night before. Just a simple message. Hope you all are doing okay. Let me know if you need me or if I can do anything to help.
She hadn’t answered.
He’d lain awake half the night trying to think back over everything that had happened between them to see if he could figure out what he might have done to upset her. She was a little prickly at times, but then other times she was laughing and joking around with him. When she was first around him, her body was stiff, vibrating with tension. But then that night, in the dark comfort of her bed, her body—and her lips—had been pliant and warm as she’d melted into him.
The sound of an engine broke through the still air, and Chevy cocked his head to see if he recognized the vehicle. This engine was too quiet to be either his grandfather’s or one of his brother’s trucks.
A flash of dark metallic blue broke through the trees, and his heart leapt as he recognized Leni’s Tesla. She must have finally picked it up from the library. He’d driven by it on his way home the night before, just to make sure it was okay, and that no one had messed with it.
Not that anyone would. Not in a town this size where everyone knew who that fancy car belonged to.
He looked around for Murphy. The dog had run off into the woods to chase a squirrel, but the arrival of a vehicle usually brought the golden racing back.
His breath caught in his throat as Leni opened the door and stepped out. She was wearing a simple outfit of jean shorts, flip flops, and a black tank top. A delicate silver chain sparkled around her neck. Her dark hair was down, full and curly, the way he loved, and his palms itched to run his hands through it.
She pushed her sunglasses up on her head as she walked toward him, but he was already striding across the yard to get to her. They met in the middle, in front of the cabin, then stood awkwardly, staring at each other, like neither one knew quite what to say.
“Hi,” he finally managed to get out.
She thrust the plastic container she was holding toward him. “I made you some cookies. To thank you. For the railings. And for everything you did to help us.”
He took the container, surprised that she had baked him something after giving him the cold shoulder the day before. “Are these…?”
She nodded then almost begrudgingly admitted, “Yes. They’re your favorite. The ones with the chocolate and the butterscotch chips.”
He lifted the lid and groaned as he inhaled the buttery scents of vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch. “My lord, these smell amazing.” He lifted one out, took a big bite, and let out another groan. They were golden brown, baked to perfection, chewy on top, crispy on the bottom, the chips slightly melted from being in the sun, and as round as his fist. “These are so good,” he said around a mouthful of cookie. Biting into it was like hearing an old favorite song on the radio, one that took him back to some of his happiest moments. “They taste like summer and make me think of that road trip we took to Salida to pick up that tractor part for Duke. You made a batch of these, and I think I ate half the container before we even made it out of town. That was a great trip.”
“Okay. Don’t get all worked up. They’re just cookies.”
“They’re like heaven in my mouth.” He took another one then closed the lid before he ate them all.
She laughed. “They’re also kind of a peace offering. I’m sorry I ghosted you yesterday.”
“What happened? I thought we were doing okay. Having fun.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged as she looked down at her feet, toeing a rock around with the edge of her sandal before looking back up at him. “I’ve been so mad at you. For years. And then, suddenly, I wasn’t. I was having fun with you. And I liked being around you again. And it felt good. Too good. Because then I remembered that you broke my heart, and I just got mad all over again.”
“Leni,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I’m so sorry.”
She held up a hand to stop whatever he was going to say next.
Which was actually okay, because he had no idea what he would have said. There was nothing to say. No excuse. He had hurt her, and he’d done it on purpose.
He’d sent her away, forced her to leave this town and follow her dreams.
And the harsh reality was that he would do it again.
It didn’t matter that it had torn his heart in two.
He hated that he’d hurt her, but she had left and gone to college at MIT and had gotten that aerospace engineering degree and a job at Boeing doing what she’d always dreamed about.
And that was worth the pain that it had caused him.
Because he would do anything to make her happy.
“Look, I just…” She swallowed as she stared at him, then waved her hand toward his chest. “Could you please put a shirt on. I can’t talk to you when all your muscles are staring at me.”
A grin broke across his face. Sooo , she liked his muscles.
He offered her a confused look as he lifted his arm like he was pointing at something but was really just flexing his bicep. “What muscles?” He did another exaggerated flex of both arms this time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She covered her face with her hands. “Stop. I can’t take it. When did you get so…” She paused, as if she couldn’t come up with the right word. “So…muscle-y? And big? Do you work out now or something?”
He laughed again. “No. I just work . But on the ranch, I’m always lifting or hauling or carrying something, like bales of hay or baby calves.” He flexed again, just to tease her. “So, I’ve come by these guns honestly.”
She laughed with him. Finally, he’d made her laugh. “Alright. But could you put your guns away. They’re making me all…squirmy.”
He liked making her squirmy.
“Fine. I’ll just have to find my shirt. I think I left it over there.” He flexed one more time as he pointed toward the woodpile but chuckled as he did it.
Before he could take a step forward, a streak of English cream came racing through the trees and sprinting toward them. Murphy ran straight for Leni then went crazy with seeing her—circling around her, tail wagging at a furious rate as he whined and rubbed against her legs, then rolled over on his belly in total golden retriever I love you more than anything/please pet me or I’ll die mode.
Chevy could understand why. He was pretty excited about seeing her too.
“Murphy.” The word came out in a breathy whisper, then Leni laughed as she bent down to ruffle the dog’s neck and rub his belly. “Oh my gosh. Murphy. I can’t believe it. How are you, my sweet love?” She looked up at Chevy, who was feeling a little jealous at the affectionate endearments she was giving the dog. “Is this really Murphy? I can’t believe you still have him.”
“Yep, it’s really him. He’s an old man now, but he obviously remembers you.” He laughed as Murphy covered Leni’s face in puppy kisses. “He always loved you.”
