Her workroom. Gosh, she’d missed it. The fine intricate tools, the rare gems she had stashed away with visions sketched in black and white of her ideas, her projects for the future pinned to large corkboards stacked against the wall. Now she wondered if she’d ever have the chance to make them. The accident had robbed her of touch in several fingers, nerves damaged beyond repair, or so the surgeons said. Who knew if she would ever get to do the fine metalwork she was renowned for?
The jewelry table had been set up near the window, but her tools and supplies were still sitting in boxes waiting for her to unpack. When she opened the boxes, she was going to be emotional. It was to be expected.
A sharp yap from Tiny as her claws hit the wooden floors followed by a knock at the door.
Get yourself together Dakota. Can’t go greeting anyone looking this fragile. She wiped her eyes, patted her hair and hurried out. Adam stood at the door, a smile on his face and a gift basket in his arms.
“Sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking when you left.” He held out the basket. “This is a welcome gift for you. Dad gives them to anyone he deals with and it wasn’t until you left that I remembered I hadn’t given you one. Sorry.” He gave her a lopsided grin that she found charming and just a little bit too appealing. How on earth could she be interested in someone when the mandatory time wasn’t up? She’d thought Roger scarred her for life. It would seem she was wrong.
“That’s really sweet of you.” She took the basket, noticed the bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. “Would you like to share a glass with me? No problem if you’re busy but it seems you’re being so friendly the least I could do is return the favor.” Dakota walked over to the coffee table and put the basket down.
“Haven’t I caught you in the middle of something?” Adam followed her in, shut the door behind him. “I’d hate to stop your unpacking or settling in.”
“No, not at all. I don’t have to hurry with anything. Seriously not planning on doing anything major tonight. Tomorrow will be soon enough.” She frowned as she looked at the boxes stacked in the kitchen.
“If you’re sure it’s not imposing I’d love to have a drink. But only one though, I have to call in on my mom before I go home. She gets a bit nervous staying on her own. Won’t hear of me staying with her while Dad’s in the hospital so the least I can do is check on her as I pass their place.”
“You are a caring son.” She took the bottle of wine and glasses, walked into the kitchen to open it.
“Did you want me to light the fire for you? I see it’s all ready to go so it won’t take me a minute and it’s starting to get rather cold at night.”
“Please. I guess Mari must have brought all the wood in for me and set it up. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She is such a great organizer.”
The sound of a match striking the box sounded before Adam spoke again. “I think that might have been Woodsie. He’s the local handyman and you’ll probably see him from time to time around the place. An older gentleman, big moustache and a deep voice. He does all the gardening so you don’t have to worry about any of that. If you run out of firewood, give him a shout too, it’s all part of your rental package. He lives two houses down.”
“That’s great, thanks.” She walked back into the room and handed Adam a glass of wine, took a sip of her own and sighed in pleasure. “This is very nice.”
“We aim to please, or at least my dad does. The real estate business is his baby.”
“Have a seat, Adam. Tell me about the town, help me get my bearings.”
He sat on the lounge and Tiny jumped up beside him, leaning into his side. He put his hand around her which gained him a tick of gratitude from Dakota. “Let’s see. I’ve been away living in Seattle for the last eight years but since I’ve been home, I haven’t noticed much change to be honest. It’s a nice quiet little town. Lovely people and the pace is quite slow which suits most of us. Good way to balance out my crazy lifestyle.” He laughed and Dakota felt the pull of attraction again. How ridiculous that this should be happening to her now. Trusting another man was going to be hard after Roger and his need for the highlife and her money but it seemed her hormones had other ideas.
“Crazy? In what way?” She kept her voice casual.
“I play soccer for the Seattle Sounders. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining at all. It’s been an exciting ride and I love the sport. But coming back to Cherry Lake is like a breath of fresh air. I find it a good way to recharge the batteries for the next season and having family here is the best excuse to come home even if this trip back was unexpected.”
“Sounds wonderful. I suppose you’d have to keep yourself pretty fit for that, even out of season?”
“Most definitely. I run every morning, always have. Did you see the mountains as you came into town?”
She nodded.
“Those are the Mission Ranges. My place sits snug up to the base of the range. Grandparents built the house when they were newly married and luckily they left it to me. It was my favorite place to go when I was a little kid. Plenty of parkland and ranches around and first thing in the morning I pretty much have the place to myself except for the animals.” He sipped his wine and rubbed his fingers over Tiny’s ears.
