"I'm not a dog!" I yell back. When we were kids the boys always thought they could tell me what to do. I din’t accept it as a kid and I sure as hell won’t be told what to do now. But he can't hear me. He waits while I make my way closer to him. He shakes his head, but takes my hand.
"There's my bag." I point over to the spot where the roof gave way.
"Stay right here." We are both soaked through. I give a little nod, with no intention of following his orders. But I watch as he picks his way towards my stuff. Maybe this was crazy. My camera and things can be replaced. I shouldn't have made such a big deal about it. I will feel really bad if Kane gets hurt.
With that thought, I move towards him. Careful on the slippery tin of the roof. I just have a feeling that if I am with Kane then we will both be okay.
He turns again. "Sadie!"
He sounds really angry. I try to give him my best smile as I take another step.
Creak. Crash.
The tin breaks under us and for the second time today I'm falling. Landing with a loud ooffh as I hit the hay bales. A second ooffh as Kane lands on top of me.
It's not far. We've landed in the hay loft. And this time it seems to be holding. It takes a second to realise that Kane and I are clinging onto each other. Our clothes soaked through. Heaving chests. His body warm. And still that spicy scent. Damn, he smells so good. His weight on me feels pretty nice too.
Our eyes meet. His stormy, angry and oh so serious. His gaze drops to my lips. Time stops. Is he thinking about kissing me? His body on mine. Our faces close. Mouths close. It would be so easy for him to drop his mouth to mine. Good God, the times I imagined Kane kissing me. The hours spent dreaming about it. He looks like he is thinking about it. Wanting it. And damn, I want it too.
And that feeling in my chest. Now I’m in all sorts of a different kind of trouble.
Chapter 4
Sadie
Kane gets to his feet. Reaching down a hand to help me up, but he won't look at me. I set about brushing the hay off my clothes and catch him watching. I'm reminded of the crush I had on him when we were teens. He is two years older than me. My brother is four years older than me, the same age as Kane's brothers. I think about asking after his family, but I don't want to mention them. I like that it is just he and I.
Wouldn't it be something if Kane think's I'm attractive now that I've grown up. He would be in the minority. Not that I'm horrific looking, but I'm a wildlife photographer. I spend my day literally lying around in the dirt, waiting for that perfect shot. The animals don't care that I don't wear make up or that my hair and clothes are a mess, and so neither do I. And I'd rather enjoy my food than work out what's good and what's bad. And so I'm kind of curvy. It's nice to had the extra padding on my ass when I'm sitting in a hide or driving long distances.
I check my camera equipment.
"Everything okay?"
It seems like a loaded question. If everything was okay I would have gotten the shot of the owl I was looking for and I would now be heading back down the mountain to Starfall Valley. My folks have moved away but the town still feels like home, full of childhood memories. There would be a warmbed and a hot meal at the hotel. Instead, I'm here in a barn, having just narrowly escaped a fate worse than death. I've fallen through a roof twice. It's cold. It's raining. And I'm hungry. I look back over to Kane. Maybe it's not all bad. I am here with my teenage crush, my childhood friend, all grown up and standing here looking sexy as hell.
"You live here?" I ask.
"Not in the barn." He answers with the first hint of a smile. "Though the cabin is not that much better."
We make our way over to a small log cabin. My own apartment is tiny. I don't mind because I move around all the time. More and more lately I have been wanting to buy a house and settle down somewhere, tired of always living out of a suitcase. But I just don't know where I want to settle.
A tiny apartment is one thing. But this cabin is falling apart. Holes in the roof. Floorboards missing.
Turning to Kane, I ask again. "You live here?"
He shrugs. "It's just a place to crash. I move around a bit."
I move around too, but I like to be warm at night. It hurts me that this guy who had so much potential has ended up here.
"What happened to you? The Kane I knew used to build things. He used to talk about fixing up a house one day. This.... this can't be good for you."
"Well, best you get used to it. Thanks to your timely appearance in front of one of the area's worst gangs, you're stuck here."
I let out a snort. It's been a long time since I let anyone tell me where I could or could not go. "My truck's out back."
"No, Sadie, I'm serious. We've got a real problem here. I can't let you leave. There is only one road back to town, Malcolm could be waiting for you. The guy is nuts. There is no telling what he might do."
I can't help the shiver that runs over me. I certainly don't want to meet Scar Face on some dark road at night. Plus, the roads around here aren't great in the dark and the rain.