The dog wasn’t the only one.
“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck as the dog put his paws up on her shoulders and knocked her over. She fell on her back, laughing as Murphy straddled her body, still wagging his tail as he licked her chin and face. “Gah, not my mouth,” she said, still giggling as she tried to push his nose away from her face.
“Get off her, Murph,” Chevy commanded as he hurried over to help. He grabbed Murphy’s collar and tugged the dog back then reached his hand out to help pull Leni to her feet. “You okay?” he asked, brushing gravel and dust from her back.
“I’m fine,” she said, still laughing. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s been that excited to see me.”
“I felt that excited to see you when you drove up,” he said, teasing her. “I just didn’t wiggle my butt around as much. But I would have tackled you and covered you in kisses if I thought I could have gotten away with it.”
She blinked up at him, her laughter gone, replaced with another look, one he couldn’t be sure of. Was it longing? Affection? Annoyance?
She tore her gaze away and stared out over the lake in front of the cabin. “Wow, look at this place,” she said, obviously changing the subject, although her voice still held a wistful tone. “I’ve got so many good memories of being here.”
“Yeah?” He did too. And so many of them involved her. “Does it look any different?”
It had been over ten years since Leni had been there, and he dropped an arm casually around her shoulders as he stared out at the lake with her, taking in the view as if seeing it from her perspective.
The cabin was to the right. From the front, it probably hadn’t changed much, same rough-hewn logs, same wide front porch with the two rocking chairs his grandfather had bought for his grandmother that faced the lake. Since Leni had been there, they’d added on an extra bedroom and updated the appliances and the plumbing, redoing the bathroom to add a tub and a nicer shower.
Most of the décor was the same, the curtains his grandma had made, the mountain landscape his great-grandfather had painted, the same tacky antler chandelier, and the baskets of pinecones that he and his brothers had probably collected when they were in grade school.
The lake was small, ringed with tall pine trees, with the side of the mountain climbing up about forty feet along its far side. A creek ran off the top of the ridge, forming a waterfall into the lake. A pine tree with heavy branches protruded over the side from the bank next to the cabin, and a rope swing hung over the water.
This afternoon, the water gently lapped at the shore, and he breathed in the scent of pine trees, wildflowers, and the lake.
He loved it here. It always felt like home. Even more so now…with Leni here.
“Maybe. The drive up felt the same, all those gorgeous sunflowers I love growing next to the road—those have always been my favorite.”
“I remember.” She’d almost always made him stop on the way down the mountain to pick a handful.
“But the trees seem taller. The cabin looks the same, although I remember it seeming bigger.” She inhaled a deep breath, and her face broke into a smile. “But it smells the same. And the lake. Oh my gosh. The lake is still amazing. So beautiful. It’s like a painting. Is the water still warm?”
Several hot springs in the mountains above the lake fed into it, so the water was truly warm.
“Go find out,” he told her.
She looked at the water, then at him, then back at the water. Then she walked to the water’s edge, kicked off her shoes, and waded in up to her knees. “Oh my gosh. It’s amazing.”
The water did look amazing, and he’d been dying for a swim all afternoon.
He shucked off his boots and jeans then let out a whoop as he raced past her, wearing only his black boxer briefs, and splashed into the water.
He ducked his head under then came up, shaking the water out of his hair. The temperature was perfect, warm but not hot, and cooler the deeper it went. He lifted his hand and beckoned her toward him. “Come on in. The water’s fine.”
“No way. I don’t have a swimsuit.”
He offered her one of his best flirty grins. “Never stopped you before.”
She shifted from one foot to the other, chewing on her bottom lip.
“I know you’re weighing the pros and cons in your head,” he told her. It was what she’d always done.
She planted a hand on her hip. “You don’t know me that well.”
“Yeah, right. Go ahead. Lay them on me.”
She let out a little indignant huff before starting the list. “The biggest pro is that the water looks incredible, and I’m hot and could practically die from wanting to go for a swim.”
“Avoiding dying seems like a pretty big pro . What kind of con could possibly challenge that?”
“Wellll, the biggest one is that getting in the water means I’d have to take my clothes off.”
“Nope. That definitely goes in the pro column for me.” He waggled his eyebrows playfully at her. “Oh, come on. You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“Oh yes, I have. I have much more now than you’ve seen before. I’m no longer a seventeen-year-old girl with flawless skin and no dimples or cellulite. My body has changed. I am much…” She paused as if struggling to come up with the best descriptive word. “Much curvier now.”
“I happen to like your new curves. In fact, the curvier the better I like to say.”
“Oh yeah? When do you like to say that?”
“Just now. And also, any time there’s a possibility of a gorgeous, curvy woman, stripping naked in front of me.” He offered her another one of his trademark grins—the one that most women couldn’t resist.
But most women weren’t Eleanor Gibbs.
She was different.
“Tell you what,” he said. “How about if I turn my back, and I won’t look while you strip down and wade in.”
She twisted her mouth from side-to-side with indecision. “You promise you won’t look?”
He held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Now I know you’re lyin’. You were never a Boy Scout.”
He laughed. “Okay. I promise I won’t look… after your shirt and shorts come off.”
She huffed again.
“Come on, darlin’,” he drawled. “You gotta give me a little something here.”
“No, I don’t.” She tried to keep the annoyed expression on her face but couldn’t hold it as she broke into a laugh.
He splashed a small spray of water in her direction then held up three fingers. “All right, you had your chance to do this the easy way. Now, Miss Eleanor Gibbs, you’ve got exactly three seconds to peel those clothes off, or I’m coming out of this lake to do it for you.”