Page 9 of Mountain Target

This question, Beau was ready for.

“I live here,” he said, pointing towards the windows behind them. “I moved in today.” He kept his voice as soft as possible because, even though he was an asshole in many senses, he wasn’t in the business of scaring women. “I was coming out of the garage when I heard her.”

The woman’s shoulders slumped. “Then I guess we’re neighbors,” she said. She took a moment to steel herself, then took a small step forward and held out her hand. “I’m Valentina.”

Valentina.

The name suited her. Long and smooth and feminine. A name with its own curves.

Stop thinking of her curves.

Beau was careful to keep his eyes on her face, because he’d already looked down once at her breasts and what he’d seen made him want to look again and commit the image to memory.

“Beau,” he finally said, taking the offered hand in his own larger palm.

The heat from her hand went right through his body. It took all of his considerable willpower to let go of it.

“And you’ve already met Ren,” she continued. She was staring down at her hand, as if she’d felt it, too.

It looked like she expected him to say something else, but he wasn’t sure what that was. At least, she was no longer staring at him with fear in her eyes.

“I’ll get out of your way,” he said stiffly, turning towards his side of the house.

Valentina

Val’s hands trembled as she fished in her bag for her keys. Instead of the cold metal she was hunting for, she could still feel his warm, calloused palm—still hear the way that rough, deep voice had said her name.

“I’ve got it, Aunt Val,” Ren said, already holding the door open for her. She’d used her own key. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes, long day.” After picking Ren up at school, she’d been called back to the hospital for a work emergency. That was the problem with working in the Emergency Room—emergencies happened, and there often weren’t enough doctors on call at any one time.

But that was also what she loved about the job. She and her colleagues stabilized people as they arrived, but they were also responsible for sending them on to the right place to continue their treatment. It was a huge responsibility, and one Val had never taken for granted.

She was grateful to her boss, who’d shown her a lot of flexibility this last month, scheduling her only for day shifts and giving her all the time she needed as Ren settled into her new home.

At least, I hope she’s settling in.

Val was cautiously optimistic about school. Since starting school just a week earlier, the girl was—if not happy—happier than she’d been before. Busier, for sure, but hopefully also making new friends. Hopefully realizing that life had to go on.

Val followed Ren into the apartment, which seemed much smaller now than it had a month earlier. Not because Ren had a lot of things, but because so much in Val’s apartment had been designed with one person in mind, and there were two of them now.

Val watched as Ren placed her coat on the back of one of the dining table chairs—reminded herself, once again, that she needed to stop by the store and buy an extra coat hook for the wall.

She shrugged off her own coat. Inside the warm apartment, she felt more like herself again. She could almost convince herself the crazy attraction she’d felt for her new neighbor when their hands touched hadn’t existed.

Almost.

But not quite.

And anyway, her attraction to the man, real or not, was the least of her worries.

“I don’t want you speaking to strange men, Ren,” she began cautiously.

Particularly not to ones who look like a brick wall.

The girl’s large hazel eyes turned towards her. “What, you think I’m five, Aunt Val?”

“No. Of course not. I just mean—“