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Before I managed to come up with any answers to my questions, Jack returned. When he walked back inside, he was carrying a space heater.
He set it down, closed the door, and explained, “This should keep you warm enough until I can clean out the chimney tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry. What?”
“What are you confused about?” he asked.
My mind had a million and one thoughts running through it, and most of it left me feeling confused. So, I answered, “Everything.”
I couldn’t miss the way his lips twitched at my response before he returned, “Your chimney fire is out right now, but if we light another fire for you, it’s just going to happen again. Creosote has built up in there, and it needs to be cleaned before you can start burning wood again. I can do that for you tomorrow morning when there’s daylight. Until then, you need another way to keep your place warm.”
There was a lot there that I still had questions about, and I intended to ask some of them, but I needed to take a moment to come to grips with what had just happened. I nearly burned my cabin down, and this man came over without being asked to help me. He then took care of the problem without a single complaint, explained to me what was happening, and offered a temporary solution until he could permanently fix the problem himself tomorrow morning.
He wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t irritated.
He didn’t seem the least bit inconvenienced.
I’d barely gotten a hold on how all of that was making me feel when Jack called, “Dakota?”
“Yeah?”
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
I took another second to stare at him. He was so unbelievably caring. “Yeah, I think so,” I replied. “Are you sure I don’t need to call the fire department?”
Jack nodded. “If I thought for one second that you’d be unsafe in here, I’d take you over to my place tonight, so you could sleep there. That said, if you’re worried or uncomfortable with staying here, I’d still be more than happy to have you for the night.”
Seemingly of its own volition, one of my brows shot up and gave him a questioning look.
I did not need this man saying things like that to me, even if he didn’t intend for me to take them the way I had.
Shaking my head, I rasped, “As long as you’re sure everything is okay with the fireplace, I’ll stay here.”
His lips twitched again. I wondered if he knew what he was doing to me. Worse, was he enjoying it?
“Would you like me to get this set up for you?” Jack asked, pointing to the space heater.
“I’ve got it,” I assured him. “You’ve already done more than enough. Thank you, by the way, for noticing what was happening and coming over here. I’m sorry about the inconvenience.”
A genuine smile formed on his face. “You’re welcome, Dakota. And it wasn’t an inconvenience at all. I’m just glad I noticed it when I did.”
I huffed. “I’m glad you noticed and knew what to do.”
Jack shrugged his shoulders. “I volunteered with the local fire department over the summer after I graduated high school, before I started college. And once I moved out here, I made the effort to be prepared for just about anything. Being so secluded, we have to do our part to look out for one another here.”
It seemed he was the one doing all of the looking out for me. I was merely getting myself into all sorts of bad situations, and I wasn’t certain there was much I’d be able to do for him.
“Here’s hoping that one day I might be able to return the favor and prove I’m not completely incapable,” I murmured.
Jack’s head tipped to the side as something moved through his expression. I couldn’t make out what it was, but there was no question in my mind that the look was sweet and thoughtful. It was clear that he had some thoughts about what I’d just said. Whatever they were, he didn’t share.
Instead, he snapped out of it and declared, “Well, unless you need anything else, I’ll head back home, but I’ll be back in the morning to clean out that chimney, so we can get your fire up and running again.”
I probably should have been a good neighbor and stopped him from leaving by offering him a cup of hot cocoa or coffee, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
My current stance on men and relationships wasn’t a good one, so I didn’t think it was wise to put myself in a position where I’d be alone with a guy, especially a guy like Jack, for an extended period.
