words.”
They reached the road that led into town. The snow had melted enough to reveal patches of green, which grew more frequent the closer they came to town. Spring took its sweet time coming to Lost Harbor, but it was worth the wait. The wistful call of a varied thrush floating through the morning air could make a grown woman cry.
“I found a boy,” S.G. said as they took one of the hairpin curves in the road.
“Uh oh. That sounds like trouble.”
“He might be in trouble. I don’t know.”
Kate frowned, her attention divided between S.G. and a box that was now threatening to tumble off the truck. “What’s his name?”
“He doesn’t want to tell me.”
“That’s not a good sign.”
“I think he’s afraid.”
Kate could well imagine that S.G., with her unusual history, could be intimidating to the boys around here. To any boys, really.
“Because he knows how good you are with knives?”
“No. I mean, he doesn’t know that. I don’t carry my knife anymore, the school won’t let me.”
“Seems like a reasonable policy.”
S.G. shrugged. She was very attached to her hunting knife and unnervingly skilled with it.
“So this boy…do you know him from school?”
S.G. didn’t answer that question, instead posing one of her own. “Can he work at the farm too? He needs a job.”
“Maybe. We’d need to know his name, though. Bring him by and we’ll talk to him. Okay, this is the street. Fairview Court. Pretty, isn’t it?” The street took a slow, lazy curve just above town. Between homes she got peeks of the sparkling blue waters of Misty Bay. Birch trees and spruce offered some privacy, but this was a much more populated neighborhood than the ridge where the farm was located.
“So many houses.” S.G. gave a little shudder.
“Yeah, well, I grew up in the suburbs, so this is normal to me. You might not know what a suburb is, but this neighborhood is as close as Lost Harbor gets. There, that’s the one!” She pointed to a fairly new split-level house with oyster-pink siding. A staircase painted blue marched along the outer wall to the upstairs. It was going to be a pain in the ass to move her stuff in. On the upside, the upstairs had a huge front deck and sliding glass doors with a view of the ocean.
The downstairs, on the other hand, had all the other good stuff—a deluxe master bedroom and a fully modernized kitchen. More importantly, it had a security system. That alone made it worth fighting for.
She pulled into the driveway next to a motorcycle that was already parked in front of the garage.
Great, the tenant was here. Perfect timing. She could give him his thirty days’ notice. She even had the paperwork ready. Noticing that her bag had slid off her lap onto the floorboards, she bent down to grab it.
“Hey, there’s Darius!” exclaimed S.G..
Kate jumped, and her head hit the steering wheel. “Crap,” she muttered. Of all the random names, why did S.G. have to say that one?
Carefully, she maneuvered her head from under the steering wheel, bag in hand. “You scared me, S.G..”
“Darius isn’t as scary as he looks,” the girl said cheerfully. She waved at someone Kate couldn’t quite see. “He’s actually nice. He taught me how to play darts at the firehouse.”
Uh oh. A sinking feeling settled into Kate’s stomach. The firehouse? Darius had said he was a firefighter. He couldn’t possibly be…
She craned her neck to see who S.G. was waving at.
And there he came, striding down the sidewalk with a dog bouncing at his heels. Looking just as big and mouthwatering and lust-inspiring as he’d looked last night. The black t-shirt was gone, and in its place he wore a faded t-shirt with a band she couldn’t make out. His workout sweats were ripped off at the knees, revealing unbelievably muscular calves.
Apparently he’d been running, because his hair was thickened with sweat and a triangle of dampness darkened his t-shirt. He lifted the bottom edge to wipe sweat off his face. The sight of his muscular abdomen and the dark covering of curls sent heat lancing through her.
This was just bad on every possible level.
“You know Darius?”
“He’s the fire chief.”
“Of Lost Harbor?”
“Of course. Where else?”
“No,” Kate moaned out loud.
“Yes. He was pretty mad at me at first when he found out I was hiding there. But then he got over it and he’s my friend now. I’m going to say hi.” S.G. hopped out and scampered down the sidewalk to greet him.
Kate