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WHEN IT STARTED GETTING dark, Shane forced her back to the truck. She sup
posed that was only fair. After all, the poor guy had just stood around for three hours while she filled her phone with pictures and tentatively moved a few logs at the edges of the cabin. She’d been rewarded with the sight of a metal tool, maybe a log splitter, she wasn’t sure. But it looked similar to one that she’d found in Providence.
Log cabins weren’t her specialty, but she’d done some research about one for her last position. A tiny little cabin on the Texas plains that a local municipality had wanted help documenting. This one was a different style and had been exposed to completely different weather conditions, but she was almost sure it was older, which would make it pre-1860. Very early for Wyoming.
A tiny hum of excitement leaked from her throat. To cover it up, Merry coughed into her hand as Shane opened the truck door for her. “I’m almost sure there were mentions of a cabin somewhere in the contemporary writings from Providence. Maybe in one of the diaries.” She tapped a knuckle against her chin. “Or maybe a diary from a settler in Jackson. I’m going to have to read through them all. But I need to go through and reference them, anyway.”
Shane made a sound of feigned interest.
When he got into the truck, Merry turned to him and a big grin spread over her face. “Did I already say thank you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” she said again, just for the hell of it. “It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever given me.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re allowed to take it home.”
“We’ll see. Maybe one wagonload at a time. Think anyone will notice?”
“Probably not. With the road that way, we might be the first people who’ve seen it in years.”
She leaned across to kiss his cheek. “Thank you. But I feel bad. I didn’t get you anything.”
“Aw, shucks,” he drawled. “You gave me a hell of a surprise last night.”
Collapsing into giggles, she slapped his arm hard. “Shut up.”
“But if you feel bad, you can make it up to me. I’ve got a couple of ideas.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe we could act out one of my fantasies about you this time.”
Embarrassed as she was, Merry couldn’t help but perk up at that. “Did you fantasize about me?”
“Yes. Unless you find that offensive. In which case, of course not.”
“I’m serious!”
“I may have jerked off to you one morning.”
She felt ridiculously pleased. For all she knew, men jerked off at least once to every woman they met. But she still grinned at the thought. After all, she knew how lovely he looked doing it now. “What did you think about?”
“Uh.”
Merry cocked her head. Then she sat back and looked at him. “Shane Harcourt, are you blushing?”
“No.”
“You are! What did you think about? Something naughty? Look how pink you are. Come on. Spill it.”
“I, um, pictured you on your knees. And your mouth…”
It may have been mean to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. “Oh, God,” she yelped as she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Yeah? Are you sorry? Or do you want me to do that?”
