The next morning as Kelly sipped hot chocolate on her front balcony, she still couldn’t believe she’d let Hunter slow dance with her.

He’d been so playful about it, so friendly, that she hadn’t been able to turn him down in front of the whole bar.

She had a feeling that everything about it was impulsive, but that just made it all the more fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to just lose herself in a dance, let alone relax into the feel of strong hands on her body.

She fanned her face just at the memory of it. Why did Hunter have to be so hot?

He made her want things she had no business having. Things she shouldn’t want, like romance and a relationship and love. Things that weren’t possible until she knew her life was safe again.

Anger lashed through her as she set her mug on the railing, realizing how much this stupid stalker bear had controlled her life. Part of her wanted to get involved with Hunter just to prove to herself that she wasn’t in stasis.

Another part of her was afraid of getting hurt again. Of being not believed or run out on. She wasn’t sure she would survive that again. Literally, if the bear was there.

She heard the sound of a diesel engine and saw a large white truck rumbling up the road, hauling a trailer full of supplies.

Hunter.

She went back inside so she could open the front door for him, and he was there just as she undid the lock. As he walked in, she wondered if she should offer him coffee but saw he’d already brought his own. Plus an extra, which he handed to her.

“I stopped by the cafe,” he said casually. “Thought you might be hungry.” He handed her a paper sack, and she opened it up to see pastries inside.

A man who could fix a house and bring over breakfast? He really was too good to be true, and she was having to pass on him because of her stupid history.

“Thank you,” she said, setting aside the bag for later. “I really appreciate that.”

“No problem.” He looked out at the deck where she’d been standing. “Mind if I go check it out?”

She shook her head, and he walked ahead of her out into the sunlight.

There was something about the way he was so competent, so sure of what he was doing at every moment, that she found almost unbearably attractive.

She almost wondered if he was finally the type who wouldn’t run, even from a bear.

But they probably wouldn’t have to find out. After all, they weren’t dating.

Even if that dance made her unable to stop thinking about how nice it might be.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s not great out here. Amazing view, though. This will be a great place when fixed up.”

She nodded, coming up next to him. “I like it here, and—” She was cut off as she heard a loud crack and saw something coming from above out of her peripheral vision.

“Watch out,” Hunter said, pushing her back as a huge piece of wood fell between them, just missing her head.

When it hit the ground, she jumped back and lost her footing, stumbling into the railing behind her.

Just her luck, it also decided to break, and she heard it begin to give with a crack.

Hunter was there in a second, catching her with an arm behind her waist and his other hand on the intact part of the railing. He drew her in close to keep her from falling, and she could feel her own heart as her breasts were pushed up against his hard, wide chest.

She looked up at him, cheeks burning, legs melting at the tension between them, as he slowly helped pull her back onto the deck.

When she was safe on two feet, he released her, turning away, his chest rising and falling as rapidly as hers had been.

All his attempts at hitting on her had been playful. Teasing. But right now, he seemed just as seriously affected as she was by even that small amount of touch.

He looked over his shoulder at her, his hat shading his eyes, his expression unreadable.

Then he smiled and pointed at the railing. “I guess I know what I’m working on first.”

She nodded vaguely as he strolled back into the house and out the front door, headed to his truck to unload supplies. On his way back in, she saw he’d put on a tool belt and left his hat in the truck.

As he walked up the front steps, his blond hair glittered, and his smooth, tanned skin showed on his arms that were bare due to his tee shirt.

Oh God, there was something irresistible about a handyman.

She stumbled back into her living room, looking for the bag he’d brought. She wanted to get her hands on Hunter, but since that wasn’t possible, she’d settle for a pastry instead.

* * *

The noonday sun beat down on Hunter, and he stopped for a second to survey his work.

Most of the rails and several of the posts they attached to had been replaced with new rough-hewn logs. Though they stuck out like a sore thumb, they at least wouldn’t break when leaned on like they nearly had that morning when Kelly had almost gone over the edge.

He was glad he’d been there to catch her, or she might have been hurt.

Once he’d sanded down the remaining old logs and boards and put several coats of lacquer over the whole thing, the deck would certainly look a lot less worse for wear. Thankfully, the lumberyard he’d gotten his materials from was close by if he ended up needing more to finish things off.

Not bad for a morning’s work.

