up a bunch of flowers on the way, but laughed at himself. He was trying to find a room, not a relationship.
“Oh, it’s you again,” Sarah said when she opened the door, the dog standing next to her. She was frowning.
Against all reason, something about her made him want to scoop her up in his arms and hug her. Because her T-shirt and jeans were dripping with dust, cobwebs, and streaks of soap, it was probably a bad idea, but her short height and big brown eyes gave her an appealing elfin look. He’d always been a sucker for Éowyn in
Lord of the Rings
.
“I still don’t have any rooms,” Sarah continued and began to shut the door.
“Wait,” he said.
She stopped. “Why should I?”
He smiled. Considering their size difference, she really had no choice. But he bet she’d fight him with every ounce of her strength.
She’d probably fight like a girl — nasty.
“This is an inn, isn’t it?” he asked.
She smirked at him. “It’s an
unopened
inn. No room. Get the picture?” She started to inch the door closed.
This time he shoved his foot in the gap. The swinging door clanked on his prosthetic.
Sarah gasped. “I’m so sorry!”
He grinned. “I’m not. It would have hurt a lot more on the other leg.”
She looked up at him wide-eyed and smiled back, tentatively at first, and then allowing the grin to stretch across her face and into her eyes. Hunter chuckled and the laugh must have been infectious because soon they were both doubled over in laughter.
When Sarah recovered, she looked him up and down, her hand on the dog’s head. “I suppose I should be nicer to a veteran. Come in. I’ve been rude. But I’m warning you, if you try anything I’ll sic Daisy on you.”
He looked at Daisy. The dog barked and wagged its tail. “Yeah. I can see that would be dangerous.”
Sarah frowned at Daisy. “Some guard dog.” Then she looked at Hunter. “This way.” She walked down the hallway, the dog following her heels.
Hunter followed Daisy.
“Coffee?” she asked as she gestured to a table in the center of the kitchen.
“I’d love some.” Daisy nudged his knee and he rubbed her head. Soon her chin was on his thigh and he was taken back to when he’d been a happy kid in this kitchen. He looked around. Not much had changed.
“Daisy, no,” Sarah said when she glimpsed what was happening.
“It’s okay. I like dogs.” No need to tell her how much Daisy reminded him of Tag-a-long, his boyhood dog.
She poured coffee into two cracked mugs. “I hope you like it black.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What if your guests want milk and sugar?”
“I told you,” she said as she sat in the remaining chair. “The inn isn’t open. That’s why you can’t stay here. Even
I
live with my mother.”
Better and better
. “Then you definitely need a caretaker,” he said. “Someone to help keep an eye on the place when you aren’t around.” He leaned forward. “And I’m handy with things like plumbing and electricity.”
And a lot of other things.
The frown was back. “I don’t know anything about you. You may be a veteran, but … I don’t know how to say this — it’s just I’ve heard — ”
“I get it.” He tried to keep the bitterness from his voice as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. “My resume.” Thin as it was, he’d put down what he could: construction, United States Marine Corp, odd jobs.
She unfolded the paper and scanned it before laying it on the table. “It looks good, but I’m not looking for a carpenter, or a soldier, although I do appreciate you for serving,” she said in a rush. “I’m sorry about — ” she gestured to his leg.
“It could have been worse,” he said, his hands tightening. He forced himself to slow down his breathing and take a sip of coffee. “So how about that room?”
She gestured in frustration. “The inn isn’t open. I don’t have furniture. There’s nowhere for you to sleep!”
“I do well with a sleeping bag and
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