Josh watched Shay work, impressed that she was willing to try something that was not easy. It only made him like her more. After about five minutes he could tell she was flagging—she’d slowed down and the expression on her face showed she was not enjoying this. Deciding to help her out, he walked up behind her and put his hands on the tiller’s handles.

The feel of her so close to him sent his attraction to her zooming. What was he doing? Was he simply trying to help her, or had he wanted an excuse to get close to her?

Knowing it was the latter, he tried to keep his focus on steering the tiller where he wanted it to go and ignore the light floral scent coming from Shay’s hair.

* * *

When Josh stepped behind her, Shay gasped. Fortunately the rototiller’s motor was loud enough to completely mask the sound. And when his hands grasped the handles as he took control of the rototiller, his body surrounded hers and she could feel his strength. The man was in fantastic shape.

They walked forward together, moving the tiller across the ground, mixing the compost with the existing soil. Shay loved the feel of Josh so close to her, and rather than feeling stifled, she felt protected and secure.

They worked this way for several minutes, then Josh shut off the motor and stepped away from her. Immediately missing his presence, Shay turned around to see why he’d stopped.

“Do you want to continue on your own?” he asked. “Or do you want me to do it?”

She’d proven to herself that she could do it, although she hadn’t enjoyed it. She was ready to turn it over to Josh if he was willing.

His lips lifted in a smile. “I’m happy to do it, Shay.”

“In that case,” she said with a smile, “how about if I fix us a snack?”

* * *

“That sounds good.”

When she turned to walk away, Josh wanted to reach out and stop her, to take her by the hand and draw her into his arms. Good thing she’d walked out of his reach before he’d acted on that. Getting physical would only lead to trouble.

He turned the tiller’s engine back on and concentrated on his task.

As he worked, he asked himself why he was spending so much time on this. He should be in his office studying game tapes and working out in his gym. But he had to admit he was really enjoying himself.

When he’d finished mixing the compost with the soil, he wheeled the tiller to the side and joined Shay on the shaded patio.

“What’d you make?” he asked as he sank into a chair and wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

She pushed a plate filled with bunches of grapes, sliced cucumbers, carrot sticks, and broccoli, along with a bowl of ranch dressing.

He needed way more food than this, but he would make up for it later.

“Thanks again, Josh, for doing so much,” she said as she dipped a carrot into the dressing.

That made him think about the comment he’d made earlier, about how she had better make the garden awesome, and the fear he’d seen in her eyes. After reading those texts and knowing that she was probably in hiding from this Will person, he felt bad for saying something that might frighten or worry her.

“Since I’m helping,” he said with a smirk, “Obviously this garden is going to be awesome.” That ought to settle her fears some.

She laughed, but he couldn’t miss the relief that flashed into her eyes. “Obviously.”

To think he’d been worried about keeping her out of the arms of those losers in the beat-up black truck who had tried to force her to go with them, when in reality she might need protecting from some guy who had said he was going to find her. Was he actively looking? And what would he do if he found her?

The idea of someone doing anything to her infuriated him, but he still had mixed feelings about letting her stay. On the one hand, he relished this time at the cabin when he could be by himself to recharge and regroup before the new football season began. But on the other, having Shay around had been….well, he really liked having her around. And it wasn’t just because she was beautiful. She was a hard worker, and since she didn’t know he was a star in the NFL, she treated him like a regular guy. And though she’d been trying to please him—probably so he wouldn’t send her away—he’d also gotten glimpses of a no-nonsense side of her that he liked.

Sending her away seemed less and less likely. Besides, if he made her leave, where would she go? She’d already made it clear she didn’t have a home. What kind of man would he be if he shoved her out the door knowing someone was looking for her, someone whose motives he didn’t yet understand.

Of course he wouldn’t send her away. He couldn’t. Not in good conscience. But he couldn’t tell her that. Not without admitting he’d read her texts.

* * *

Shay munched on the veggies, enjoying the companionable silence she shared with Josh. When he’d said the garden would be awesome since he was helping, it had taken some of the pressure off of her. But just some. It was still up to her to make it all come together, and she feared if she failed he would toss her out on her butt without a second thought.

Tired of worrying about that, she decided to inoculate herself against the constant fear by asking herself what was the worst that would happen if he made her leave? Assuming he sent her on her way with just the clothes on her back, and maybe a backpack with a few supplies, she would…

What? What would she do? She’d already decided she wouldn’t go to her mother’s or her sister’s. The lack of options made her bite the inside of her lip as she absently picked up another carrot.

