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Did that bravado stem from the attack or rile her assailant further? The strength of his anger on her behalf shocked him. Not that he was immune to the suffering of others, but he’d never reacted with such potent emotion with anyone except his family, especially without knowing the facts behind the injury. The thought of Nicole suffering such a painful, possibly dangerous ordeal produced a knot in his throat he couldn’t swallow past.
“What happened?” he demanded. “I have firsthand experience with weapons, know what kind of damage a vast assortment of them can cause, what scars they can leave behind. That is a knife wound.”
“Good for you, and none of your business. Go away.”
Slade took a moment to study her face and body language, correlating her rigid stance and uneasy expression with how he had felt when someone would pry into the reason for his abrupt departure from the military. Like her, he hadn’t wanted to talk about the incident that had such a profound effect on him with anyone, not even his brothers. He could now sympathize with how difficult it must have been for them to leave him alone when he insisted.
But Slade couldn’t let it go until she answered one burning question. “Is he locked up?”
Nicole’s eyes turned frosty. “No.”
Not what he wanted to hear. “Why not?”
“Because I killed him.”
***
NICOLE SHOULD TO STOPblurting it out like that. She’d shocked a few nosy people already with her blunt reply to questions about her attacker, receiving no satisfaction from their surprise. Slade’s jolted reaction also conveyed relief, which, of course, rubbed her wrong.
“You preferred hearing a man is dead?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth or attempt to read me, Nicole. We’ll get along much better that way. It’s getting dark and cold, but come help me and we can finish what you started in no time.”
She had enough guilt plaguing her, so, instead of apologizing, she took him up on that offer without comment. They hauled out the last of the torn-down stalls in comfortable silence, finishing in no time with his help. Dusk had fallen along with the temperature when they emerged from the barn carrying the last few slats. With a shiver, Nicole unloaded hers onto the heap, glad the outside lights on the house and barn came on automatically.
“That will make a good bonfire,” Slade commented, waving a hand toward the lumber pile, his tone much smoother compared to the deep rumble of his earlier hostility. “Not much else you can do with them since they’re rotted through, and bonfires make a good excuse to get together with your friends.”
“I don’t know anyone here that well yet,” she returned, his low voice in the semi-dark raising goose bumps. From the light above the barn door, she could see the lower half of his bristled face, but his hat shielded his eyes.
“You won’t get to know anyone, staying out here. I’m surprised you’re not uneasy living alone this far from town, unable to see another house.” He turned his head, as if scanning the area around the house then stepped closer to Nicole, near enough for his body heat and large frame to warm her.
Nicole rubbed her arms, not about to tell him there were moments at night when either the silence or the strange animal sounds made her wish for company. During the day, when she was busy and the sunny blue sky revealed the beauty of her property, the solitude worked to soothe her unsettled emotions if she’d suffered through another night of guilt-ridden dreams.
“I’m from Chicago. Not much scares me, and I prefer the quiet. The city’s never this peaceful. Shouldn’t you call someone to give you a ride home?” she asked, noticing how much darker the woods were.
Slade reached out, catching her off guard as he clasped her hand with a tug toward the house and a chuckle that rumbled from his chest. “I already texted Reed, and I believe that’s him coming up your drive. I noticed you didn’t offer to run me back.”
It took a moment for his last comment to register, her concentration blindsided by the tingles traveling from his warm, calloused grip up her arm. Disgusted with herself for allowing him to muddle her attention like a hormone-driven teenage girl, she yanked her hand out of his. “I’m not nice, remember?”
They reached her back door and stood under the light, Sam going around them to run inside as Slade opened the door, saying, “I’m not, either, but you remind me of myself about ten years ago. I would hate to see you, or anyone else, make the mistake I did by shutting out others. Call me or someone in the family if you hear or see something that leaves you unsettled. We’ll check it out. And don’t get cranky and delete my number after I leave.” Reed honked, and Slade pressed a hand to her lower back, urging her inside as if she needed prodding to turn away from him. “Good night, Nicole.”
“Thanks for the help,” she managed to reply in a civil tone before closing the door and leaning her head against the hard wood. Nicole groaned, baffled and annoyed with the instant rise in her temperature from a simple touch. Slade had made no apologies or excuses when she had greeted his unexpected arrivals with coolness instead of gratitude, ignoring her unenthusiastic welcome to continue as he pleased. His family had been just as determined to assist her in any way, insisting on giving her their phone numbers after Slade jotted down his. Tony was the only stranger she’d met who turned out to be that genuine and nice. Regardless of their good intentions, she didn’t want or need another man, or his family, on her doorstep every day.
Nicole had to eat those words the next morning when Lily called and asked if she wanted to meet Paul Westman, the man who had been floundering since losing his family. Lily’s timing was perfect, catching her as soon as she crawled out of bed, groggy after a restless night imagining every creepy villain from the slasher movies she used to watch hiding out on her property.
Damn Slade Kincaid for putting that in her head.
She gave Sam ample opportunity to romp outside while she ate a quick breakfast and downed coffee before dressing. Those vivid dreams left her eager to hire someone willing to live in the cottage once Jim completed the few repairs and laid new flooring, the first chores she would ask of him come Monday. The long drive into Casper eased her tension from the sleepless night, Lily’s early invitation giving Nicole time to shop a discount furniture outlet. Her mood improved tenfold after finding everything she needed to furnish the cozy space then locating the shelter using GPS and Lily’s instructions.
Slade’s soon-to-be sister-in-law was waiting for her outside, her long dark-brown hair pulled into a braid and wearing navy slacks paired with a cream, ribbed light sweater. Nicole slid out of her SUV, returning Lily’s wave as she closed the door. The clouds hid the sun’s warmth, turning the air cooler than she’d felt since moving here.
“I’m so glad you could make it in today,” Lily said, opening the door to a spacious entry. “The director called me when Paul showed up for breakfast, and she talked him into staying until I could take a lunch break. He’s interested in the job, which pleases everyone who helps at the shelter and has gotten to know him. I can’t imagine losing my family the way he did, then his job and home when he couldn’t cope.”
“No, I can’t, either.” Nicole never took for granted her parents’ love and support, or the way her two closest friends had stood by her without question after Tony’s death. “If he works out, this saves me a lot of time, and your recommendation eases my mind about asking him to live so close with no one else around.”
“No worries there. Reed did an extensive search on Paul and found he has a clean record as far as any criminal activity. Not even a traffic ticket. This way.”
She got a quick look at the main room filled with tables that were over half full with a line at the buffet as Lily veered down a short hallway. The man waiting inside the office stood and faced them, clutching a worn baseball cap. With thinning gray hair and a lined face, he looked older than the forty-one Lily mentioned.
