The next morning, Hunter wasn’t exactly sure why he was out wandering in the woods at the far edge of Silver Lake. Sure, he liked taking long walks in his cougar form, feeling the soft earth beneath his paws, smelling the piney scent that seemed to permeate everything, but he didn’t have to come this far to have that.

It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with checking out the cabin that Kelly had moved into.

He paced around, keeping low in the underbrush, not wanting to be seen by her or anyone right now. The soft pads on his feet absorbed almost all sound, and he kept his ears perked to the sound of even the smallest bird moving around. Not far from him, a hare skittered off, fearful of the large predator’s presence. But Hunter didn’t chase it.

His cat was much more curious about something else.

For some reason, he wanted to get an eye on the home, see why Kelly had been acting so standoffish last night.

There was definitely something about her. Something that drew him to Kelly. If nothing else, he liked her scent, the memory of it still in the back of his mind, vanilla and wildflowers, as if she spent a lot of time outside.

She also had an amazing body, but that was neither here nor there right now.

The forest around her cabin really was beautiful. Aged pines were evenly spaced out to allow a thick undergrowth of ferns and saplings, interrupted by old fallen logs and patches of bark. Which was why the cabin itself was such an eyesore to look at.

More than an eyesore. Downright dumpy.

The decades-old logs hadn’t been treated perhaps since the home had first been built, causing large cracks to split them down the center as they ran in horizontal lines. The windows were from long before a time when the words “double-paned” were in existence. The roof, or the scattered array of worn, sun-bleached shingles that was supposed to count for a roof, looked like it would leak at the sign of a single raindrop. And the little deck on the back seemed about as stable as a pair of uneven stilts.

Speaking of the deck, Hunter spotted Kelly out on the back. Instinctively, he ducked lower into the brush, tucking his ears and crouching. Thankfully, she was facing the other direction and seemed to be preoccupied with setting up a wooden easel with splotches of paint dried in random spots. Next to her, on a little table, he could spot other various painting supplies and a blank canvas.

So she was a painter.

For a few moments, she busied herself with setting things up, looking distracted as she moved back and forth. It reminded him of last night, of how she’d been so closed off, like her mind was somewhere else.

What was she really like?

But even though he wanted to sit and watch Kelly work, the last thing Hunter needed was to be spotted. So he snuck his way around the corner of the house, continuing his “research.”

The view from the side was almost worse. He could see cracks in the foundation, if the poor excuse for an understructure the house sat on could be called that. More of the roof on this side was cracked, broken, or missing, probably from the southern sun exposure. And the front door looked like it was ready to fall off its own hinges.

He frowned in dismay at the wreck that was Kelly’s lodgings. Aside from a million cosmetic improvements that needed to be made to help prolong the life of the home in general, there were some serious immediate fixes that needed to be done before something major happened.

Like a roof collapsing. Or the pillars propping up the back deck giving out. Or the house freezing in winter due to lack of insulation. Or an electrical socket shorting and the place catching fire.

Hunter shook his head, trying to not get too worried about all the myriad ways someone could meet an untimely end in this place. He reminded himself that people had, in fact, been living here plenty long and hadn’t yet died.

But as he made his way back down the mountain, heading toward town and his hotel room, Hunter began formulating a plan in his head.

Because something needed to be done immediately.

And he was going to be the one to do it.

* * *

Kelly was sitting, staring at the blank canvas on her easel, sipping on a bottled iced tea, when she heard a knock at the door. It wasn’t particularly loud, and for a moment, she thought maybe she’d just been hearing something else.

After all, the cabin was full of creaks and pops. Sometimes they were so loud it made her jump. But such an old place would have issues like that. Not a problem.

There were three more knocks, though, louder this time, and Kelly got out of her chair.

At least it wouldn’t be the bear. It couldn’t be. She’d never known it to come close enough to knock on a door. And how exactly would it knock anyway?

Still, she would usually ignore any human on her doorstep, since she liked her privacy. Needed to have space to herself as an artist. But out here in the tiny town of Silver Lake, with no friends, no connections, it was probably best to at least try to be neighborly.

After all, she wasn’t trying to make enemies.

She reached the door and glanced through the small peephole. It was so dusty she could barely see through it, but when she adjusted her angle, she could make out the face of the handsome man she’d met at the bar last night.

Hunter.

