Page 7 of Hearts at War

You fucker. “I’m not afraid of—”

“Yes, Heather,” Gavin cut in. He shot the man next to him a sharp look before facing me again. “The utilities are on. Once winter comes, they shut off the lines to the vacant cabins, but it’s not that cold yet.”

Small mercy.

“It’s better than nothing,” Eric said.

“Um, excuse me?” Jerry stepped forward. “What about me?” He pointed up at the apartment I was supposed to be moving into. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Nothing.” I snorted. “Nothing at all, Jerry. Your apartment was broken into. I wasn’t in possession of the key or locking it.”

Locks. I furrowed my brow and glanced at Eric, then Gavin again. “Are those cabins secure?”

There was no way in hell I could sleep in one of those hovels without a legitimate lock and key.

Oh, screw this. There’s no way those things can be safe.

“Sure they do,” Gavin said.

“I’m not sure...” I rubbed a hand over my face, feeling a bone-deep fatigue that I debated sleeping in my car. I could attest to the locks on those doors. “Maybe I can sleep on it and look for something tomorrow morning.”

“Well...” Jerry said, changing from his angry tone to a wheedling, smarmy one as he smiled at me. “I got a little house on the outskirts. It’ll cost you triple the rent I was going to charge you for this apartment.”

I scowled at him. “Oh, just...shut up.”

He rolled his eyes.

“There aren’t really many places for rent, though,” Eric said. The apology in his voice cut me. He didn’t have to find me a place to stay, and I respected that he was sort of trying to help.

“I’ll...” I sighed, trying to change my vision of a barebones dump to something clean but safe. My creativity was out of juice though.

“I know it’s probably not what you’re used to,” Eric said, “but the least you could do is check it out. Todd won’t mind letting you stay at one of the ranch cabins.”

“Oh, I know it wouldn’t be what I’m used to,” I replied, surprised for a moment that Todd was still the supervising ranch hand at Grand River. He had to be over eighty by now.

“Let me guess.” The bearded man tilted his head to the side, eyeing me up and down again. “You’re too good for handling a little bit of country?”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” I expected everyone in Burton to judge me. They always had, associating me as a nobody and waste of space just because my parents were. But this man, this stranger, had no damn right.

“Roarke,” Gavin warned, again putting his hand up. “Not now.”

I stalked closer, getting in Roarke’s face. Pushing past Gavin’s hand, I got right up and personal, glowering back at the taller man. This close, he seemed too damn big. Too tall. Just how freaking wide could a man’s shoulders reach? Scents of beer and clean soap mixed in a tempting fragrance, but I’d be damned if I let the lure of his body heat get to me. It wasn’t that damn cold out here yet.

“Not ever.” I stuck my finger at him, wishing I could jab it at his chest and propel him back from me. “You don’t ever get to assume you know me to judge me.”

Looking down his nose at me, he didn’t budge. No flinch. No glare. He didn’t react in any other way than to stand there like an unpassable wall, studying me too damn closely for comfort.

“I came from this bit of country. Of course, I can handle it.”

Two years ago, I didn’t want to handle it. I had zero desire to linger and tolerate this small town for a second longer than what was necessary.

Now, I had to. I had to return, but that didn’t mean I had to put up with crap from hot strangers like this—

No. What?

I grimaced, hating that I could acknowledge how hot this man was, pulling me in to want to make him react and snap.

“Fine.” I shook my head, both to clear my thoughts and to jerk out of this weird draw to Roarke. “I’ll...” I sighed as I looked at Eric, who winced.