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“It must be hard for him to go from focusing on an important purpose to having a lot of leisure time.”

He gave her a long, unreadable look though she wasn’t sure quite what she had said.

“He does like to be useful. It’s hard to keep him stimulated when he can’t do more than walk a few blocks at a time right now and even that is pushing it for him.”

She wanted to kneel down again and hug the dog to her. Poor thing. She was a sucker for any wounded animal.

Ludwig, her male ginger cat, walked up to investigate the newcomer in their space. She watched warily but, just as Wes had assured her, the dog sniffed the cat and then plopped down on the floor as Elise—short for Fur Elise—slid around the corner to see what was going on.

“See? He’s a pushover,” Wes said.

She smiled as she watched the animals interact.

“Where’s the bed?” Wes asked after a moment.

She reluctantly lifted her attention to his. “This way.”

Aware of him with every passing step, she led the way down the hall to the bedrooms. “I’ve been using the extra guest room as a home office. I’ve already moved almost everything into my own bedroom but I actually could use help moving the desk, since you’re here. It’s not particularly heavy but it’s too bulky for one person alone.”

“Let’s take a look,” Wes replied, following her in.

“This shouldn’t be too bad,” he said. “Just take that side. I’ll go backward.”

They positioned themselves on either side of the desk. “On three,” Wes said. “One, two, three—”

As they lifted, Hannah thought she saw a flicker of discomfort cross Wes’s face. It was there and gone so quickly, she told herself she was imagining things as they maneuvered the desk out and down the hall.

“This is my bedroom,” she said, opening the door at the end of the hall that led to the largest bedroom and the en suite bathroom.

“Where are we going with it?” he asked.

“In that space there next to the closet,” she said. They maneuvered it into place and then he stood back and looked around the space.

Usually she loved her bedroom, with its large queen bed, the fireplace and view of the mountains. Having this man—with his broad shoulders and his tough strength and his rangy body she had once known intimately—in her private haven suddenly felt entirely too personal.

“Thanks,” she said, turning and hurrying out of the room. To her relief, he followed after a brief pause.

“Now for the fun part,” she said. “Assembling the new bed.”

“If this is your idea of fun, you definitely need a few more hobbies.”

Despite herself, Hannah laughed. “You saw the mess in my bedroom, with all the instruments and boxes of sheet music I moved out of this room. I believe I don’t have the room in my house for more hobbies.”

His mouth again twitched as if he wanted to smile but his features quickly grew serious again. “Should we get to it?”

“Right.”

She pulled out the boxes with the bed frame and they set to work, spreading out pieces and poring over instructions. Wes took charge of the screwdriver while Hannah sorted the various screws and bolts. She found herself hyperaware of his presence, her skin tingling whenever their hands accidentally brushed.

Finally, somehow, they were nearly done

“Could you hold this piece steady while I tighten the last bolt?” he said.

She did as he asked and Wes twisted his body awkwardly to reach across the frame. Suddenly, he winced, a flash of pain crossing his features that he couldn’t quite hide.

“Are you okay?” Hannah asked, immediately concerned. She studied his face intently, noticing a tightness around his mouth that hadn’t been there before.

He looked down with a grimace and for the first time, she saw spots of red on the tan of his T-shirt.