He was wearing a Stetson today that covered his gorgeous, naturally blond hair, but his sparkling blue eyes and hard jaw were still unmistakable. Plus, that build. Those long, hard legs encased in jeans that probably wouldn’t be too hard to pull off of him.

Though, she shouldn’t be thinking about that.

She opened the door halfway, squinting a little as sun poured from behind him, making him look even more angelic, despite his blue jeans and fitted flannel shirt.

“Oh, hey,” she said, not sure where to start. Last night’s conversation hadn’t gone particularly smoothly.

“Hey, it’s good to see you—”

“It was nice of you to stop by, but sorry, I can’t chat right now.” She needed to close the door before this guy’s perfection blinded her. She needed to go back and paint. But as she started to swing the door slowly closed, his hand was on it, stopping her.

“Actually, I’m not giving you a choice on that,” he said, looking past her and then into the house. “We need to talk.”

When she turned over her shoulder to try to see what he was looking for, she felt the door swing open. To her surprise, Hunter strode into the house past her, surprisingly agile for someone so tall.

“Wait, you can’t just barge in. I’m working!” She shut the front door behind her and trailed after Hunter, still shocked he’d had the audacity to just walk in.

So much for small-town manners.

He made his way into the living room, glancing around and stopping in the middle. He folded his arms, seemingly lost in thought, nodding to himself.

“Are you listening to me? I said you need to leave.” Somehow, even though he’d barged in uninvited, she was more angry than frightened. Something about his aura just gave her the impression that he didn’t mean her any harm.

But that didn’t mean she had to like his misbehavior.

He was silent for a moment. “It looks nice in here. I like what you’ve done so far with the place.”

“I… Thanks. But that’s not the point. You weren’t invited in. Is this how you treat all your neighbors?”

“I need to show you something.” For some reason, her words seemed to deflect off of him.

Walking around like he owned the place, Hunter made his way up the stairs, the wood creaking under his heavy weight.

Kelly threw her hands in the air with a groan and then followed him, her curiosity greater than her fear of any real danger at this point.

Besides, Hunter seemed much more focused on looking for something inside the house than even engaging her as he had last night. Which seemed odd since, as far as she knew, this was just a regular old cabin like any other.

She made her way up the steps, hurrying before Hunter disappeared out of sight. He made a right into a small guest bedroom she hadn’t yet checked, and she turned in after him.

“You see this?” Hunter asked, pointing up at something. When Kelly looked, she saw several small holes, letting light peek through from the morning sun. Around the area, the old wood roof was starting to rot, cracking and splitting in a number of places from years of wear.

“Yes. It’s a little… pre-loved. So what?” What business was it of his if her place was a bit shoddy?

“If you don’t do something about this before winter, you’re screwed,” he said solemnly. There was a slight scowl on his face, but Kelly got the feeling his scowl was directed at the general disrepair the roof was in, not her.

He was certainly right, if she had any intention of remaining here long enough for the fall rain and winter storms to kick in.

But she didn’t.

“It’s fine. I don’t plan on staying that long.” Unless for some reason the bear didn’t find her, in which case she would still probably be making new plans with the freedom she finally had.

Hunter made a confused expression, then began to examine the room again.

“Well, there’s these, too.” He pointed out a couple of old electrical outlets. She could see exposed wiring and a little corrosion on them. “These are probably a few decades old. Definitely not up to code right now.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“Well, the breaker would short if there was a problem, so not incredibly. But it’s not ideal.” He walked to the side of the room. “But these windows here need replacing, as well as the one out in the hallway.” He strode back into the hall connecting the rooms on the upper floor, pointing out things as he went along.

Half amused by odd obsession with her cabin and its obvious state of disrepair, Kelly followed him around, coming back down to the first floor.

“And also, your front and back doors need to be replaced. Or at least have reinforced hinges drilled in and a good sanding.”

“They lock, don’t they?” The more he paced around, the more amusing he was to her.

Something about a big, handsome guy like him going ape shit over a few problems in a home she was planning on staying in only temporarily was a bit adorable.

Especially since there was absolutely no reason he should even be in her home.

“It’s not safe. The doors could fail at any moment. And there’s wolves out in these woods. I don’t like it.” He shook his head gravely.

“Well, luckily, it’s not your problem,” she said sharply.

