Chapter Two

She was afraid of him.

The realization hit Nate like a slap in the face.

He'd told her that he wasn't going to hurt her—told her that his word was his bond—and yet she was still afraid.

He was a good man. Protected those weaker than himself and did the right thing, even when it was hard or inconvenient. His parents had raised him right, and while this young woman had no way to know all of that, it still grated against him that she feared him.

"What's your name?" he asked as she made her way out of the thick mud.

"Hanna."

"That's it? No last name?"

"Do you need one?"

Another sign of her mistrust. "Guess not."

He really hated her fear, but he wasn't about to leave her out here alone. With those two constraints, there was only one more thing he could think to do.

He dialed his sister. "Hey, sweetie. I could use a hand."

The sound of the diner chimed in the background—silverware hitting plates, ice tinkling in glasses, the music of voices raised in friendly conversation.

"Is it important?" Flora asked.

"Yes. I know you're busy there. I wouldn't have called if it wasn't urgent."

"Where are you?" she asked, not even asking what he needed. She was good like that.

"Just past the sharp curve heading east out of town."

"I thought you had that big meeting tonight with some fancy restoration specialist."

"I did. Guess I'll have to reschedule."

"Wow. This must be important. Be there in ten."

Nate hung up and tucked his phone away to save it as many raindrops as possible.

Hanna had walked around to the back of the truck while he was talking. She'd watched him the whole time, as if expecting him to pull out a mask and chainsaw.

"Inviting company to the party?" she asked.

"You're afraid of me. I thought if I asked a woman to drive you into town you'd be more at ease."

Her shoulders lowered slightly. The duffel bag on her shoulder shifted, pulling her white T-shirt tight against her full breasts.

With the fabric wet, Nate could see right through it and the thin white bra she wore. Her nipples were a dark shadow, puckered tight against the chill.

His mouth watered, and he had to shove his hands in his pockets to hide the way they flexed against the need to touch.

She really was cute. Bright gray eyes. A dusting of freckles across her pink cheeks. A single dimple in one cheek. Her hair was a soft, light brown with just a hint of gold to it. She was bit shorter than his usual type, but for some reason, he found it appealing on her. Maybe it was her shape, all perfectly proportioned with rounded hips and tits, and a small waist to bridge between them. Her wet clothes clung to every curve and hollow, showing off lines that would make any pinup girl jealous.

Her hair was tied up in a messy knot, slumping to one side in a soggy pile. She kept biting her bottom lip in anxiety, and now it was all swollen and deep pink.

He wondered if he kissed her if she'd forget all about her apprehension and quit gnawing on the tortured bit of flesh. At this point, he didn't even care if she slapped him so long as she let go of that poor bottom lip.

He must have been staring at her too long, because she frowned and wiped her mouth like she thought she had some food there.

Usually he was smoother with women, but this one seemed to be impervious to his chivalry and his charm. She was all bristles and self-defense, which made him wonder what she'd been through to make her that way.

The rain's speed picked up as the storm grew to its full fury. Wind whipped the high branches of the trees. A steady downpour chilled his skin, and Hanna's arms were covered with goosebumps big enough to see from where he stood, several feet away.

"Get in the truck, out of the rain," he said, holding out the key fob. "My sister will be here in a minute to take you into town. I'll wait out here. You can lock yourself in so you don't have to worry about me doing nefarious acts to you before witnesses arrive."

"I don't want to mess up your seats. I'm soaked to the bone."

His patience was nearly gone now. She was shivering, probably both with cold and fear, and neither of those things was okay with him.

Nate kept his tone even, but used the stern voice he reserved for unruly employees. "Get in the truck, Hanna. Or I'll put you there."

Finally, she snatched the key away and started moving in the direction he wanted. Instead of getting in the front, she opened the rear door and climbed into the back seat.

He moved to stand under a tree to keep the worst of the shower off of him. As it was, he was already soaked, but at least he might save his cell phone.

Flora drove up a couple of minutes later. The shiny red Mustang was her baby, and there was no way she was letting Hanna in it dripping and muddy.

He jogged to Flora's window, which she rolled down just enough to hear him. A pair of Grace green eyes the same color as his own peered out of the crack. "What's up?"

"There's a girl in my truck. Her car broke down up the road. She's afraid I'm going to rape her and wear her skin like a cape. Can you run her to the motel for me? I've got one vacant room left she can use."

"If she's half as wet as you are, she's not getting in my ride."

"Take my truck. You can come back for me."

Flora snorted. "Two trips? That's silly. Didn't you tell her you wouldn't hurt her?"

