Page 17 of Challenged By the Mountain Man

"Sorry," she says. "That was invasive."

"It's fine."

"It's not. I shouldn't have—"

"Hannah." I stop walking and turn to look at her. "It's fine. Yeah, it's been eight years. Yeah, I'm alone. That's how I want it."

She meets my eyes, and there's something knowing in her expression that makes me uncomfortable. Like she can see past the words to the things I'm not saying.

"Okay," she finally says.

When we reach her cabin, I wheel the barrow right up to the porch and start unloading. Hannah moves to help, but I shake my head.

"I've got it."

"I can carry wood."

"I know you can. But I'm already doing it, so just let me."

She huffs out a breath but doesn't argue, just leans against the porch railing and watches. Bear flops down at her feet, and she reaches down to scratch his head. He groans in contentment, tail thumping against the worn boards.

I stack the wood neatly against the side of the cabin, under the overhang where it'll stay dry. Enough for several days, maybe a week if she's careful. When I'm done, I straighten up and wipe my hands on my jeans.

"You know how to build a proper fire?" I ask.

She hesitates. "I've been managing."

"That's not an answer."

"I put wood in the stove and light it. It burns."

"Does it burn hot? Does it last?"

"It... burns."

I sigh and head for the door. "Come on."

"What?"

"I'm going to show you how to do it right. Otherwise, you're just wasting wood."

She follows me inside, and I'm slammed immediately by how cold it is in here. The fire in the wood stove is barely more than embers, giving off almost no heat. The cabin smells like dust, smoke and that same wild, musty smell from yesterday, though it's better than it was. She's been cleaning.

I crouch down in front of the stove and open the door. The fire bed is a mess—half-burned logs piled haphazardly, no real structure to it, smothering itself.

"This is why you're freezing," I say.

"I followed the instructions."

"What instructions?"

"I Googled it."

I glance back at her. "You Googled how to build a fire."

"Yes."

"And this is what Google told you to do?"