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o’clock in the morning, a chill embedded itself deep within her bones. She heard his footsteps as he closed the space between them. She should keep walking all the way to Hope. But the blister now forming on her left heel put a stop to that outlandish thought. The least she could do was hear him out,
then
stomp off.
    “I’m sorry, Susan. I should have listened to what you wanted to tell me. What happened? Where’s your car? And why are you limping?”
    “I dropped something off at Zane’s and decided to take the more scenic route to the farm. My car is six miles that way.” She gestured down the road that intersected the highway about fifty feet from where they stood. “I had a blowout and couldn’t fix it. My cell wasn’t charged so I decided to walk. At seven-thirty it wasn’t this hot.” The temperature soared with the intensity of his stare.
    “Why didn’t you go back to Zane’s? His place had to be closer.”
    “I didn’t think of that. All I thought about was getting to the farm. I figured there would be more traffic, and I’d hitch a ride with someone.”
    “That’s not safe.”
    Do you care about my safety?
she wanted to ask, but didn’t. “I would only get into a car of someone I knew, or a kindly old lady.”
    He laughed, and the sound dissolved some of the anger that gripped her. He moved closer.
    She stepped back and hurriedly asked, “What did you mean, I reminded you of your wife and the day of the hurricane? That’s the day she was killed. What happened? My circumstances weren’t like the ones of that day at all.”
    He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and when he opened them, sadness leaked into his expression. “I was expecting her to return to the farm. She had said she was going into town to get some last-minute supplies. I tried to tell her there probably weren’t any left, and the weather was taking a nasty turn. She wouldn’t listen. She drove off, and that was the last time I saw her. Carly and I were preparing for the hurricane. Even then I had animals, and I didn’t want to leave them. As it got late and Caroline didn’t come back, I called her cell. No answer. By the time I tried the sheriff, I couldn’t get through because of the storm. Carly was crying for her mother, and I didn’t know what to tell her.”
    Of course…he was still grieving his wife’s death. She’d known that her growing feelings for him wouldn’t be returned, and yet she’d still come, week after week, because she enjoyed being around Nathan and Carly. These past four weekends she’d almost felt as if she was part of their family.
    The pain reflected in his features as he relived that day broke Susan’s heart. She wanted to erase the anguish from his expression, smooth the deep grooves from his face. She wanted to kiss him until he let go of his wife.
    “I understand, Nathan. When you love someone so much, it’s hard to think you’ll never see her again. I’m sorry I scared you.” She backed away, not wanting to cry in front of him. She didn’t want him to know how much she was falling for him. “Call AAA for me. I’ll wait by my…” But she couldn’t finish as tears clogged her throat.

Chapter Twenty
    Story:
    Nathan glimpsed the sheen to Susan’s eyes, and reached out to stop her from leaving. He dragged her against him. He didn’t want to lose her, too. “There is no way I will let you walk away.”
    “I’ll be perfectly safe. I’ll—”
    He crushed his mouth down on hers and wound his arms around her, plastering her to him. He poured all the pent-up feelings he’d been trying to deny for the past month into the kiss. When he lifted his head slightly and drew in a deep, calming breath, her exotic fragrance filled him, mingling with the scent of the pine trees surrounding them.
    Slowly her surprised look dissipated. Her forehead crinkled. “Why did you do that?”
    “I don’t think I explained myself very well. Caroline and I had been talking about having more