Good Girl (Love Unexpectedly 2)

Although he does kind of have a point. I hadn’t realized how far away the caretaker’s house was when I’d ventured out. This property must be huge, which is…a little creepy, honestly.

Especially with all the night noises of Louisiana around me.

“Fine,” he says, bending down, picking up Dolly, and shoving her at me. “You want to walk alone, go crazy. But at least carry your damn dog before she becomes gator food.”

I snatch Dolly to my chest. “Alligators? You didn’t think to mention this earlier?”

“I should have,” he says quietly. “I forget you’re not from around here.”

To his credit, he sounds genuinely regretful.

“What are you doing?” I ask, because he’s not looking at me and instead is surveying the ground at our feet.

He bends down, picks up a large stick, and holds it out to me. “Carry this. One comes at you, swat hard at its nose and run.”

I stare at the stick. Then at him. “A stick? Are you kidding me with this? What about a gun?”

“Illegal. More relevant, a bullet’s not much good against a creature whose brain is the size of a nut. All you’re gonna get is a pissed-off gator.”

“Right, because I’m sure he’ll just love the bonk on the nose,” I say as I tentatively accept the stick. “That won’t piss him off at all.”

He shrugs. “You’ll be fine. But Ms. Parton would be easy prey, so keep her close.”

I cradle my little dog closer even as she squirms, as though preferring to be held by Noah. Too bad, baby. Noah doesn’t want you. He doesn’t want either of us.

“You good?” he asks.

I force myself to nod as my fingers adjust on the stick.

I am an independent woman. I can walk five minutes alone.

“Noah,” I call after him as he starts to walk away.

He turns, hands shoved in his pockets as he watches and waits.

So he’s not going to make it easy for me. Fine.

“Will you walk me back?”

He doesn’t move.

“Please,” I add.

He still doesn’t move, and I’m just starting to contemplate poking him in the nose with the stick when he slowly walks back toward me.

Noah doesn’t say a word as he reaches out to pull the stick from my hand. Our fingers brush, just barely, and my breath hitches, because apparently I turn into a complete floozy just by sharing the same oxygen with him. Awesome.

r /> We’ve begun walking back toward the house when I belatedly remember his dog. “Wait! What about Ranger? Won’t the gators get him?”

“Nah, though he thinks they will, which is why he stays in the house at night.”

I sigh in relief. “That big dumb dog is growing on me.”

“That makes one of us then, huh?”

“Well, despite him having the bigger teeth, I’m pretty sure you have the bigger bite.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, princess?”