She shouldn’t be afraid of her feelings right now. She really shouldn’t even have any sort of feelings right now. Not for a guy like that, anyway.
She had enough trouble in her life without throwing a dude into the mix.
No thank you.
“So Caroline,” she said. “Tell me about your family. Do you have a lot of time to spend with your grandson? You said he’s a lumberjack?”
Luna looked down at her notebook and then back up at Caroline. To her surprise, the burly-looking man from the doorway had moved over and was now standing beside Caroline.
“Yes,” the man said. “I am.”
Chapter Two
“Y-Y-You are?”
The woman couldn’t have been older than 25
. Maybe she was 26, but he doubted it. Brody eyed the girl as she shoved her glasses up her nose. They just dropped right back down again, sliding down the bridge of her little button nose, and he fought back a smile.
Fuck, she was cute.
“Yeah,” he said. He tore his eyes away from the beauty and looked down at his grandmother.
“Brody?” Grandma said. “It’s not time for you to pick me up yet.”
“Change of plans,” he said. “There was a stay-at-home order issued. I’ve got to get you back to the house. No one is allowed to leave anymore except for essential items.” He felt a little bad telling his grandmother that this was going to be her last coffee shop visit for awhile. Grandma didn’t like staying in the house. For a woman who lived in the mountains, she spent a lot of her time back in town.
“Really?” Grandma asked. She looked worried, but not as worried as the girl across from Grandma did. A sort of nervous expression flittered across her face when he mentioned the stay-at-home order. She was a graduate student, Brody knew. Grandma had been very excited to be interviewed for the girl’s project, but Brody had been hesitant to let her go.
He hadn’t been very comfortable with the idea of a stranger waltzing into town and asking questions, especially of his grandmother. He might have been overly protective of her, sure, but someone had to be. He was the only family she had left. Brody’s parents had passed away in a car accident years ago. Grandma and Grandpa had raised him themselves, taking special care of him throughout the years.
Now, even though his grandmother lived on her own, Brody was still very careful about what she did. Call him overprotective or bossy: he didn’t care. He had to look out for her because Grandma was very precious to him.
This woman didn’t seem like she was the kind of person who would hurt a fly, though, and Brody was man enough to realize that he’d somehow been mistaken.
She wasn’t dangerous at all, and it was obvious that the woman and Grandma had been having a very nice chat together.
“A stay-at-home order?” The girl asked, looking up at him. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, dear,” Grandma said. “Right, Brody?” She looked up at her grandson with a look he knew all too well. Grandma wanted him to reassure the girl that everything was going to be okay.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that.
“Starting at midnight,” he said.
“What happens at midnight?”
“Everything closes except for grocery stores, gas stations, and the post office, just about.”
“Really?” She whispered, looking at him.
“Really.”
“I should probably go then,” she said, turning to Caroline.
Grandma frowned, wrinkling her nose.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to finish the interview.”