Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“Did you find everything you were looking for?” I asked, gaze shooting toward the aisles running the length of the store, hoping for a glimpse at the mountain man.
The customer rambled on and on, and honestly, I tuned her out. Hopefully she didn’t say anything I needed to respond to because my brain had taken a road trip and was with the man—with Crow.
When I finished, she said goodbye, and I immediately stepped around the counter to look for him. It was wrong of me to want to gawk at him, to treat him like he was some kind of show, but I didn’t know how to tamp down my newfound curiosity.
I went down one of the rows but didn’t see him. What if he came to the check-out counter and my coworker got to him before I did? At least if I stayed at the register, I was guaranteed to see him again. Even if he didn’t buy anything, he’d have to walk by me to leave.
I pretended to straighten up the candy while I waited for him. Fear made the back of my neck tingle, but entwined with that was being intrigued by him, wanting to know how he made it work, living away from people, and if he was happy, but he couldn’t be, could he? Not if what I’d seen in his gaze was real.
I was obsessing over him. I’d never done this with a person before, but I’d done it with feelings or experiences. I was known to be hot or cold with people and about things, but when I was hot, I was scorching. While I knew it wasn’t healthy, I still wanted to chase down the feeling.
A few minutes later I felt someone looming behind me, felt a blast of warmth and a hot stare on that spot on my nape where the hairs stood on end. I turned around, knowing it was him. He pinned me with his intense gaze, with those wild eyes that almost didn’t look real.
I wasn’t proud over the fact that I gasped and took a step backward, only to be stopped by the counter. Crow just stood there watching me, the hair on his left side pushed behind his ear, but on the right, it hung down, shielding part of his face.
Move. Do something. Say something. Because somehow, I knew if I didn’t, Crow would stand there all day watching me. Or hell, maybe he would just walk out with his belongings, and then I’d get this mountain man arrested because I couldn’t make myself do my job.
He took a step closer. Blood rushed through my ears, panic flaring inside me as he reached out toward me, but then he just set a product down on the counter beside me. I breathed out a sigh of relief.
Get it together, Cyrus. You’re being an idiot.
He wasn’t going to do anything to me in the middle of Harry’s Hardware.
Clearing my throat, I walked around the counter to stand behind the register again. “Did…did you find everything okay?” I asked, but of course, he didn’t respond. He just continued to place tools, staining, brushes, and other items on the counter. He had pulled a flat cart with him, stacked with wood and a couple of propane tanks.
I tried to think of something to say, but I was drawing a blank. So I just continued scanning his items, and Crow didn’t take his eyes off me as he finished up. When I got to the big items, I had to step around the counter with the scanner. When I breathed in, I could swear he smelled like Douglas fir mixed with a natural musk that went straight to my head.
I bent down to finish scanning the items, and when I looked up, he was watching me, head cocked slightly as though he was trying to figure something out. This time when I opened my mouth, “I—” came out, but I bit back the rest of my words when he gave me a simple shake of his head.
He didn’t want me to talk to him. The ache in my chest grew, though I shouldn’t have been surprised and I also shouldn’t care.
I went back around the counter and said, “Two hundred and thirteen dollars and fifty-seven cents.” My voice was scratchy, like I hadn’t used it in too long.
Crow paid in cash, setting the money down for me to pick up. When I gave him his change, I did the same, so he wouldn’t have to touch me if he didn’t want to. I smiled, hoping he knew that was done as a kind gesture, but got a frown in return.
Then he reached out, and I gasped again, my eyes squeezing shut, afraid of what he would do. He didn’t touch me, and I knew I should open my eyes, should say something or do something, but I just stood there like that for a few moments, maybe hoping he would touch me while also afraid that he would.