Chapter 5
Sammy
When I’d changed and stepped back outside, I paused, trying to figure out what that loud noise was.
“A chainsaw?” Shit, someone wasn’t cutting down trees in the botanical gardens, were they?
I hustled along the path winding across the front of the building and down the left side, the sound getting louder and louder as I made my way toward the back of the manor.
This section wasn’t part of the botanical gardens, but still.
If someone thought they could remove trees here, I was going to set them straight fast.
The roar of the chainsaw grew deafening as I rounded the final corner.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Gavrel stood in the clearing behind the manor, shirtless, using a chainsaw to carve into a tree trunk that had to be twice his width and half again taller than his already impressive height.
Wood chips flew in every direction, coating the grass around him in a layer of creamy petals.
His wings were spread for balance, adjusting minutely as he shifted his weight.
His tail curved behind him, twitching for counterbalance.
But it was his body that made my brain stutter to a halt.
Broad shoulders flexed as he guided the chainsaw through the wood with precision a surgeon would envy.
His chest was defined in ways I’d only seen in magazines, all hard planes and lean muscle.
His abdomen showed clear definition, the kind that came from actual work rather than hours at a gym.
Sawdust clung to his silvery skin, making it almost glow in the early afternoon light.
He moved with complete focus, making careful cuts that revealed the rough beginning of what appeared to be a me-sized garden gnome. The chainsaw would look huge in anyone else’s hands, but he wielded it like an extension of himself. Patient. Controlled. Artistic.
His horns jutted up from his temples, and while some might find them unattractive, the thought of holding onto them while he…
Heat spread through me, starting low in my belly and radiating outward until it reached my fingertips.
I shouldn’t be looking.
I definitely shouldn’t be feeling whatever this was.
The last time I’d felt desire for a man, I’d ended up pregnant and alone. That had taught me everything I needed to know about trusting my judgment when it came to attraction.
But I couldn’t drag my gaze away.
Gavrel adjusted his angle, the muscles in his back shifting. His wings rustled, catching the light. Another precise cut, and more of the gnome’s shape emerged from the raw wood.
My heart gave a heavy, painful thud.
This was dangerous. I had responsibilities. Corey needed me focused, not getting distracted by a gargoyle who was just a friend. Feydin’s brother. I didn’t even know if he planned to remain here in Harmony Glen or if he was going return to what was probably a sophisticated artist life in France.
I should leave. Get back to work. Forget about how gorgeous this male was.
Instead, I slunk behind the corner of the manor, using the stonework to hide while I watched him work.
He paused the saw and walked around the trunk, studying the wood from different angles.
His tail swept across the sawdust-covered ground.
Then he made another series of cuts, each one deliberate and confident.
The gnome’s face began to take shape. A bulbous nose.
Deep-set eyes. The suggestion of a beard.
How did he see that in a tree trunk?
The chainsaw’s engine cut out abruptly, the sudden silence echoing in my ears.
Gavrel set the chainsaw down carefully and wiped his arm across his forehead. Sawdust clung to his skin, his hair, his horns. He rolled his shoulders, stretching, and I pretty much drooled at the play of muscles under gray skin. My fascination bordered on obsession.
He glanced my way.
Our eyes met across the clearing. Neither of us moved.
His expression shifted from concentration to surprise, before pleasure took its place. A hint of knowing curved across his mouth.
He’d caught me staring, and he liked it.
Swallowing hard, I turned and made myself walk away. Walking much too stiffly. Like I was a normal person who hadn’t just been ogling her employer’s brother-in-law while he worked shirtless in the yard.
My face burned.
He was only being nice to us. There was no way he was thinking about me the way I was about him.
I refused to let this get complicated.
I made it back around to the front of the manor and aimed for the café on the opposite side of the gardens.
Inside, I threw myself into work. Reorganizing the cold case even though I’d done it a few days ago.
Rolling more plasticware in napkins, though we had enough for at least the next week.
Checking and double-checking the inventory spreadsheet on my phone.
“You okay, boss?” Claire asked from the prep station where she was putting together an order for someone standing outside, waiting.
“Fine. I’m…making sure everything’s ready for tomorrow.”
She exchanged a look with Beth but neither made a comment.
