An hour later they were on the road. The nearest nursery was in Wayside, thirty minutes away, but Josh didn’t mind.

“Thank you for taking me,” Shay said as they drove.

He glanced at her, liking that she was riding in his truck. This was his personal vehicle, one that he never allowed groupies to enter. But Shay wasn’t a groupie. He was certain of it. “I’m expecting an awesome garden out of this.”

Her eyes widened. “Okay.”

He was just kidding, but decided not to tell her that. He’d always found that pressure to perform was a good thing. Besides, she needed to earn her keep. Having her around was nice, but it was still an inconvenience in a lot of ways. It was like he needed to be on his best behavior when he was around her. Not that that was a bad thing, but still.

He glanced at her, thinking he might have to help her with this gardening thing. She had no idea what he did for a living, so he should at least pretend he knew how to take care of his property.

* * *

Shay really hoped she wouldn’t screw this up. Josh expected an awesome garden and she would do her best to deliver.

She glanced surreptitiously at him. Now that he knew her a little better, maybe he’d tell her more about himself.

“So, Josh,” she began.

His gaze cut in her direction before he faced the road again. “Yeah?”

“What do you like to do? Besides running, I mean.”

He was quiet, and she wondered if he was going to answer. Why wouldn’t he? What did he do all day? He had to have a job. Unless he was independently wealthy. That seemed doubtful, considering the cabin he lived in. The place was pretty minimal, not the kind of place someone with money would live in. Plus, he couldn’t be more than twenty-eight, five years older than she was.

“I like to tinker,” he finally said.

“Tinker? Tinker on what?” Then she remembered finding him in the garage the day before when she’d finished making lunch, and how he’d been working on something out there.

“I have a few pieces of equipment that I need to keep running,” he said, then he glanced at her. “Like my ATV.”

“Right.” The mention of his ATV reminded her how it had felt to be pressed against his strong back as he’d brought her to his cabin. The memory sent a pleasant tingle through her body.

“What else?” she asked. “Like, what do you do for a living?” That’s what she really wanted to know, because if he was a paid assassin, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to stick around. What if one of his enemies came to kill him and she got caught in the crossfire? That would ruin her day.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked.

Was he actually going to tell her? “Yes,” she said. “I do.”

A muscle moved in his jaw, then while staring at the road in front of them, he said, “I consult with businesses. On financial matters.” He glanced at her, then focused back on the road.

That sounded important. Impressed, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me that when I asked you before?”

He scowled, but didn’t answer.

Not wanting to irritate him, but still curious, she asked, “Do you have to travel a lot?”

His scowl smoothed out, and when he looked at her, his lips lifted into a smile. “Yeah.”

“Do you like to travel?”

He pointed his eyes back at the road. “It’s required for the job.”

That made sense. “What about using one of those online conference calls? Can you do those instead?” Of course, that would require Internet access, which she wasn’t sure he had. But he had to have some way to communicate with the outside world, although she already knew he didn’t have a land-line.

The scowl was back, and when he didn’t answer, she decided not to push him.

She wondered what Will was doing right then. It had been forty-eight hours since she’d fled. Was he looking for her? Was he getting angrier every second that he couldn’t find her? Was he plotting what he would do to her once he found her?

The thought sent a shiver of terror pounding through her, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a protective gesture.

Eventually she’d have to check her phone for voice messages or texts. She had her phone with her. Maybe there would be cell service at the nursery. Maybe she would get the nerve to turn on her phone.

* * *

Josh didn’t like lying to Shay, but there was no way he was going to tell her the truth about his profession. He liked that there wasn’t that awkward you’re rich and famous thing coloring her opinion of him.

Then again, why did he care how she felt about him? She wouldn’t be around forever. Eventually she would have to move on.

For now, he would just go with the flow.

“Do you have your list with you?” Josh asked.

“What?” Shay’s head jerked as she faced him, like he’d startled her.

What was that all about?

“Your list. Do you have it?”

“Oh,” she began, then her lips lifted in a smile, but it seemed forced. “I don’t need a list.” She tapped her forehead. “It’s all up here.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “Okay. As long as you have it somewhere.”

“Never fear. I’ve got it all under control.”

* * *

Who was she kidding? She had nothing under control. Not her living situation. Not her relationships. Not her life. In fact, everything was out of control. From one moment to the next she wasn’t certain where she would be. The only reason she had a roof over her head right then was because Josh had taken pity on her.

Occasionally, she looked at him out of her peripheral vision. His eyes were steady on the road, so she turned her attention to the view out of her window. Pine trees lined both sides of the road, reminding her of the walk she’d made two days earlier. What had led her to Josh’s house? Was it some kind of luck? Was her luck finally turning? The thought cheered her.

“Here we are,” Josh said a few minutes later as he pulled off of the road and into a small parking lot.

The nursery wasn’t very big, but Shay was certain it would have what they needed.

Josh pulled a ball cap low over his head, then opened his door and climbed out. Shay got out as well, then they headed inside.

“Good morning,” a man who she guessed was in his forties said as he watered a row of bright purple flowers.

“Hello,” Shay said, then she noticed Josh had walked in the other direction. Wondering what had caught his eye, she turned to follow him.

“Can I help you find something?” the man asked her.

“No, I think we’re okay.”

“All right. If you need any help, just give me a holler.”

“Okay.”

Passing several rows of green plants, she made her way to Josh’s side. He seemed to be studying the instructions on a package of compost.

“Do we need any of this?” he asked as she stopped beside him.

“I don’t know. It depends on the quality of the soil at your house.” Surprised, yet pleased, by his interest, she said, “Let me grab a cart and we can start loading up.”

He smiled at her, which made her heart do a little flip. “Okay.”

As Shay wheeled a flat-bed cart in his direction, she couldn’t help but notice the way his t-shirt showed off his muscular build.

At least she knew she wouldn’t have to do any of the heavy lifting. The bags were thirty pounds each.

Smiling at the thought, she stopped beside him.

“How many bags should we get?” he asked.

She had no idea, and as she opened her mouth to throw out a number, her heart began to pound. If Will was standing there and she threw out a random number, he would scowl at her with derision, as if she was an idiot for not knowing exactly how many they needed.

Then she reminded herself that Josh wasn’t Will. Deciding to test Josh, to see how he would react, she said, “Let’s get thirty.”

He looked at her, his eyebrows raised, but then his lips curved into a smile. “Whatever you say, boss.” Then he started moving bags of compost to the flat-bed cart.

Her heart nearly melted.

“Wait,” she said, and he looked at her, a question in his eyes. “Maybe just fifteen.”

Straightening, he grinned. “You really have no idea, do you?”

She didn’t want him to think she was clueless. “I have some idea. I just don’t know exactly how much we’ll need.”

He laughed. “Good enough.” Then he finished loading the fifteen bags.

Despite Josh’s initial reaction of kicking her out of his house, Shay decided he was actually a pretty nice guy. Not to mention easy on the eyes.