Her cheeks ignited. Zoe took the muffin but couldn't meet his gaze. "Wh-what do you mean?"
He opened his mouth but then snapped it shut, amatching flush rising in his tanned face. He laughed, though, and turned away. "I meant because of the accident. Not because of anything — else. That may or may not have happened."
Zoe wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor. He knew. Of course he knew. Did Simon tell him? Or had Ethan heard them? She covered her face and thought she might explode from sheer embarrassment.
Ethan laughed more but it had a nervous quality to it, as if he couldn't stop. "It's okay. Don't be embarrassed about anything. Really. I'm just going to go now and hide in the office, if anyone's looking for me."
He retreated. When Zoe gathered her courage to look around, she was alone in the lodge. So she finished putting the fresh muffins in a nice basket, bracing herself for more scrutiny as the main door opened and a group of tourists piled into the lodge. Zoe stayed in the kitchen as the other guys hauled in luggage and started showing the guests around. She didn't know what to do other than smile at the guests, but then Simon appeared and caught her hand. Before she could ask or pull free, he dragged her outside to sit on the swing on the far end of the wrap-around porch.
Simon sprawled across the bench and hugged Zoe to his side, contentment rumbling through his chest. Even though Cooper and Finn kept unloading bags from the back of one of the trucks, Zoe relaxed against Simon and closed her eyes. She hated mornings. Simon played with her hair and started to rock the swing. "We're booked up for the next two weeks. All fishing trips. Things will be busy around here. Can you help out with some of the cooking?"
"Sure." Zoe drew her legs up on the swing and breathed him in, the lavender and musky male scent mixed with fresh pine and a hint of exhaust from the old farm trucks. Her headrested on his shoulder and she smiled. "I'm not very good at it, though."
"There's always weeding the garden."
"We both know that's not a good idea." The gentle sway of the swing and the warmth of him next to her lulled Zoe into near-sleep, and the anxiety that gripped her faded away. "So you just run hunting and fishing trips?"
"Well," he said, fighting back a yawn. "Yes and no. We have plans for more. Some of our neighbors want to sell their land — dozens of acres of forest and rivers and mountain. Great land, some of it adjacent to the national parks. I'd like to buy as much of it as I can, otherwise a mining company might snap it up. They've been sniffing around here, trying to talk everyone into selling."
"So you want to buy more land? For what?"
"I'd like to build cabins for people to rent, to start. Maybe run a program for kids from the city to come out here and stay for a week or two, so they can learn about nature and animals and build up some confidence. Maybe in a year or two, we can run adventure camps or team-building retreats with ropes courses and survival training and things like that." He sighed and rocked the swing back with more energy. "But for now, we work with the game wardens and park rangers to track migrations and predator numbers, and we help out with tracking and tagging some species. Finn hires out as a tracker as well. The hunting and fishing trips are our bread and butter until we can get enough profit to re-invest in the rest of the business."
Zoe picked up his hand where it draped over her shoulder and studied his fingers. Strong, capable hands. If anyone could make all of that happen, he could. He looked like he could build dreams with his bare hands. "But what if I said —"
She cut off as an engine revved nearby and tires bitthrough gravel. Simon tensed next to her, and Zoe sat up. A dirty red sedan skidded to a halt in front of the lodge, a cloud of dust and exhaust billowing across the yard and onto the porch. Zoe covered her mouth and coughed as Simon lurched to his feet.
The door burst open and a giant levered out of the car. For a split second, Zoe thought it was one of Castellano's guys and he meant to kill her. She sucked in a breath and braced herself for a knife or a gun or something awful, and tried to hide behind Simon as he seemed to get bigger and wider.
13
SIMON
Simon didn't generally like cars speeding up to his den, and he liked it even less when Zoe sat next to him. They finally had a real conversation, something that could lead to a discussion of their future together, and some asshole in a rental car ruined it. Simon clenched his jaw as he got up to punch whoever it was in the face, and then Tate jumped out of the car.
Simon blinked. "What the —"
"What the hell are you doing?" Tate didn't even slow down, marching up to Simon to shove him back. "Why did she call me in a panic? What did you do to her?"
Simon stood his ground and shoved him back, wanting to get space so he wouldn't trip over Zoe. He didn't know what pissed Tate off, but Simon's bear didn't feel like being pushed around in his own home. "Chill out, friend."
"Don't 'friend' me." Tate, breathing hard, looked around him at the porch. "Let's go, Zoe. Get your stuff. I'm getting you out of here."
"The hell you are." Simon bristled, advancing on his friend. He'd fight to the death to keep her. "She stays here."
"You can go fuck yourself." Tate tried to elbow past him to where Zoe stood frozen next to the swing. "Zoe, I'm not kidding. We need to get moving. Castellano could have traced your call or he might have tracked me. I need to get you somewhere safe, fast."
"Isn't it safer here?"
Simon's heart sank to hear the uncertainty in her voice. He backed up to keep her close and away from Tate, and he didn't look back as the front door opened and Ethan eased onto the porch. "Is there a problem, boss?"
"Of course not. Zoe, go inside with Ethan." Simon nudged her closer to his friend, praying Ethan got the message and dragged her to safety.
But Zoe stood her ground and poked his side, making Simon jump. She looked suddenly fierce, like when she'd tried to shove him out of her room that first morning. "Don't tell me what to do."
"Exactly," Tate said. "Get your stuff, Zoe, and we'll —"
"You either." She dodged Simon's grab and strode forward to plant a finger in Tate's chest. "Just because you're my brother doesn't mean you can order me around. I'm a damn adult and you're being a jerk."
