Page 51 of Torin

I settle back against the seat, letting the air blow through my damp hair.

By the time we reach the lodge, my shorts are sticking unpleasantly to the backs of my legs, and I’m regretting pulling them on over a wet swimsuit.

Torin pulls up beside the house and kills the engine.

“You know, this place is kind of cozy for a bear lodge,” I say as we get out.

He grins. “Alexandria can take some of the credit. Before she moved in, it was a losing battle with the other two.”

“Really?” I say, thinking of Orson in the loincloth.

“Yup. The place had been abandoned when we found it. There was no electricity, no hot water.”

I blink. “And how long did you live like that?”

“Couple years.”

“Two years without hot water?” I stare at him, but he looks genuinely unconcerned. “Why didn’t you get it fixed?”

Torin shrugs. “Had other things to worry about.”

“Such as?”

“Surviving.”

He says it lightly, but something in his face makes me look at him again.

There’s that long story.

I could ask. I want to. But Torin didn’t push me this morning when I told him my own life was complicated, and suddenly doing it to him feels wrong.

So, I leave it alone.

“Okay,” I say. “So, I guess hot showers are pretty special around here.”

His grin comes back. “You haven’t seen the best part yet.”

Instead of heading inside, he leads me around the side of the lodge.

Out back, a broad stone terrace runs almost the length of the house. Deep couches and armchairs are grouped around a circular fire pit. At the far end, a long wooden table sits beneath a timber pergola strung with lights.

I turn slowly, taking it all in. “Alexandria again?”

Torin looks offended. “Nope. This was all me.”

I smile and run my hand over the back of one of the deep cushioned chairs. There’s something kind of endearing about seeing this side of Torin. The huge bear who lived without hot water for two years clearly has a soft spot for comfort.

“I may have underestimated you.”

“Keep doing that. I’m enjoying proving you wrong.”

I’m about to sit when I remember my soaked shorts.

“Actually, I might need to change first.”

Torin glances down at them. “You want a shower?”

“God, yes.”