She had enough issues with trying to escape a bear that was stalking her across the nation and didn’t need more things to be afraid of.

Her fear of that… thing had affected her work, her passion, for too long. Not only was she broke, but there seemed to be no way out of this mess unless she could get back on her own two feet.

She was just so tired.

“It’s my problem because I don’t want to see something happen to you. After seeing this place, I’d be a jerk if I just walked away.”

He sounded oddly insistent, despite barely knowing her. Maybe he was just an overprotective guy. Maybe he’d had sisters. But either way, this wasn’t his problem, and she just wanted him gone.

“I was the one who decided to move into this cabin in the first place,” she said. Her frustration, not at Hunter’s presence, but at her own realization of her predicament, was gradually tightening her chest.

She’d thought she’d finally found something safe here, and she didn’t have money to do a bunch of repairs. Not yet.

But she didn’t want to stay in town, and a hotel would get too expensive too quickly. That and there hadn’t been time to go house shopping. She’d been in too much of a rush, too desperate to leave her last location. All she thought she could do was make the best of an already shitty situation and ride it out until fate came after her again.

She decided to just put it all out there because it might be the only way to make Hunter leave. “Besides, I can’t afford any of those repairs you talked about. I spent all I had just getting this place. So I’m just going to have to make the best of it because it’s only my problem, after all.”

Hunter just listened to her thoughtfully as she spoke, not interrupting this time. By the time she was done, his stubborn expression was gone, and he just looked worried for her.

She was worried for her.

Hunter glanced to the side and noticed a stack of unpacked boxes and, next to them, her shipping crates that contained the paintings that were still in progress or waiting on a potential buyer or art gallery to display them. One of them she’d unpacked this morning, wanting to get some pictures of it for her online listing.

When he saw it, he walked over and pointed at it, hope in his ocean-blue gaze.

“You could do one of these for me.”

“What?”

“A painting, like this. In exchange for me fixing your place up.” His voice was calm now, as he’d been last night when he’d first introduced himself.

“You?”

“I should have said earlier. I’m a contractor.”

She sighed, thinking that made sense. Just the way he’d spotted everything and knew exactly what needed to be done for each problem. Or the way he just seemed to exude an air of cock-sure confidence that gave her the impression that whatever he set his mind to, he was able to make happen.

What would it be like, having such a tall, competent, gorgeous man around all the time? Someone she could trust, someone who wouldn’t run at the first sign of trouble—

But she was getting caught up in fairy tales again.

“I don’t know.” Kelly rubbed her arm, feeling stuck.

Hunter glanced at the painting again, then at her. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“How am I supposed to trust you?” The reality of the situation was finally setting in. She needed repairs. And he wanted it just for the price of her work, which, though it was valuable, was in no way as expensive as the kinds of fixes he was talking about.

“Here, take this.” He handed her a card from his back pocket. On the top, it read BCW Construction, and below, there were three names with three separate numbers. One of them was Hunter’s.

“What is this, your business?”

“These are my friends. You can call them and get a second opinion, and you can let me know what you think.”

“What if they’re just frauds who will lie for you?”

He shook his head, amused by something. “One of those two guys will probably be more than happy to tell you about my flaws, both personal and work-related. But both will vouch for my integrity and hard work. Also, we’ve done some work for a settlement outside town and a client who moved in and built a new home recently. You could probably get additional references if need be.”

Kelly just listened, still digesting the absurd idea that he was, in fact, offering to work for her essentially for free.

With looks like his, shouldn’t he be back in Hollywood or something, pursuing a career in modeling?

“I’ll be at the bar tonight if you want to come talk,” he said. “Best place to get dinner. We can discuss things in more detail then, hash out timelines and such.”

“I…” Kelly was practically stunned. It was all so much to take in.

“Well, I guess I better head out, let you get back to work. I suggest you call those numbers, though.” He was making his way to the door, helping himself out just as surely as he’d let himself in. The door groaned as it swung open, and Hunter just shook his head. “Anyway, hope to see you tonight.” With a wave of his hand, he shut it behind him and disappeared into the sunlight.

For several moments, Kelly just stood there.

Like a whirlwind, he’d come in, verbally torn her house apart and exposed its flaws, and then offered to fix all of it free of charge.

There was something weird about Hunter. But it didn’t necessarily seem like a bad thing, if her intuition about him was right.