Page 20 of The Guest Cottage
As Cort circled the hood, she tracked his every step with admiration. He had strong legs and a long stride that ate up the ground without his seeming to hurry. He, of course, didn’t have to hop to get in. No, he just settled his large frame behind the wheel, and then placed the packet in a space behind the console.
Glad that he didn’t expect her to look at the papers yet, she said, “This will sound absurdly uninformed, but I had no idea trucks could be so luxurious.” Under her hand, the seat material felt like fine leather. “I thought all trucks were work vehicles.”
“Mine is, but I keep it clean.”
It went beyond clean to pristine. The two-tone interior loaded with gadgets gave her a visceral thrill. “I feel like I’m riding a wild bull.”
His brows shot up. Then he rumbled a deep laugh that soon had her smiling, too.
“What?” she asked, enjoying the humorous exchange.
“The things you sometimes say.”
“And the things I admit.” She sighed with extra drama for fun. “I know it’s silly, but it does feel that way to me. Being here, in Bramble, I’ve learned to appreciate things I never noticed before.”
“Like the sunrise.”
Oh, how she loved the sunrise. “And watching a storm.” When he didn’t laugh at that, only agreed with a small nod, she continued. “There’s so much turbulence, but in an exciting way that’s somehow also soothing.” All that drama helped her to forget, taking her away from her troubles and hurt feelings and immersing her in the moment.
“I enjoy the storms, too,” he said. “The way the waves jump around the dock and hit the shoreline. Sometimes I fish in the rain, but not when there’s lightning.”
Interesting. “Maybe I’ll get a big rain poncho and watch from the dock the next time it rains.”
His brows pinched together. “Just know that the dock can be slippery, and the lake has a wicked current. If you’re not used to it . . .” His words trailed off.
“What?”
“Next time it rains, as long as it’s not storming, we could sit on the dock together.”
That sounded incredibly appealing. She, Marlow Heddings, liked the idea of sitting on a wooden dock in the rain. Astonishing.
“For safety reasons,” he made clear.
Hoping it’d rain again soon, she nodded. “Sure. I’ll order a poncho, so I’ll be ready.”
“What do you think of the tavern?”
Marlow didn’t have to think about it. “There’s a cozy vibe, like everyone is a friend.”
“And no one is a stranger.”
Not anymore, though they’d all given her the side-eye during her first few visits. “Know what else? I’ve learned that coffee tastes better outside, that the air here smells better than in the city, and that, at least for now, less is more.”
With one wrist draped over the steering wheel, Cort sat half facing her, showing no real hurry to get going. “I’ve got one for you.”
“My breath is bated.”
Another grin, tempered this time, and he said, “Being alone and lonely are different.”
She inhaled sharply, devastated that he’d read her so easily. “Am I that transparent?”
His expression softened, then he buckled his seatbelt and started the engine. “Actually, I was talking about me.”
* * *
That one small confession, something he’d never admitted to another living soul, seemed to have an incredible effect on Marlow.
She lowered her guard.
