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“Joel!” Maisy shouted, and he barely had time to drop the wood before they both launched themselves into his arms and held on tight.
Joel’s rich, timber laugh rose above a chilly breeze, happiness and amusement filling his eyes as he held each of her girls in each arm. “You both act as if I haven’t seen you in ages. I saw you only two days ago and then briefly at the wedding today.”
“But we’ve been so lonely!” Maisy whined. “Mama won’t let us see Uncle Calle and Skaja.”
“Mais,” Nyana warned, but they ignored her.
Grinning, Joel smoothed Eva’s errant blonde locks out of her eyes. Nyana’s heart pricked with surprise at his tender, kind touch. But the surprise quickly transitioned into grief at how her children had been so mistreated by Liam, and she forced herself to look away. All she had wanted for her girls was to know what it was like to have a kind father. Now they would never know.
“You want to play with Calle more than me?” Joel teased. “But I thought you liked my music.”
“I do! I do! Play a song. About the horses.”
Joel glanced up at the skies before his smile fell into a frown. “Another day. I don’t want you to freeze out here.”
Maisy jumped down and landed with an ungraceful thump on the porch before she grabbed his hand. “Come inside and play. It’s warmer in there.”
Nyana tensed, her entire body turning rigid at the suggestion. The reaction was involuntary. The thought of being in closed quarters with any man, even Joel, created a pit of discomfort in her stomach.
However, Joel simply shook his head and set Eva down. “I can’t play indoors. The horses need somewhere to run.” He winked at them and then smiled at Nyana. Gratitude surged through her that he understood her reservations without needing to be told. “Nana sent me a new pie recipe in the post. If I made a botched attempt, may I come by and share it on the porch tomorrow?”
The girls jumped excitedly while Maisy chanted, “Pie, pie, pie!”
“It will likely snow tomorrow,” she reminded him.
“And?” He began gathering the wood he had dropped minutes earlier. “I can’t eat a whole pie by myself.”
She gave him a pointed look, remembering when Nana had baked three dozen pies for the summer solstice festival eight years ago. He’d eaten three of them within an hour, much to Nana’s berating. “Yes, you can.”
“Not anymore.” He flashed her a charming grin, but she crossed her arms, immune to it. However, she couldn’t deny he’d perfected the smile in the past six years. Just one flash of those white teeth, and he could probably make almost any woman’s knees go weak.
Her own leg ached at the reminder, and she grabbed her cane from where it rested against the house, allowing it to support her weight. Joel’s jaw clenched when he laid eyes on the cane, but he quickly smiled again as if it hadn’t happened.
“Tomorrow then?”
For several moments, she paused to consider his request. It was harmless. Enough. Besides, the girls enjoyed his company.
At last, she nodded. “Tomorrow.”
Without another word, she ushered her daughters inside, locked the door, and slid two other bolts into place. After she lit a lantern, she began the arduous process of putting her children to bed. She used to sing to them.
She rubbed the physical ache settled just over her heart as she finished tucking them into bed. She used to do a lot of things. Until her only choice was to survive.
Nyana lifted the drapes with one hand to peer out the window. The black silhouette of the surrounding trees lay against a blue and yellow backdrop of twilight. Leaves shivered from the branches and drifted toward the ground on the faint breeze. And beside the chopping block…
Joel continued chopping wood with smooth swings of the ax. His hair now lay at the base of his neck, pulled back with a tie. An immense look of concentration rested on his brows as if plenty occupied his mind.
Not able to help herself, she watched as the muscles in his forearms strained with each swing. The confident stance of his feet. His slim yet muscled build. She puzzled over the fact that he wasn’t married. Or courting anyone as far as she knew. He was handsome and kind. Yet, he should be chopping wood for his future family rather than idling here.
She frowned at the thought. Had Calle put him up to this? Was Joel only here as some sort of spy?
The moment he glanced her way, she dropped the drapes, shaking her head and letting out a sigh. Her paranoia was pushing people away. Well-meaning people.
She kissed each of her daughters’ heads, softly closed the door on her way out, and blew out the lantern, bathing the cottage in darkness.
Chapter 2
Nyana’s mouth fell open as if ice rushed over her tongue, freezing it into place. Her eyes burned. Her throat screamed for air. Her bad leg wobbled, and she might have crumpled if it hadn’t been for her cane.
