11

ADDIE

Frank had obviously enjoyedthe meal I’d made. His plate was scraped clean. The man had a well-stocked pantry, and I’d made the most of it. Beef stew, mashed potatoes, and cornbread, and I’d made a big batch to freeze some portions before we left in the morning.

I cleared away the plates. “I hope you like fruit crumble?”

Frank leaned back in his seat and rested a hand on his belly. His other hand drifted down Bess’s back. She never left his side. “Sure do. Love it, in fact.”

“Good, ’cause I made two. I’ll pop the other one in the freezer with the leftover stew.”

He grinned wider. “Appreciate that, Addie. So you have your own business in Rocktown?”

“Yep.” The thud of an ax came from outside, and I glanced out the window. I couldn’t see anything, though, because it was dark out, and Manic was behind the woodshed. He’d gone out there a short time ago to grab some firewood, but then the sound of him cutting it instead had reached us a short time later. “I have a cottage on Main Street. I had the front converted into a café and I live in the back.”

He sipped his beer. “That how you met Levi? Boy likes his food.”

I dished up the crumble. “He sure does,” I said and smiled. “But I actually met him through mutual friends.” I didn’t like deceiving him about mine and Manic’s relationship, but he’d mellowed a lot since we got here, since Manic spoke to him. The last thing I wanted to do was upset the man by letting it slip that we were lying to him.

“He chose well,” Frank said and winked. “Never had a stew like that in all my years.”

I laughed. “They do say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?”

He chuckled. “That they do. So did your mama teach you to cook like that, darlin’?”

My stomach dropped. I knew this was coming; asking about someone’s family was normal. Frank had no idea what a trigger it was for me. “Yeah, she did,” I said and left it at that, trying not to encourage more questions.

“Do your folks live in Rocktown as well?”

I swallowed and gripped the edge of the counter. Being around Manic’s family had been hard enough. Talking about mine could push me into another panic attack. “They’re both dead, actually.” Thankfully, when you told someone your parents were dead, that usually cut off any more questions.

He sobered. “I’m sorry to hear that, Addie.”

“Thanks. It was a long time ago.” I busied myself wiping the counter, but I could feel Frank watching me, seeing more than I wanted him to. Like Manic seemed to.

“It’s hard growing up without one parent, let alone two. Manic was seventeen when his mom left, but I know he missed her being here. Struggled without her.” He glanced out the window and back. “He’s like me in a lot of ways, but there’s also a lot of his mama…more than I realized. She has that same restless soul.” His lips curled and he shook his head. “I guess that’s why he likes riding around all over the place on that bike of his.”

I was more than grateful for the change of subject. “He definitely complains when it’s time to put it away for the winter. He’s a man who likes his freedom.” I handed Frank his crumble as a weird feeling swirled in my belly. “But he talks about these mountains all the time. He misses it here, and you, a lot.”

Frank grinned, then stood. “He’s lucky to have you, darlin’, but I’m sure he knows that,” he said instead of commenting on what I’d just said. “I’m gonna go eat this in my workshop. Got a bit to do still. Call that boy in, he loves dessert. He’s been out there long enough. He doesn’t need to cut all that firewood for me, I’m not too old for that yet.” Then he winked and he and Bess left.

I finished tidying, pulled on one of Frank’s coats hanging by the door, and headed out. Light spilled from the workshop, lighting the way. The shed they used to store firewood was closer to the house. I rounded it and froze.

Despite the cold, Manic was shirtless, glistening with sweat, abs tight, his inked pecs and biceps flexing and jumping as he brought the ax down hard, splitting a massive round of wood. He picked up one of the halves that hit the ground, lifted it back onto the chopping block, and did it again, easily hacking it in two.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Jesus. He could be Mr. Autumn for some sexy mountain man calendar.

He glanced over then, spotting me, and lowered the ax. His chest heaved from the exertion. “Didn’t see you there.”

“Bullshit,” I said and smirked and hoped I didn’t sound as breathless as I felt. “You were totally putting on a show for me. This is like one of those rom-coms, where the heroine moves into her new house, then comes over to tell her grumpy neighbor to stop making so much noise late at night and finds him like…” I motioned to him. “That, all sweat and ripped and sexy as hell.”

His lips twitched. “Yeah?”

“Yep.”

“Then what happens?”

My heart started to beat faster. “He refuses to stop, so she storms over and tries to take his ax from him.”

Tags: Sherilee Gray Romance
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