Northern Rebel Daring in the Dark - By Jennifer Labrecque Page 0,42
lifetime ago.
* * *
DELPHI GLANCED AROUND while Lars recounted the rumbling ground and temperature surge. The kitchen, while not overly large, was comfortable. Cast-iron cookware hung from hooks on one wall, and in the middle hung an assortment of wooden utensils, much like a display of functional art.
The kitchen table was a clean design and since Bull owned the lumber shop downstairs, she suspected he’d made the table himself. Instead of backed chairs, each seat was an individual bench with buttock indentions.
And the whole time, all she could think about was Lars’s knee against hers and his scent on her skin.
Lars wrapped it up. It had only taken him a minute or so to brief Merrilee and Bull about what he’d experienced at the lake. Merrilee spoke up. “The activity has increased in the last year but it’s being monitored. So far, they’ve told us it’s not anything to be concerned about. I’ll check in with them in the morning. If there’s an alert status, the department will contact me here at home.”
Lars nodded matter-of-factly. “Good deal.” He stood and Delphi followed suit. “We’ll let you guys get back to bed.”
“Stop in anytime, especially if you’ve got a concern,” Bull said. Delphi had noticed he was a fairly quiet man. Not shy, simply quiet. It was an important distinction. He watched, processed and was very much self-contained. It struck her suddenly that for all his forwardness and joviality, Lars was a bit similar. While he was much more verbose than Bull, he also observed, processed and possessed more than a measure of self-containment. Delphi knew without a doubt that the discussion they’d had concerning his mother was a rare event for Lars.
She and Lars walked toward the door. He looked at Delphi. “Feel like walking back to the bed-and-breakfast?”
“Of course.” She was invigorated and full of energy in a way she hadn’t been in a long, long time.
Lars nodded and said to Bull, “We’ll leave the truck here and walk back. Thanks for letting me use it.”
“Sure. Anytime.”
They made their way down the stairs and stopped by the truck to pick up their backpacks. The town enveloped them in its silence. When they’d both shrugged into their backpacks, Liam slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side as they began walking in the direction of the B&B.
A thrill shot through her at the weight of his arm around her, the heat of being held against his solid side. The feeling of being protected—almost cherished—floated through her, like the fleet passing of a wraith on the periphery of one’s vision, vanishing equally quickly.
“It’s been quite the day, hasn’t it?” Liam broke the quiet between them.
The wedding and reception, the lake, sex, the mini-quake... Yeah, it had definitely been quite a day. “That’s an understatement.”
On a whim she wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. The darkness was different here than back home. Despite the absence of streetlights, the evening’s veil held no menace. It was a place out of time. No cars cruised down the street. No radios or TVs blared behind closed doors. There was only the sifting of the wind through the evergreens and the hum of mosquitoes. An owl hooted in the distance. A sense of safety enveloped her.
Her words flowed out of her feelings. “Doesn’t it feel peaceful here?”
“Yeah. It’s great. But I’m so conditioned to noise and activity that it takes some getting used to. I’m generally on alert.”
An internal sigh rippled through her. She didn’t want to think about Lars being any place except in Good Riddance. She didn’t want to picture him in battle gear, in danger. She pushed aside the thought. “It’s good for the soul.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
They strolled along, a quiet harmony flowing between them. Their sexual energy was definitely part of that flow.
They covered the remaining distance in silence. A sudden exhaustion swept through Delphi. It had been quite a day.
“Tired?” Lars asked. It was funny how he picked up on her mood shift. She hadn’t said anything.
She laughed, a bit disconcerted that he’d tapped into her feelings. “Exhausted. It just hit me.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s the aftermath of all that adrenaline.”
“My feet and legs have turned to bricks.”
“Do you want me to carry you?”
He was serious. She almost laughed, but she was too tired to laugh...and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. It was actually very gallant of him to suggest it. And she needed