"Yes."

"So? What's the problem?"

"She's not from around here. I guess she thinks I'm lying."

Flora's eyes widened with outrage. "She called you a liar?" She unfastened her seatbelt, clearly preparing for war. "Where is this woman? I'll straighten her out."

Nate put his weight against the Mustang's door to keep it shut. "You're not going to do any such thing. She's a scared, cold stranger who needs our help. Just take her to the motel. Please."

Flora blew out a harsh breath. "Fine. But only because you said please. Girl needs to learn some manners."

"Just ask yourself what would Mom do when faced with a cold, wet, frightened stranger?"

Flora gritted her teeth. "I am not Mom."

"Can you at least pretend? Just for the next fifteen minutes?"

"You're going to owe me," Flora said.

"I know. With interest. Now go, before I melt."

Flora grunted. "You're not that sweet, brother."

"I'll wait by the Mustang for you."

In the dark. In the rain. Missing the appointment that had taken him three months to schedule. All so he wouldn't scare one young girl.

He was such a sucker.

***

Hanna watched the woman driving Nate's truck from the back seat. In the rearview mirror, she could see the tight set of the woman's jaw, as if she were angry.

"I'm Flora. Nate's sister," she said as she pulled the big truck around to head west.

Flora was young—early twenties—with shiny brown hair worn in a tight French braid. She was beautiful in a girl-next-door kind of way, with the most stunning green eyes Hanna had ever seen. Next to Nate's.

Flora smelled of coffee, bacon and something clean and citrusy, like orange zest. She wore a red apron around her waist, and pinned to her red-and-white checked shirt was a nametag.

"Hanna," she supplied.

Flora nodded once, that anger still riding her chin. "My brother's a good guy."

Of course she'd say that. Sisters tended to have blind spots where their brothers were concerned—a fact Hanna knew all too well.

She gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Where are you from?" Flora asked.

"East." And because that sounded evasive and it didn't really matter if she told this woman the truth, she said, "Cincinnati."

"Traveling for business or pleasure?"

"On my way to start a new job."

Flora's gaze lifted to the mirror briefly, but it was enough for Hanna to see the serious light in the woman's pretty green eyes. "If there's anything I can do to speed that process along, you can find me at the Dockside Diner."

In other words, get the hell out of my town and away from my brother.

Message received.

"Don't worry," Hanna said. "I'll be out of this town as soon as humanly possible."

Because if she didn't leave soon, Jack might find her. And if he did, she wasn't sure which one of them would suffer more.

Hanna thanked Flora for the ride and went into the motel office as was expected of her.

The Moonlight Oasis Travel Lodge was a long, low building with an office in the center. Two rows of twenty rooms spanned out in matching wings, angled slightly like arms waiting for a hug. From the architecture, she guessed that it had been built in the 1950s, but the place looked too perfect to have survived more than half a century of guests. There was no wear on the floors or the rich wooden desk that had greeted countless travelers. The musty smell of old buildings she'd come to know so well was missing. There wasn't even a layer of dust over the quaint lake decorations and historical photos lining the walls.

It was almost like this building had been perfectly preserved at the time of its completion—vacuum sealed and tucked away in bubble wrap until the very moment of Hanna's arrival.

Maybe someone had just built it, designing it to look like a classic 1950s travel lodge.

She waited just inside the glass door until Nate's big white truck drove away. As soon as the red glow of taillights was no longer gleaming off raindrops, she leaned into the door to make her escape from the motel.

She couldn't afford a room—not if she wanted to have any chance of paying for her truck repairs. And even that was going to depend on how much fixing Rex ended up costing.

There was less than three hundred dollars left to get her to Oklahoma, and most of that she would need for gas for Rex.

She was just about to leave when a lanky teen came out from a room behind the gleaming wooden counter and asked, "Can I help you?"

Busted.

Since she sucked at lying, she opted for evasion. "Can you tell me where the closest mechanic is?"

"Sure, that would be Declan's place. It's down two blocks, turn south, and it's right there on the left."

"Does he have a tow truck?"

The kid nodded. "I think so. Want me to call him for you?"

"You know the man?"

He stared at her like she was a fool. "It's a small town, ma'am. Everyone pretty much knows everyone."

If she got Rex towed tonight, maybe this Declan guy could start working on it first thing tomorrow. She could be out of here by lunch and back on track to her new job.

"That would be great. Thanks," she said.

The kid placed the call. After a few minutes, all the arrangements were made.

Now all she had to do was hope this mechanic would leave her truck outside tonight, rather than in a locked shop, so she'd have someplace dry to sleep.