. . it's been so slow. So steady. He's . . . possessive of me, in a way.”

My fists clenched. “He's an asshole.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “That too.”

The situation was bleak and infuriating. No job. Just closed her business. No way to venture into the outside world until all of this was set aside. No wonder she came to Adventura. It was out of the way and she had some sort of trust in me. Even if I was likely her most frustrating client, at least she knew me enough to be fairly certain I wasn't a creep. The thought of her on her own, in an RV, sent a shudder through me.

Bad idea.

The silence rode for several minutes once she finished. She sipped the rest of the hot chocolate and didn't seem so bleary afterward. I lifted the fire poker and shoved a teetering log back. As always, I had ideas.

Lots of ideas.

But of all the ideas whirling in my head, filling me with that heady exhilaration that I hadn't felt in a while, was one that really made the most sense—even though it made absolutely no sense at all.

“Well,” I said with a steady breath out. “Sounds like you're here to stay.”

She recoiled. “Mark, did you just hear all that? What if Joshua comes after me? You could be in danger.”

“And since you're here to stay,” I continued as if she hadn't spoken, “I think it's also time that you realize something.”

Wary brown eyes studied me as she drawled, “Yes?”

No doubt she heard my tone. The cheshire cat tone. The tone that said oh yeah, I have ideas and you're about to get all of them. When I smiled, she grew more serious, which is just where I wanted her.

A little shock-and-awe never hurt anybody.

“I think you've got a bunch of time on your hands with nothing to do and the need for free rent. Not to mention someone that can kick Joshua's ass if he comes by. For the record, that’s definitely my job.”

My grin grew even as I felt a shot of trepidation. What was I thinking? I couldn't pitch this. She'd never go for it. I reached into my back pocket anyway and handed over the folded envelope I'd been carrying around for days, waiting for the right moment to give her the $500 rent back without seeming like a weirdo. There had always been a clear line between us. Client. Accountant.

This broke that in a big way.

And, frankly, I couldn't wait for that weirdness to dissolve. So I handed it over to her. The words barreled out of my mouth like they had their own power.

“We're both in a jam right now, and I may have already thought of my way out. Except I'm going to need some help. Lots of help. So you can stay here free, Stella. I'll keep you safe with a roof over your head, and you help me save Adventura.”

Her face dropped into shock when I gave the big finale.

“You save me, I save you?”

9 Stella

For a full fifteen seconds, I tried to comprehend such an offer.

You save me, I save you. 

Well, there was a line I hadn't heard before. Did I need saving? My first response was no, I got this. But that wasn't true either. The $20,000 in cash hidden in a small, plastic box I'd dug out of his kitchen and shoved underneath a loose floorboard seemed like a large amount of money, but that kind of cash disappeared quickly on the run. If I tried to buy anything with it—like a crappy RV—I would use a good chunk of it, and the problem of food and gas still existed.

Even that $500 he was trying to give back was precious.

So, yes. I needed help and free rent and big muscles. Desperately.

Did he need saving?

Yes. Desperately.

I licked my lips, locking him in an uneasy stare. “What does that mean, exactly?”

Amusement flickered through his bright eyes, like this sort of trespass into uncertain territory gave him great delight. Knowing Mark, it did delight him.

“I'm not propositioning you, geez. Don't look so scared. Stell, I'm about to lose Adventura. You know that as well as I do. But I may have thought of a way out. I'll just . . . need help getting there.” His gaze darted around. “Turns out I suck at housekeeping and details and we'll need all that and more.”

His casually spoken sentence nearly made me choke as I laughed, half in disbelief, half in confusion. But then I realized he was serious and I sobered quickly.

“What is your idea?”

Fire leaped into his eyes, mimicking a sudden smile. He jumped to his feet and started to pace as if his legs were somehow attached to his vocal cords.

“In order to save Adventura, I have to do more things with the real estate that I already have. Obviously, I have no money to invest in something else. Which means I need to do something to make money with Adventura through the winter. My HomeBnB's rent is pretty steady, as you know. It will pay for both our food and electricity. But to pay off the monthly mortgage, we need more money.”

“I know all this already.”

He flapped an impatient hand. “I know, but I have a process. Go with it.”

I pulled my legs out of a very cramped place where we'd been together and straightened them out. He didn't seem bothered by being able to pace only two steps at a time. He continued, his face a mask of concentration.

“Not many people would want to come to Adventura in the winter. Unless, like you, they had a reason. Someone . . .”

“Desperate?”

He stopped, thought it over, then shrugged. “Maybe?”

“You're going to put out an ad that says, running from a psycho boss? Stay with us!”

The daft man actually looked like he was considering it.

“Mark . . .” I drawled.

He shook his head, snapping out of it. “No, of course not that. But . . . maybe. I hate throwing away ideas. Anyway, what if

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