Off the Grid

He liked the thought of her belongings mingling with his. In order to keep her I have to let her in. The idea scared him more than any mission ever had. There’s a deep cut only a woman could deliver and he’d been damn near dissected once. The thought of what could happen if things went right outweighed his fear. He prayed for a woman to make his house a home, and he was certain she was now standing before him.

****

It was a real punch to the gut being helped out of his own vehicle and handed crutches. He endured it with a small smile and humbleness. There was too much at stake to let pride ruin things.

“Thanks.”

He held his foot out and followed her toward the cabin. They had advised him to keep off the foot as much as possible, keep the bandages clean, air the wound out daily, and relax. The ‘r’ word was foreign to him. Sitting still made him itch.

“I’m going to have trouble wrangling you. I can already tell. You have a squirrelly look in your eyes.”

“You wound me, Fehr. Are you saying I look dishonest?”

“No, you look ready to run from the hills, or in your case limp.”

“Sitting still isn’t my thing. I guess you’ll have to keep me distracted.”

“Oh, you’re good.” She clucked her tongue. She unlocked the door and he made his way inside.

“Luckily for you, Mr. Impatience, I’ve got some fun things planned.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said, excited by the return of their banter.

He settled down onto the couch and watched her move to the fridge.

“How are you feeling right now?”

“Good.”

“Not tired?”

“I’ve literally laid in a bed for the past forty-eight hours,” he said dryly.

“I know, but you were healing, and that can be exhausting. You’re not due for a pill for a few more hours, so we have some down time.”

“What are these mysterious plans you have?”

“Wait and see.” She walked over to the table and pulled out a sheet of printed paper and a mat.

“Scoring card and tasting mat?”

“I thought we could do a chocolate tasting. What do you think? Lame?” She nibbled her lower lip and uncertainty darkened her eyes.

“No. It sounds delicious actually.”

“Phew. Good. Grab a few pens, and I’ll get the candied crack.”

He admired her frame in the leggings she’d paired with an oversized heather gray sweater that showed off her swan-like neck and golden brown shoulder. She dressed differently now that they were staying casually in the cabin. A man could get used to this. She returned with a few bars and they broke them out, placing them accordingly. She sat beside him. Their thighs brushed and sparks crackled to life between them.

“Where do we start?” he asked.

“This one.” Her eyes glimmered with mischief and he knew he was in for a surprise.

“Okay?” He put the square into his mouth and the pops made his eye widen. A wave of heat accompanied it. “Chipotle pop rocks?”

She nodded. “It was such an odd pairing. I couldn’t resist picking it up.”

“I don’t know that I would want to eat an entire bar,” he said.