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Tessa huddled in the blanket and tried to slow the panic. Flynn Walker was coming to see her. She’d agreed because she knew he wasn’t the type to let go of a puzzle. One of the reasons helping him take apart the puzzles in math had been such a joy.
The man had more determination in his belt buckle than most had in their entire bodies. How else would he have been high school champ in bareback and bull riding events?
She’d never seen anything like it. Her father would have had fits if he’d known she’d snuck out to the rodeo that day. Martin Blanco’s daughter didnotassociate with cowboys.
And there she was, thinking about her original life again. All because of Flynn. Stopping it was like trying to put the genie back in the bottle. It wasn’t happening. She might as well let herself think of it all. Then she could retrain her brain once he was gone.
Tessa’s heart ached.
For Catalina. For Flynn. For all of them.
She didn’t want to see him at all and wanted to see him desperately.
Her phone beeped.I’m here. Sam had obviously given him her number. Tessa forced herself up off the couch and to the door, keeping the blanket around her like a shield. It took four deep breaths and a couple of tries before she managed to turn the deadbolt and open the door.
And there he stood.
All sexy cowboy even in a knit cap, thick jacket, and hiking boots. He was taller and broader than he’d been as a teen. His work on the ranch and his rodeo activities had ensured he was muscular even as a kid, but now he had the energy of a leashed panther.
His frown was aimed directly at her and Tessa worked to keep her fear from showing.
“You going to let me in?”
It took her a moment to get her feet to move, but she stepped back and let him enter. When he brushed past her, her breath hitched.
She could run, but he’d catch her before she was down the stairs. There was no way to get in the canoe before him. She’d considered it while he’d been jogging out with Sam, but rejected it. She didn’t want to be a coward. Didn’t want to run again.
If there was any chance to save her life here, she would have to fight for it. Fight for it with the man who stood in front of her. The boy she’d loved.
She didn’t have any internet connection this far from the lodge or she’d have given in to the need to search for information on Flynn. Find his connection to her life here in Midnight Lake.
Drink in her fill of his image. Because it still filled her up.
Flynn moved past her into the room and she followed his movements. Still the same bit of swagger that cowboys got from riding horses when they were toddlers. Or maybe they were just born with it.
His gaze roved the room, took in the pellet stove and the rustic furniture, then turned back to her. No pleasure or happiness in those eyes. Anger though. Lots of anger.
“Are you going to come in as well, or are you thinking of running?”
His voice was harsh. Tessa kept her face steady as she closed the door and wrapped the blanket more tightly around her. He was the one who’d insisted on seeing her, so she decided he could be the one to speak first. She wasn’t going to volunteer anything.
Flynn paced around the couch a few times before he turned to her. “Well?”
She ignored his bark and moved to the kettle she’d set on the pellet stove. She’d set up two mugs with Tansy’s cinnamon and cardamon tea. After pouring some into both, she picked up her mug and sat on one side of the couch. Her legs didn’t like when she stood too long and she didn’t want to show any weakness in the face of his anger.
Taking a settling breath, she looked up at him. “How do you know Sam?”
“What? I find you back from the dead after more than ten years and you want to know how I know Sam?”
She knew Flynn would never hurt her, so she ignored his loud voice and angry demeanor. Their accidental meeting had thrown them both way off kilter. And she wasn’t dealing with someone she’d thought was dead.
Flynn had been a boy who studied the odds against him. He’d known every stat there was to know about the bulls and horses he might draw in the rodeo. He’d grown up on a ranch where he’d had to solve the puzzles that every rancher faced on a daily basis. Not knowing how things worked drove him nuts. But she couldn’t fix that, not even for him.
Flynn paced a few more times then sat on the chair opposite her. “What happened? What happened back then? They said you were dead. They said they’d positively identified the body.”
His voice shook and Tessa’s eyes filled with tears. Tears she hadn’t shed in years. “I can’t imagine what you went through. I’m so sorry you had to go through it.”
Flynn put his head in his hands and drew in deep breaths. Tessa swallowed hard against the emotions clawing up her throat.
