But that was the point, right? To ask for help, to seek comfort, to talk to someone…to live.
Kiera eased onto the gas and then coasted down the steep gravel road, foot hovering over the brake until it leveled out. The single lane wound through towering trees. It was January, and most had dropped their leaves, covering the ground in a thick blanket. She gassed it over a bridge, but hesitated at a split in the road. Both were worn and used often; one was gravel, one dirt. Through the bare trees to the right, she could make out a sign, but the words were covered by tree limbs. The gravel road curved off to the left, and behind a grove of trees lifted a plume of chimney smoke. It was as if the dragons were beckoning her.
Kiera pulled the wheel to the left and followed the winding loose-pebble road until it led her to a clearing with a modest cabin. Relieved she’d come late enough in the day that he wasn’t still at work, she parked beside Kane’s Bronco.
The storm clouds above were churning a deep gray color. She hugged her baggy white sweater tighter to her chest. Today she wore leggings and knee-high riding boots. She didn’t know why she’d dressed up. Well…that was a lie. She’d dressed up on the off-chance she would run into Beast in these mountains. Shame heated her cheeks. Her heart had the worst taste in men, but since last night, when the rawness in Beast’s eyes had told her she was wrong about him, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. The way he moved so gracefully for a big behemoth of a man, the way his shoulders stretched his shirt, the way his voice had sounded when he’d admitted he couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way he’d seemed at war with himself before he’d fled last night, like he wanted to leave, but couldn’t until she understood the truth about him.
She’d slept badly last night replaying every moment she’d spent with him—which were few—and every word he’d said. Replaying every rumor and trying to match them up with the man she’d seen before her.
Clearly, Kiera was losing her mind. She was focusing on something interesting perhaps to escape the hard decision that lay ahead. This morning she’d woken up wanting more than anything to keep the baby. Some days were like this, but she’d read pamphlets on adoption, and they all said this was normal. The back-and-forth would likely happen until it came down to decision time. It was torture on her head and heart, so it made sense that both wanted to latch onto Beast and escape the hard parts of her life.
The breeze whipped her long curls around, so she brushed them behind her shoulder, lifted her fist, and wrapped her knuckles onto the wooden door.
There was murmuring coming from inside, but she didn’t have the strong animal senses anymore and couldn’t make out any words. No one answered, so she knocked again, stepped back, and rested on the porch railing to look out over Kane’s Mountains. She would be hard-pressed to find a place as beautiful as this if she searched her whole life.
The door swung open, and there stood the man of her dreams himself. Beast filled up the entire doorway. Kiera froze like a stone and waited for her fear to make an appearance, but it didn’t. Not when Beast had adverted his gaze and exposed his neck to her.
“I think I have to talk to you.”
Kiera frowned. “Okay. But…how did you know I was here?”
“I can smell you, plus—” He jerked his chin to the top corner of the porch where there was a small camera.
So getting the animal back didn’t stop the paranoia. Her heart hurt for Kane. She dragged her attention back to Beast. “I think I have to talk to you, too.”
Beast stumbled forward out of the doorway like someone had pushed him, and behind him, the door slammed closed. Okay then.
Beast straightened up to his full height and looked down at her, his eyes impassive, his hands clenched formally behind his back. He wore a white thermal sweater the same shade as hers over dirt-smeared hole-riddled jeans and scuffed-up work boots. His eyes looked so blue right now, like a spring sky. He hadn’t shaved again, so his dirty blond beard was thicker today. Still didn’t cover up the scars, not even close.
Beast made a tick sound behind his teeth and angled his scarred side away from her. “Don’t like when people stare at them,” he ground out.
She had to form this next question carefully because she wanted to know how to feel about those scars, and if she pried too hard, he would shut down on her. “Did you get them defending yourself?”
Beast shook his head.
Kiera cleared her throat delicately and tried again. “How did you get them?” Because if his answer was killing his pride, she was gone.
“Protecting my pride.”
Such potent relief flooded through her, it almost buckled her knees. “I can still hear lies,” she whispered, wringing her hands in front of her belly. “Am I in danger alone with you like this?”
Beast huffed a disgusted sound and shot her a dirty look. “No female has ever been in danger from me.”
She waited until he didn’t dance around the question.
“No,” he said clearly, his voice trilling with honesty. “I would protect you, not hurt you.”
“Do you want to take a walk with me? I came to see Kane—”
“Lie.”
Kiera swallowed hard and tried again. “I came to see Kane and hoped to see you.”
“Better. Yes. I will walk beside you.” He said it oddly, though, like it was an oath.
Sometimes he said things strangely. He responded stiffly, and for some reason, it made her smile. His discomfort around people rivaled her own.