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She had lost her childhood to their depravity, her foster mother, who had tried to be a buffer between them, her relationship with her foster brother, Sam. She had stopped dating one guy because she hadn’t been able to loosen her guard enough to be intimate with him … She had missed out on so much. In hindsight, she had made so many mistakes. She would do it all over if given the chance.
Rolling over, she promised herself that she was done with the baggage. If there was something that made her unhappy in the future, it would be discarded.
Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep, not worried about nightmare figures chasing after her in the dark. Her dreams were of her sitting by the bright glow of the firepit, with Matthew sitting next to her.
Chapter Fourteen
Matthew used the towel he had hanging across the back of his neck to wipe the sweat away from his face. Partially closing the billow, he lowered the flames as he turned the metal rod in them.
“I’m beat.”
Matthew spared a brief glance at Isaac, who was laying a completed iron spike on a worktable.
“Go ahead and go. I’m almost finished with this one.”
“You sure?” Isaac asked, using his own towel to wipe the sweat running down his chest.
“I’m sure. I’ve got it. This finishes the order—”
A knock at the door had them both turning their heads. Usually, everyone just walked inside.
“Come in,” Isaac called out.
Matthew held his breath, hoping it was who he thought it was. And when Alanna walked inside, the tight restriction in his chest eased.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come.” Turning back to the iron spoke, he put the tube that controlled the blower in his mouth to continue twirling the end of the spoke in the flamesin series of quick jerks with one leather-gloved hand, while using a sculpting tool to make the indentions he wanted in the iron.
“You can sit here.” Matthew heard Isaac showing her where to sit. “I was just leaving,” he told her. “Matthew won’t be long. He’s just finishing the last one we need to get done.”
“I can come back later. I don’t want to disturb his work.”
“You’re good. We’re used to having someone around. Fynn just left. He got a one hundred on his science exam, so he wanted to show it off. There are drinks in the cooler next you. Help yourself.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew saw Isaac give a quick nod to Alanna before he left as she took one out. He forced his eyes back to the spoke instead of watching Alanna rub the cold bottle of water across her forehead.
“I should have expected it to be hot in here,” she said, curiously watching his movements.
Shutting off the blower, he took the spoke out of the fire. It was a piece of shit. He had lost his concentration the moment she had walked inside the building.
“We can go outside. I need to cool this down.”
She was on his heels as he moved toward the door.
“How do you work in this heat?” She waved her hand to fan herself.
Taking a pair of long-handled tongs, Matthew submersed the spoke in cold water that was in a barrel to the side of the workshop.
“I like the heat.” He shrugged, watching a drop of sweat roll down her neck to slide between her breasts. She looked as pretty as a picture today. Something was different about her, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“How’s your hand?”
“Blistered, but at least it doesn’t hurt. I wanted to babysit Freddy today, but Moses beat me to it.”
“You’re not supposed to start until Monday,” he reminded her, seeing the disappointment in her eyes.
“Are you sure it wasn’t because I seem to be accident prone around you guys?”
“You really can’t say an allergic reaction is an accident. You were unaware of your reaction, or you wouldn’t have gone near the goats.”
