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“Is this one yours, or—”
“They’re both mine. Just take the damn thing and go,” he growled.
She backed out the door. “It’s not my fault you’re tired. You don’t have to act like such a jerk.”
“You’ve got about three seconds.”
“Or what?” she challenged.
“Or I’m going to kiss you, and we both know neither one of us is going to want to stop there.”
Chapter 24
Britt woke up to the smell of coffee and the clatter of dishes. She grimaced when one peek confirmed it was still dark outside. Sleep had been a long time coming with her head resting on a pillow that smelled like Joel fresh out of the shower and his words echoing in her head.
She’d been so hot and bothered, the temptation to share the bed in the other room had been nearly impossible to resist.
“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.”
She propped herself up on one elbow to see him smiling from where he stood by the table.
“Breakfast is ready. You’ve got ten minutes, so move your butt.”
She flopped back onto the pillow with a groan. For a man who’d gotten maybe six hours of sleep after being awake for forty-eight, he was way too chipper. And bossy. She flipped aside the blanket and headed over to the table while trying to finger-comb knots out of her ratted ponytail.
Joel was already eating his breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham, and two slices of whole wheat toast. Her plate was identical, but instead of coffee, he’d poured her a glass of orange juice. Her stomach growled, reminding her she’d skipped dinner last night. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder to deal with later and sat down to eat.
“You up for a second day of hiking?” he asked after a minute.
“Don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”
He rested his fork at the edge of his plate and leaned back in his chair to study her. She squirmed at the thought of what she must look like and took another bite.
“That’s the thing I don’t get. You do have a choice. I didn’t make you stay here last night. Not really.”
She kept her eyes on her plate and chewed a mouthful of eggs.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
The eggs stuck in her throat, making her take a swig of orange juice. “What this guy does makes me sick to my stomach. Hunting for meat to feed a family is one thing, but killing like he does is wrong. If I stumbled across something up there, I want to help you find it sooner rather than later so you can stop him from killing any more animals.”
“I do appreciate that.” He stood to carry his dish into the kitchen, then returned to lean a shoulder against the doorjamb between the two rooms. “Investigations like this one are my least favorite.”
“Have you had many of them?”
“This is the seventh one I’ve worked, but even one is too many.”
She agreed, and liked the fact he wasn’t too macho to admit it. She, on the other hand, was too far out of her comfort zone to admit the second reason she’d stayed.
One more bite and she finished off
her breakfast with the last swallow of OJ. Joel came forward to take her plate as she pushed her chair back to stand. “I’ll pack us a lunch if you want to use the bathroom. I left a toothbrush and wash cloth for you on the counter.”
“Thanks.”
She figured she had about three minutes left of the ten he’d allotted her, but took fifteen to brush her teeth, wash up, and wrestle her hair into submission with a comb of his from the drawer. Once the tangles were out, she pulled the curls over one shoulder and twisted them into a simple braid. A fresh change of clothes would be nice, but she didn’t want to risk his amicable mood disappearing if she requested to head the opposite direction of the park to stop at Gina’s apartment.
When she returned to the living room, Joel straightened from where he leaned against the wall by the door, and slung a full backpack over one shoulder. “Ready to go?”
