Taming His Montana Heart(55)

“I don’t know about living here year around,” he said. “It can be tricky getting in and out this time of the year. Besides, I’d probably get cabin fever.”

She pointed at a shelf filled with jigsaw puzzles and books. “There’s something to occupy you when you aren’t outside splitting wood.”

Or making love? “Me? Don’t forget this equality thing. If I’m splitting wood, I expect you to be shoveling snow.”

“I don’t know—Shaw, do you foresee living above the resort indefinitely?”

“What? No, I don’t.”

“Then where—”

“I’ve been so busy I haven’t given that a lot of thought,” he admitted. “But I need to. The apartment is far from ideal. For one thing, I’m too accessible. I’m only a staircase away from the restaurant.”

“I wouldn’t like that.”

“I don’t.”

She studied her nails. “There’s a lot I don’t know about you.”

Instead of responding, he took off his bulky coat. She acknowledged the Glock strapped under his arm with a frown. He unfastened it and placed it near the coat.

“I’m sorry if you feel you don’t know much about me,” he said.

“Don’t be. I just—what kind of place did you have before you came to Lake Serene?”

She had every right to ask. She just had no idea how complex everything was. How reluctant he was to have this conversation now. “I was leasing a two bedroom, two bath house. I’d chosen it because had a fenced yard since I had a dog.”

“Oh. What kind?”

Just say it. It’s no big deal. “Pit bull mix.”

She frowned. “Was that at all risky? Their reputation—”

“Isn’t always the truth. He’d been left in an abandoned house. One look at those confused eyes and I knew he needed me.”

“What a lovely thing to say. How did you know he was there?”

Questions upon questions, each one taking them closer to a place he didn’t want to go. At the same time, a woman willing to spend the night with him deserved more than he’d given her.

Much more.

“Haley, I used to be a cop. Neighbors called to report a barking dog. He—”

“You were a cop?”

“Yes.” Keep going. “It had long been my dream to—when I resigned from the force and was no longer getting a paycheck, I had to move to a small apartment. I couldn’t have Rascal there. Fortunately, Boone agreed to take him. I’d love to have Rascal here. Maybe…”

“You resigned?”

“I had no choice.”

She didn’t say anything, but judging by her expression, she was hoping he’d be more forthcoming, just she’d been. She had a right to honesty and he’d give it to her, but not now. Not with darkness outside and his body hungry for hers.

Not with the past’s emotions still gripping him.

*

She didn’t understand Shaw. Maybe she never would.

Despite her reservations about this man who kept much of himself private, including letting her know earlier why he considered a being armed a part of who he was or had been, she didn’t regret that they’d be spending the night together. He had to know she wanted to hear about his former career, including maybe most of all why he’d left it, but he obviously wasn’t ready to do so. She couldn’t insist he open up.

No, it was more complex than that, for both of them.

He’d started the well pump and turned on the hot water heater while she’d selected some CDs and loaded them into the stereo. As easy-listening music filled the room, she used a cast iron skillet to cook the hamburgers on the wood stove while he cut up tomatoes, separated lettuce leaves, and added condiments to the hamburger buns. They were domestic and more. Letting music fill the silent spaces.

Sitting side by side near the dining area window, they studied the night as they ate. Now that she knew he’d once been a police officer, his behavior in the restaurant made sense. He hadn’t been nosy, he’d been cautious. Alert.

Well, he didn’t have to concern himself with criminals or anyone else here. Knowing they might have this side of the lake to themselves made her feel, not isolated but special. Blessed. Hopefully he felt the same way, but she couldn’t be sure.

At the moment he was washing the few dishes they’d dirtied while she pretended to be interested in what filled the book shelves. Out of the corner of her eye she studied a man who was comfortable in a kitchen, a man who didn’t think twice about adopting a homeless pit bull.

A cop. Past tense.

To her way of thinking, he was exactly what a police officer needed to be. Not only was he over six feet tall and well-muscled, he carried himself with confidence. He dealt with all kinds of people, made decisions, and led by example. He made it clear what was expected of the employees, the same work ethic that defined him. He resolved disagreements and kept his cool. Also, he was comfortable with weapons.

She pulled out a book filled with photographs of the Rocky Mountains and thumbed through the pages, but even they didn’t hold her attention. Later, maybe, she’d show it to Shaw. Later, maybe, she’d ask if he’d given thought to buying one of the private cabins and turning it into his permanent Lake Serene home.