Page 6 of Don’t Get Too Close

It seemed obvious that he didn’t have options, so I looked around, suddenly wishing there was at least one vacancy on the property. And since all the empty bedrooms in my house were out of the question, I had to figure out something for him. “What about the workshop?”

His head cocked and he met my gaze. “The what?”

“My grandpa’s workshop. He used it for woodworking.” I nodded toward the building that was barely visible from where we stood. “It’s not super comfortable, but it’s solid. And there’s a little bathroom in there too, so at least you have the basics.” I looked over at the trailer, and it seemed stable enough to grab some stuff. “If you have a microwave or toaster or anything like that in there, we can move it over. I can also get a hotplate and make sure the A/C still works. It should, but I haven’t been in there much, so if you notice anything is missing or not working, let me know and I’ll take care of it.”

I watched him turn the offer over in his head, weighing it against his other options. “There’s a lock on the door?”

“Of course, and it’s not attached to the house, so you’ll have privacy.” I felt a little weird adding that, but it seemed like having physical distance was important to him. “I won’t be anywhere near you unless you need me for something. It’s just temporary…until we can get your place fixed.”

I wasn’t sure he was gonna accept the offer, but then he finally sighed in defeat. “Yeah, okay. Just until I can get back in here.”

“Absolutely.” Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if his place could be fixed or if it would need to be replaced. Either way, I was responsible for housing my tenants and couldn’t let him fend for himself after paying rent to me. “Depending on what the insurance people say once we get someone out here, we should have an idea of how long that might be.”

“Can I go check it out?”

“Sure.” I reached into my pocket and realized I didn’t have anything in them. “Let me grab the keys and I’ll meet you there.” I started walking backward toward my house. “Maybe we can find a tarp in there. There’s gotta be something that’ll cover the hole in case it starts raining again.”

He nodded once and took a step toward the workshop. I got the sense he needed a minute to himself to process everything that was happening, so I slowed to a walk. I also needed some time to put on a shirt and shoes before I went back out there.

No wonder the guy was intimidated by me.

Besides, not everyone was good with change, and moving into a dusty workshop for the foreseeable future was gonna be a pretty big change for him.

Evidently, Ted was the silent type. He didn’t thank me or express any sort of gratitude, but that was okay. He was in shock, and I was more worried about him breaking down in some way than his manners. The fact that he didn’t bolt or completely avoid me like he had been was progress as far as I was concerned.

5

TED

The workshop smelled like sawdust and shellac, and that was oddly comforting. I stood just inside the door for a minute as I took it all in. It was surprisingly bigger than it looked from the outside.

The main space stretched out under high rafters and floating dust motes, but it looked pretty nice. There were several workbenches spread throughout, and tools were hanging from a pegboard along the wall. On one side, there was a row of smaller rooms that seemed like they might have originally been for horses but were repurposed for storage.

I walked the length and passed stacks of old lumber, cans of paint, and pieces of wooden furniture that were in various states of creation. It was like the antique version of Santa's workshop without the elves.

At the far end of the building was an actual bathroom. Even though it had a garage sink and the shower drained into the center of the floor, it was actually nicer than what I was used to in the trailer. And a lot more spacious.

As much as I hated to admit it, Kacen seemed like a good guy. He didn’t have to offer me a place to stay. I would have happily stayed in the trailer with a tarp covering the tree. But I wouldn’t have felt safe from the outside world.

The sound footsteps on the gravel outside snapped my guard back into place, and my shoulders resumed their position right under my ears. Instinctively, I scanned the exits, noting each of the windows and the barn door opening in the back. There was a bench blocking it, but I could scale that if I needed to.

But I didn’t need to.

Kacen came in wearing a gray shirt, hiding those tanned muscles I had trouble keeping my eyes off. It was probably for the best that I wasn’t distracted by his firm pecs and bulging biceps. Being around a half-naked stranger couldn’t possibly lead to anything good.

So when a flicker of disappointment went through me at not being able to gawk at his taut skin, I was confused. Like so many other things I’d experienced in the past few hours, it didn’t make any sense at all.

“Sorry, that took longer than I meant it to.” He pulled out his keys and began sliding one off the ring. “This is the only key to this building that I’m aware of, and it’s yours.”

My jaw hung open as I reached out and accepted the key from him. “Thank you.”

He met my gaze and smiled before turning in a full circle with his hands in his pockets. “So, what do you think? Is this okay for now?”

“It’s fine.” It was better than fine, but I wasn’t about to hand him that for free.

“I can help clear out these storage rooms.” He nodded toward the row of stalls. “Maybe we can turn one into a bedroom and one for your closet or changing room or whatever.”

I looked at the stalls again and pictured what they could be instead of what they currently were. “Yeah.” The word came out before I had a chance to stop my brain from saying it, and I was frankly shocked at myself for agreeing. “That’d be good.”