The entire time he’d been on the job, though, he couldn’t take his mind off of last night when he’d danced with Kelly in the bar. They’d been so close. The memory of her soft body pressed to him, hands clutching him as if she almost didn’t want to let go, burned into his brain. Even her scent, that vanilla floral, had felt like a dream, one he didn’t want to wake up from.

If he was honest with himself, Hunter knew he was trying to seduce Kelly. Or rather, he knew that he wanted more with her. But it was so much more than anything he’d ever wanted with any other woman before.

Granted, he didn’t have near as much experience as probably everyone around him believed him to have. Even as cats went, Hunter knew he was a loner with a bad case of wanderlust, always moving from place to place before he met Garrett and joined with his crew. Consequently, he’d never really wooed any woman because he wasn’t the type to love ‘em and leave ‘em, as the saying went. He couldn’t hurt another human being in that way, so he pretty much just kept to himself wherever he went.

But Kelly was different. Hunter knew the effect he had on women. But for once, a woman was the one affecting him.

For the first time, he was getting ideas about putting down roots. Being domestic, for crying out loud.

He didn’t want to just refinish this cabin. He wanted to move in with Kelly. Wanted to curl up by the fire with her, enjoy warm afternoons and cool evenings doing whatever they pleased together.

The thought made the cougar inside him purr, low and loud.

Take it easy, kitty.

“Hey, are you hungry?” Kelly’s voice interrupted Hunter’s thoughts, which were frankly beginning to run wild as he’d worked on prioritizing the next project. Probably the roof.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” He slapped his Stetson back on and joined her in the shady part of the deck At least now nobody would risk going over the edge due to safety hazards.

Kelly brought with her a plate with several bologna sandwiches with cheese and a couple glasses of iced tea. Hunter took a seat next to her and grabbed a sandwich, just happy to be in her company and not caring about the flavor.

He’d eat dirt if she served it to him on a plate.

“So how are things going?” she asked. “You’ve gotten a lot done in such little time. I was inside working, so I didn’t see how you managed it, but it’s impressive.”

“Thanks. At least your back deck isn’t a death trap.” He looked over at Kelly, and her eyes darted away from him as the recollection of her soft form held against him unexpectedly that morning made his skin buzz. Was she thinking about it, too?

He finished his sandwich and took a nice, ice-cold swig of the sweet drink. Refreshing.

There were several moments of silence as a few blue jays argued about something high above them in the trees.

“So what brought you out here?” Hunter asked, interrupting the silence.

Kelly’s gaze seemed to reach far off into some place beyond the woods of Silver Lake. He just waited patiently as she clutched the drink in her hand.

“I was looking for something remote, some place quiet to come out to.”

“For work? Artistic inspiration?” he asked. Though from the way she spoke about it whenever the subject came up, Hunter was very sure this had nothing to do with her work and everything to do with running from something.

She shook her head. “Just… trying something new, I guess.”

“Well, why not?” Hunter said.

Of course, he wasn’t going to remind her that she’d already said she wasn’t planning on staying here permanently. Most people didn’t pick up their lives, move to the middle of nowhere to a place like Silver Lake into a house that had more things wrong with it than right, just to leave again in a few months.

But whatever that reason was, she was keeping it close to the chest. Too close for his cat’s comfort. Because this something she was hiding from was going to show up sooner or later.

How close was it?

And why wouldn’t she tell him more?

“Why not indeed.” A smile that didn’t reach her eyes flashed on Kelly’s face.

“I mean, great place for an artist to live, if you ask me. Got forest for miles. A lake not far from here. Half a dozen creeks and ponds scattered around. Of course, there’s wolves and black bears and who knows what else out there, too.”

“Oh, uh… good to know.” She looked away nervously at that.

He felt instantly bad for scaring her. “Well, you know, most wildlife is more scared of you than you are of them. And if anything comes around, you can use them as a subject for the painting you’re doing for me.”

They both laughed at that as Kelly seemed to relax a bit, finally looking out into the forest with enjoyment instead of the habitual trepidation he saw on her face.

“So how did you end up in a place like Silver Lake? Something tells me you’re definitely not from around here.”

“And what gave you that impression?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, loving the way his antics made her smile when she wasn’t stressed.

“The hat. And, well, everything else. You look like the cover of a novel or a guy from a male revue.”

“Thank you?” He was inwardly pleased that she could find him at least objectively attractive enough to fill one of those two roles.