With no money, she would be forced to hitch a ride from whomever was willing to pick her up. She didn’t like that idea, although she didn’t see what other choice she would have.

Okay, so say some nice person gave her a ride. Where would she go? Maybe Reno was still a good destination. It would be new to her and she could start her life over. The idea was daunting, no doubt about it, but it was also kind of exciting. Starting fresh held all kinds of possibilities. Maybe she could get a job at one of the casinos. There had to be a lot of opportunities there, right? She could make a fresh start there.

Yes, she could do this. She could make it work. She would be okay.

The positive self-talk strengthened her confidence. No matter what, she would be okay. Knowing that lessened the fear of Josh making her leave and a sense of calmness settled over her.

Shay looked toward the garden as a new thought occurred to her. What if she didn’t wait for Josh to kick her out? What if she left all on her own? If she took control of the situation, she could leave at a time of her choosing, giving herself time to mentally prepare. The idea of doing this on her own removed any worry she had about Josh kicking her out. If leaving was her choice, then there was absolutely nothing to fear. Well, there was still the fear of her unknown future, but that was there regardless.

Nodding to herself, a feeling of resolve settled over her as she smiled. Yes, she would leave. On her own terms. When she was ready.

But when would that be?

Before she left she should at least finish the garden project, get it to the point where Josh could take over maintaining it. After that there would be no reason to stay.

“What do we do next?” Josh asked.

Her gaze slid to his amazing blue eyes, which were steady on her.

She would miss him, no doubt about that, but leaving was absolutely the right thing to do. As much as she was growing to like him—and she was growing to like him much more than she’d ever thought possible—she doubted he had any interest in a homeless girl on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend. Of course that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in him, but in all reality she knew this couldn’t last. Even if Josh was willing to let her stick around out of pity, that wouldn’t last forever. Eventually she would have to move on. Better for her to be the one to control it rather than to live in fear that he might toss her out at any time. Plus, the more time she spent with him and the more her feelings for him grew, the harder it would be to leave. She would leave. Soon.

Now that she’d made up her mind, calm threaded its way through her, giving her a new sense of confidence.

“Now,” she began in answer to Josh’s question, “we plant the seedlings.” She laughed. “First thing tomorrow.” The afternoon had only grown hotter, and she figured he’d done enough for one day.

“I have some work to do tomorrow morning,” Josh said. “So you may have to start without me.”

“One of those consultant things?” How often did he work on those? And where did he work? She hadn’t seen any kind of office space in the cabin when she’d cleaned.

* * *

“Yeah,” Josh said. Then he amended his statement. “I need to prepare for a consultation.” Which was sort of true. He had some game film to study which he would eventually discuss with the offensive coordinator. That was like consulting, wasn’t it?

“Okay.”

As she sat near him at the table, her emerald-green eyes sparkling, his attraction to her cascaded over him despite his attempts to tame it. She had spear-headed this whole garden operation, even been willing to learn how to use the rototiller, and as he looked at her he saw something new in her expression. Something like self-assurance. Mildly surprised to see that in light of the fact that some guy was angry at her and looking for her, it only made him more intrigued.

“I think we should have something cold for dinner,” she said.

He chuckled. “Like what? Cereal?”

Her eyebrows rose. “That would work.” Then she grinned. “But I was thinking more along the lines of a smoothie.”

That sounded good just then. “I have protein powder we can add.” He had to have his protein.

“Perfect.”

“I’m going to wash off the rototiller first though.”

“Wait,” she said, “you have a faucet out here?”

“Of course.” Then he moved the barbecue over a few inches to reveal the spigot.

She began laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

Shaking her head, she said, “When I found your place, I looked for an outside faucet to get a drink, but I didn’t see that. That’s why I broke in.”

The thought gave him pause. What if she’d seen the spigot? Would she have gotten a drink and then been on her way? Never to have met him? The idea of never knowing Shay sent a sharp sense of regret into his soul.

Shaking it off, he tossed her a crooked smile, then began washing off the rototiller. While he worked, he noticed Shay gathering the other tools they’d used and putting them in the garage.

When they’d both finished cleaning up the yard, Josh said, “I need to shower.”

Shay grimaced. “So do I.”

What he really wanted to do was have a session in his sauna to sweat out the dirt that had gathered in his pores, but telling Shay about his custom gym and spa-like bathroom in the barn would force him to either tell her who he really was, or come up with a whole host of new lies.

No, he’d have to forfeit that luxury.

“You can shower first,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Shay asked as they entered the kitchen.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.” Then she turned and walked toward the stairs.

Josh watched her go, wondering if he should admit that he’d read the texts on her phone, that he knew she was in hiding.