I wiped down already-clean counters. Rearranged the display pastries Dorvak had delivered earlier. Checked the clock.
Two-fifteen. School pickup was at three.
I could keep myself busy for another forty-five more minutes. Easy.
Except I kept seeing Gavrel’s eyes. The way he’d looked at me like he’d known exactly what I was thinking.
I scrubbed the espresso machine with too much force.
“I’ll be back,” I announced at two-forty-five.
They nodded, and I headed for my car.
Gavrel was waiting beside my Honda.
He’d put a shirt on, thankfully. Dark blue, it fitted well enough that I could still see the shape of him underneath. He’d cleaned up, but sawdust clung to his hair and horns, making him look disheveled.
Sexy.
No! Not sexy. I couldn’t think of him that way.
“Sammy.” He straightened away from the car. “I wanted to catch you before you left.”
“I’m heading to pick up Corey.”
“I know. I’d like to offer to get him.” His voice stayed level, casual. “You mentioned earlier that I could help. This seems like a practical way to do that.”
My first instinct was to refuse. I always picked up Corey. It was part of our routine, our team-of-two system that had worked since he started school.
But I was flustered and embarrassed and very aware that he knew I’d been watching him.
“Alright. But the school won’t release him to someone without my permission,” I said. “They’ll need a written note and a phone call from me.”
“Of course. I understand completely. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m happy to wait while you arrange that.”
I should say no.
“Okay,” I heard myself say instead. “Let me go write the note.”
Inside the manor, I found paper and a pen in the library. My hand shook as I scribbled the words across the page.
Was I making a mistake by letting him deeper into our lives and routine?
But Corey needed positive male influence. Gavrel had been nothing but kind. Patient. Helpful.
And I needed distance right now to get my head straight.
I called the school office, authorized the pickup, and answered their security questions. When I hung up, I took a breath and headed back outside.
Gavrel waited where I’d left him.
“Here.” I held out the note.
Our fingers brushed as he took it. That same awareness from earlier sparked between us.
Unsure what it meant, I pulled my hand back.
He frowned down at me for a long moment.
“Corey has never flown before,” I said, focusing on practical concerns. “He might be nervous.”
“I’ll go low and slow. If he seems uncomfortable, I’ll land immediately, and we can walk the rest of the way.” Gavrel’s expression remained serious. “I’ll be fully aware of his feelings at all times.”
“He’ll probably love it.”
“Most people do.”
Who had he been giving flights to? I didn’t want to ask.
I nodded, running out of reasons to delay. “His classroom is in the main building, room 114. His teacher is Jan Henderson.”
“I remember from this morning.”
Right. He’d already been there today to deliver the lunch money.
“Okay. Well. Thank you.”
With a nod, he spread his wings, the membranes catching the light with that metallic sheen I found fascinating. “I’ll bring him home safely.”
He launched upward in one powerful move. I watched him rise, watched the graceful strength in his flight. He banked toward town, his dark form stark against the blue sky.
I stood beside my car, keys still in my hand, watching until he disappeared.
How had this happened so fast? Three days ago, I didn’t know Gavrel existed. Now he was picking up my son from school. Making us breakfast. Helping with irrigation repairs. Carving garden gnomes in the backyard.
Becoming part of our routine like he’d always been there.
My chest stretched tighter than a drum.
I’d sworn I wouldn’t let anyone in. I couldn’t risk it. My judgment about men had been proven catastrophically wrong before, and the stakes were so much higher now with Corey involved.
But my son needed more than just me in his life. Male attention, patience, someone who listened to his endless questions about dinosaurs and space and how things worked.
I couldn’t let my fear of getting hurt again get in the way of what was best for my son.
The breeze picked up, rustling the trees. I looked back toward the clearing where I’d watched Gavrel work. Where I’d felt things I’d thought were dead and buried.
Starting to fall for him would mean big trouble.
The thought lodged in my chest like a boulder.
I couldn’t afford to love someone new. Not when I’d finally found stability, a good job, and a safe place for Corey. Not when everything was finally working out for the first time in, well, forever.
But standing there alone by my car, I couldn’t deny the cracks forming in the walls I’d built so carefully.
And I didn’t know how to stop them from spreading.