Not wanting to use all the hot water, Shay hurried through her shower, and when she was done she called down to Josh to let him know the bathroom was free.

“Thanks,” he called back, and a few minutes later, as she got dressed in her room, she heard him climbing the stairs.

This day had gone so much better than she could have dreamed. To think only a couple of days earlier, desperate for a drink of water, she’d broken into Josh’s house. And now here she was, working on a garden with the hottest man she’d ever met, a man who had turned out to be kind and generous even though she had been a complete stranger—a stranger who had broken into his house and slept in his bed as if she were Goldilocks.

Then she thought about the revelation that there was a faucet outside after all. What if she’d found it that first day? Would she have broken into the house regardless, needing a place to spend the night? What if she hadn’t? What if she’d never met Josh?

She couldn’t fathom that. Then again, she would be leaving soon. It would be hard to forget him. Maybe it would have been better never to have met him. As much as she would like him to invite her to stay forever, to be part of his life, she knew that was unrealistic. He had a life here and that life didn’t include her.

She finished getting ready, then she went into the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients to make smoothies—frozen fruit, milk, and juice. Not sure how Josh usually made smoothies—or if he did—she waited for him to join her before starting.

Twenty minutes later he walked in, all freshly showered and looking good.

They set to work making their smoothies, and when they were done they took them out back. As Shay sank into a chair on the back patio, shaded by the overhang, she sipped her smoothie as she stole a glance at Josh.

Broad shouldered, strong, so very masculine, she couldn’t ignore her growing attraction to this man. To distract herself, she turned to him and asked, “Where do you do your consulting work? I mean, I haven’t seen any office space.” Then again, maybe he worked at the kitchen table.

He shifted in his seat, almost like the question made him uncomfortable. “Uh, actually, I have an office in my…barn.”

That wasn’t what she had expected him to say. “Doesn’t it get hot in there?” And wasn’t it smelly? At least, that was her impression of barns. Of course, she’d never actually been in one. But that’s how she’d always imagined a barn to be—hot and smelly.

* * *

Josh took his time drinking his smoothie before answering. In a way, he wanted to show Shay his amazing gym and office. It was his pride and joy, the place where he spent so much of his time when he was home. But he couldn’t. Not without exposing his true identity. He had NFL memorabilia everywhere in there. The truth would be evident pretty quickly.

Maybe one day he would show her everything.

Hold on. Why would he think that? Was he planning on letting her stick around long enough to learn the truth? Did he want her to learn the truth?

Not sure how he felt, he focused on answering her question.

“I, uh, I put air conditioning in there.”

Her eyebrows puckered. “But you don’t have it in the house.”

“I spend more time in my office than I do in the house.” Which was true, even if that sounded strange to her.

She nodded. “Do you need me to do any cleaning in your barn?”

“No.” The answer shot out of his mouth before he had a chance to tone it down. “I mean, I’ve got that covered.”

* * *

What was that all about? Why was Josh acting weird about his barn? And why did he have an office out there? Shay was certain he was hiding something from her. But what?

Though she’d been joking when she’d thought that Josh might be an assassin, she wondered if he really was doing something criminal. Something he didn’t want her to discover. Something dangerous. She’d stumbled upon his cabin by pure chance, and now she might be putting herself in danger just by being around him.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The saying popped into her mind as she thought about the danger she was already in from Will. Was Will actually the lesser of the dangers growing around her? Was Josh the one she had to be wary of? Not that he would hurt her—she didn’t get that vibe from him at all. But what if he associated with dangerous criminals, people who would hurt him if he crossed them, and by extension would hurt her?

Maybe she should move up her exit date before something bad happened.

“How’s your smoothie?” he asked, drawing her away from her thoughts to focus on him.

“It’s good. And I can’t even taste that protein powder you added.”

He grinned. “That’s kind of the point. It adds protein without changing the taste of the food you add it to.”

Shay’s gaze slid over Josh’s biceps and powerful chest. The man was fit, no question. When and where did he work out? She knew he liked to run in the morning, but that wouldn’t make him as ripped as he was. Did he keep in shape because he liked to be healthy, or was it so that he would be able to defend himself?

What if a bad guy showed up? Would Josh defend her? He hardly knew her. Why would he risk himself for her?

The idea of a violent criminal showing up when they were in the middle of nowhere terrified her. With no way to call for help, they’d be sitting ducks. Shay knew what it felt like to be punched, and she had no desire to ever again be put into a position where someone could hurt her. Will was looking for her, there was no doubt about that, but that didn’t mean she needed to stick around an unsafe place to keep him from finding her. There had to be a better solution.

“Are you done?” she asked as she stood and held out her hand. She needed time to think, to evaluate what she should do.

Josh held out his empty glass. “Yeah. Thanks.”

She took it from him and carried it into the kitchen where she rinsed out both of their glasses. Taking her time washing the blender and glasses, she wondered if she could sneak into the barn and see for herself what he had in there.

Did Josh have a meth lab in there? Were people in there working?

The idea made her shiver despite the warmth of the house.

Drying off the blender parts, Shay looked out the window at Josh, who had walked over to the garden and was surveying the area where they’d worked.

What was he thinking? That he’d wasted his entire day on something that wouldn’t earn him any money? Or was he thinking he could bury a body under there and no one would know?