A Most Shocking Revelation by Kristi Gold

impressed.”
    â€œDon’t be. It’s frozen lasagna.” He turned, strode to a shelf housing several tools and pulled an ax from the top before facing her again. “This shouldn’t take that long.”
    She held up her hands, palms forward. “Okay, I’ll drive your car. I’ll even clean up after dinner. No need to use that.”
    He presented his all-star grin. “I’m just going to go out in the back forty and chop some wood for a fire.”
    Valerie felt somewhat relieved, not that she ever really thought he was going to use the ax on her. “Okay, I can help you with that.”
    â€œDon’t tell me—you knew someone who taught you how to chop wood.”
    â€œNo, but again, I learn fast. You just have to show me what to do.”
    â€œMy pleasure.”
    A long, tense silence passed before Valerie gathered enough wherewithal to say, “We should get started before the sun goes down.”
    â€œYeah. Let’s go.”
    Gavin led Valerie through a metal gate and onto a parcel of land lined with mesquite trees and brush, bordered on the right by a small creek. The terrain appeared as untamed and rugged as the sheriff did at the moment, Valerie decided after a quick glance in his direction. They walked side by side, the crunch ofdried winter grass beneath their feet the only sound interrupting the silence. The atmosphere was very different from her usual surroundings—traffic noises and urban chaos. She breathed in the fresh air untainted by smog. She could get used to this environment, although that wasn’t possible. After she’d done what she’d come here to do, she would return to the place she’d called home for most of her life, even if she had no one waiting for her. Even though she would be utterly alone.
    â€œI don’t see any cows,” she told him as they walked on.
    â€œHaven’t had time to build a herd, but I plan to buy a few head in the spring.” Gavin stopped at a pile of tangled wood. “I’ll just chop some of this up and we can carry it back.”
    After pulling a pair of gloves from his back pocket and shrugging them on, Gavin raised the ax and landed it squarely on one heavy limb, then hacked it once more until it broke in two. He grabbed up both pieces and laid them to one side.
    Valerie stood back, fascinated by his strength, the way he split the limbs with such ease. Everything he did seemed effortless, from his cowboy strut to his charming smile that he now aimed at her.
    â€œWant to try it?” he asked.
    â€œOkay, but I don’t think I’m going to be as good at it as you are.”
    â€œI’ve had lots of practice. And you might surprise yourself at that.” He propped the ax, blade down, between his knees, pulled off his gloves and offered them to her. “Put these on.”
    She slid her fingers inside the too-big gloves, suddenly very aware of the difference in their sizes. He had to be at least six-two, and she was barely five-four. His hands were three times as big as hers, and although she sported some muscle, he had solid biceps and triceps and all those “ceps” that mattered most.
    He held out the ax handle-first. “It’s all yours.”
    Valerie took the hatchet as well as a deep breath and turned to the pile. “You better stand back, Sheriff. This could get interesting.”
    She raised the heavy ax high above her head and aimed for one large branch. With all her strength she sliced the wood and received a noisy thwack, but the blade wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck,” she said as she braced her foot on the bough and tugged.
    Before she could prepare, Gavin was against her back, reaching around her, one hand resting at the bend of her waist, the other on her wrist. He pulled the ax from the limb easy as you please but still didn’t release his grip on her. Valerie glanced back at him. “How did you do