“You’re welcome.” She sent a playful grin his way, and his heart thumped in his chest.

Ignoring the fact that the cat inside him was even more awake and focused on Kelly, he tried to stick to the conversation at hand.

“I grew up back west. Had some relatives in Montana I spent time with, then moved on, trying to make my own way. Years later, I crossed paths with Garrett, who offered me and Grayson jobs with his construction company. We came out here for a small job on the other side of town, and we haven’t really picked up the next thing yet.”

“Garrett seems like good people. At least that was my impression of him when he took a look at my place. Grayson was a funny, but a little…”

“Yeah, Grayson is… well, Grayson. You love him or you hate him. There’s no middle ground with that guy.” He shrugged.

“He’s definitely a character.”

“Yeah, he is. But he’s a good guy, too. He cares, deep down.” He finished his drink off, wanting to be talking about Kelly again, not the surly wolf who made it his business to make people uncomfortable around him.

“He did at least say you were the best person for the job. And with how brutally honest his critique of my cabin was, I’m inclined to believe him.”

Well, what do you know? Hunter would have to give Grayson a cookie later for doing something nice for once.

Of course, he’d probably throw said cookie in the dirt solely on the basis that Grayson felt cookies were an inferior dessert, but it was the thought that counted.

“That and your work speaks for itself thus far,” she said, motioning to the reworked railing.

“Glad to hear that.” He was unable to suppress a smile whenever Kelly complimented him.

But just as he was about to offer to get up and pour them both another drink, he caught a whiff of something strange on the breeze, an unknown scent that was both alarming and unfamiliar.

Perhaps it was a bear. If it was, it definitely wasn’t Garrett. That guy had an aroma that even squirrels could detect from miles away.

No, it was something else.

“I, uh, need to go check on something real quick.” He stood awkwardly, senses on alert at even the thought of an intruder in the area.

“What?” Kelly asked, sounding a little tense and clearly reading into the sudden change in tone.

He leaned over the railing and took another whiff. The smell was faint but palpable.

“Is something wrong?” The growing worry in her voice made him want to stop and comfort her. But he couldn’t, not until he got a better idea of what they were dealing with.

Following the trace amount he could still scent, Hunter went down the steps that led off the deck and headed down the sloped hill, pushing aside ferns and trying to get a better idea of exactly what he was smelling. Back on the deck, Kelly peered over at him, watching with a strained expression, eyes darting at the woods around him and only further solidifying his initial suspicions.

“Hunter? Tell me what’s going on.” Her voice called out to him from the cabin. She was still in sight, but the farther he went, the more intense her fear seemed to get.

And try as he could, whenever he thought he was getting closer to the scent, the more it seemed to dissipate around him. He looked for tracks, any sign of movement from large forest creatures in the area, but he saw nothing.

If there had been something out here, it was gone now.

Realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere, Hunter turned back to the cabin. “Nothing. It was nothing. Just, uh, checking out the drainage and the soil integrity. Wanted to do that before I forgot.” Even he surprised himself by the level of bullshit he was pulling out of nowhere.

But he would definitely be back here later tonight to keep an eye on Kelly, as well as keep a lookout for whatever she might be worried about.

Kelly breathed an audible sigh of relief, relaxing against the railing. Thank God it was more stable than the front, or there would be a second accident in one day.

Hunter, wanting to be near her as soon as possible, jogged back up the hill and made his way onto the deck once more.

Kelly, who still looked a little frazzled, raised an eyebrow at him.

“Drainage? Soil? You never mentioned that when you first took a look at my place.”

“You know, just the air’s so nice, and I figured there was no time like the moment. All that.” He grabbed a sandwich, taking a big mouthful and silencing himself before he could dig himself into a bigger hole than he already was in.

She eyed him warily but didn’t press him further, thankfully. Instead, she picked up the plate and took the glasses, heading back inside.

“Okay. Just let me know before you take any more impromptu walks around without telling me first.”

“I’ll just be right here, working.” There were still at least three or four more things he wanted to get done before the day was over to make the place as safe as possible. Like fixing the bannister on the stairwell inside or reinforcing the front door. The roofing wasn’t as high of a priority, so long as the weather stayed nice.

“Let me know if you need anything.” Kelly’s voice carried from inside as the door shut behind her.

Just you, his cat growled.