“Did she threaten you?”
He shook his head again. “She… She kissed me and I…” He squeezed his eyes closed, and his hands clenched around the edge of the mattress.
“Go on,” she said, her voice raspy. “Nothing bad will happen to you.”
He glanced at her, nodded, then focused on the floor. “I told her no but she didn’t listen. I guess I…freaked out a little.” He closed his eyes again, shocked and embarrassed by how he had reacted to the situation.
Monica knelt on the floor at his feet, and he allowed her to take his hand gently in both of hers. She stared up into his face and spoke kindly but firmly. “It’s okay, Jake. If you told her no, she shouldn’t have pursued you. She should’ve listened. I’m glad you stood up for yourself.” She paused for a breath, clearly trying to think of the right words to console him. “I know life at Darla’s is far different than here, so I want to make sure you understand you did nothing wrong.”
His cool fingers still trembled slightly as he met her gaze, but he didn’t pull away. On the contrary, an abrupt desire for more contact flooded his senses; so much so, he almost got lost in the fiery deluge. Strange, considering his reaction to the other woman he just nearly attacked for wanting to touch him. He doused the arousal inside him, then swallowed and coughed to clear the lump in his throat.
“Thank you,” he murmured hoarsely. “That means a lot to me.”
“It won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of that.”
“I don’t want to make more trouble,” he replied, anxiety edging his voice, and his hand tightened around hers.
“You didn’t make any trouble. I don’t let my guards harass the men here. She knows better, and tomorrow morning I will remind her of that.”
She released him and got back to her feet; her hands trembled slightly, and he frowned at the sight.
“Will you be all right? Do you think you can sleep?”
He nodded.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Monica opened it and found Rosa, who had brought the cleaning supplies herself. She set down the bucket of water and handed the remaining items to Monica, then went to open the window.
“It reeks in here,” Rosa declared, throwing open the sash. “Did you break a lantern or something?”
“Or something,” Jake said quietly.
“We’ll clean this up and let you get some sleep,” Monica told him.
A little flustered, Jake rushed to his feet, insisting he should clean up his own mess, but Monica told him to relax and urged him to sit on the bed.
“We got this,” she said as she stepped on the towel she had dropped over the kerosene puddled on the hardwood floor. “All you need to worry about tonight is getting some rest.”
At length, she convinced him to sit down, but only after it became clear nothing was left for him to do. She and Rosa had swept up the last of the glass, gathered up the wet towels, and tossed everything into the hallway when he finally complied.
“Go to sleep, Jake,” Monica said and patted his arm consolingly. “If you need anything, anything at all, please wake Rosa or me. I mean that.”
Rosa nodded at him from the doorway.
He looked at Monica and saw the concern in her gaze. Insight filled her eyes as if she knew exactly what had happened and why, and her perception disturbed him. Her warm hand resting on his shoulder was more comforting than he wanted to admit, and that disturbed him too.
He suddenly wanted to be alone.
He nodded.
Monica smiled at him and patted his arm once more.
“Good night, Jake,” she said as she stepped through the doorway.
“Night.”
She smiled again and closed the door with a soft click.
Jake stared at the doorway for several seconds after she left, trying to rein in his galloping heart.
What the hell is wrong with me now?
He wanted to pretend he didn’t know. But he did.
He was attracted to Miss Avery.
He didn’t want to be, he just was.
Her kindness, more than her beauty, drew him. But her behavior also intrigued him, and he wondered if she was really the tenderhearted woman she appeared to be. She seemed to sense what he needed, and he felt the resonance of her deep within him. It’s what calmed the rage inside him earlier, before he lost complete control and did something stupid.
The unexpected impulse to take comfort in her gentle reassurances had been strong, and if he kept responding to her with the increasing intensity he felt tonight, he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge for long. Worse than that, her manner indicated she felt sorry for him and nothing more.
He shook his head. Damn it, you know better. You’re here to do a job, stay out of trouble, and maybe find a way to escape. Not be distracted by a pretty face.
But he already knew the admonishment came a little too late.
6
Jake and Shawn were busy supervising Trevor, Kara, and a few other kids working on the framing and stairs for the front deck on a bright summer morning. Shawn had given them the standard lecture about safety—reminding the helpers and the crew that someone with experience had died from an accident not too long ago—before allowing the children to participate. Despite the gloomy safety lecture, everyone except Jake seemed to be in a cheery mood. Shawn in particular was especially jovial and had been joking around with the kids and Jake all morning.
“Hey, John,” Shawn had called to one of the teens earlier. “Hand me the left-handed wrench, would you?”
Jake had grinned to himself. He’d been the brunt of that old joke years ago and been witness to it many other times since.
The young man dug through the tools and looked up confused.
“What’s wrong?” Shawn asked with a straight face.
“They all look the same,” John replied. “Which one is it?”
Shawn burst out laughing along with several other workers. The teen blushed, unsure what all the hilarity
