Chapter One #2
The porch was narrow but clean. A pair of muddy work boots sat beside the door, and split logs were stacked under the overhang. Nothing about the place looked staged for a woman’s arrival. There were no flowers, no welcome basket, and no attempt to make forced isolation feel romantic.
Daddy would’ve arranged all three.
“I’m staying tonight,” I said.
Jonah straightened. “You don’t have to prove anything to me.”
“I’m not proving anything to you.”
“Then who are you proving it to?”
The message on my phone might as well have burned through my handbag.
One week. Then we’ll discuss whether you’re ready to come home.
“I’m not leaving before I’ve lasted one night.”
“That sounds like proving something.”
“It sounds like a decision.”
He held my gaze for another second. “All right.”
“You’re not going to argue?”
“You said you’re staying.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you’ve been traveling all day, you don’t have luggage, and you’re wearing shoes that are going to break your ankle on this road.”
“They are not.”
“You nearly fell twice.”
“I recovered beautifully.”
That crooked almost-smile appeared again.
Jonah picked up my handbag.
“I can carry that.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you carrying it?”
“Because the step is uneven.”
“I’m capable of climbing a step while holding a bag.”
“I believe you.”
He kept the handbag and opened the door.
I should’ve taken it back.
Instead, I followed him inside.
The cabin’s entire main room could’ve fit inside Daddy’s office with space left for his conference table.
A small kitchenette occupied one wall. A square wooden table sat beneath a window, and two mismatched chairs faced each other across it.
There was no sofa, only a worn armchair beside a narrow bookcase filled with equipment manuals, local histories, and several battered paperbacks.
The air smelled faintly of pine cleaner, sun-warmed wood, and Jonah.
That last part was inconvenient.
He set my handbag on the table. “Bathroom is through there. The bedroom is the other door.”
“This is all of it?”
“This is the rest of it.”
“I see.”
“You don’t.”
“No, I’m trying to.”
He opened a cabinet and took out a glass. The faucet ran cold enough to fog it.
Jonah handed it to me without touching my fingers.
I drank half before I realized how thirsty I was.
He opened the refrigerator. “I have bread, sliced turkey, cheese, apples, and some tomatoes.”
“Is that dinner or an inventory?”
“It’s what I can offer without cooking.”
“I can make a sandwich.”
“I assumed you could.”
I put down the glass. “You keep saying things that sound insulting and then removing the insult before I can respond.”
“I’m answering the question in front of me.”
“I didn’t ask one.”
“You looked at the food like you were expecting me to explain it.”
“I was trying to figure out whether you were saving something for later.”
“I wasn’t expecting a bride.”
“Neither was I.”
Jonah shut the refrigerator.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” he said.
“I didn’t say you did.”
“You said I was lying.”
“I still haven’t ruled it out.”
“That’s fair.”
His willingness to admit that irritated me almost as much as his face.
We made sandwiches at the narrow counter. Jonah sliced a tomato while I arranged turkey and cheese on the bread. He offered mustard. I found mayonnaise. Neither of us needed instructions, and neither tried to take over.
We sat across from each other at the table.
The window behind Jonah framed dark pines and the final slant of sun. Without the truck and work gear between us, he looked even larger. His shoulders filled the back of the chair, and the short beard sharpened a mouth that would’ve been too pretty without it.
I took a bite of my sandwich before that thought developed consequences.
“How long is the placement?” he asked.
“One week.”
“Starting today?”
“Yes.”
“And someone expected you to stay here without confirming it with me?”
“Someone believed they had confirmed it.”
“Who arranged your side?”
“My family.”
“Do they usually make decisions like this for you?”
I set down the sandwich. “We had a disagreement.”
“What kind?”
“The kind that isn’t your business.”
He accepted that without pushing.
“How much did you agree to?” he asked.
“One week in Colorado.”
“At this cabin?”
“With the man who accepted me.”
“I didn’t.”
“I understand your position.”
“It’s not a position.”
“Jonah, either someone impersonated you with enough detail to pass a background review, or you’re a convincing liar. I’m allowed to remain undecided until I have evidence.”
His gaze sharpened at the use of his name.
I gripped the edge of the table. My back straightened.
“I’m not asking you to trust me,” he said. “I’m telling you that you aren’t required to stay.”
“Thank you. I remain aware of that.”
His eyes dipped briefly to my mouth before returning to mine.
I picked up my sandwich.
After we ate, I picked up my handbag and followed him to the bathroom. It was clean, compact, and had a locking door, a standing shower, a toilet, and barely enough counter space for the bag.
“I have spare toothbrushes,” he said. “They’re unopened.”
“Do you frequently host stranded women?”
“No. I buy them in multipacks.”
“Of course you do.”
He took a toothbrush from the cabinet and placed a clean towel beside the sink. “The lock works. I’ll stay in the main room while you use it.”
I looked at him through the mirror.
“You don’t have to announce that you won’t barge in.”
“I thought you’d want to know.”
I did.
“Thank you.”
Jonah stepped out and closed the door.
I turned the lock.
My reflection looked like I’d been transported from a Brooklyn rooftop party into an outdoor-equipment advertisement.
My thick curls had survived the flight but not the mountain road.
Dust clung to the toes of my stilettos. Diamonds and layered gold still flashed at my throat and wrists, and my French-tip acrylics remained flawless.
My leopard-print cropped top still fit perfectly, and the black skirt still hugged every curve, but neither had been designed for sweating inside a stranger’s cabin.
I cleaned my face, brushed my teeth, and washed the dust from my feet. The cold water cooled my skin until I remembered Jonah’s eyes dipping to my mouth.
My pulse jumped again.
I opened the door.