“Ah, well, my mom…she was an artist. A talented one. Drinking and drugs were very much part of her and her artist friends’ way of life. She certainly didn’t think she had a problem, never would have labeled her drinking alcoholism, but…she drank to the point where it was unhealthy.”
Before he could say anything else, another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the lake again right before the cabin plunged into darkness.
Chapter 2
Adeline jumped when the lights suddenly blinked out, then went very still. It was so dark—the kind where you could barely see your own hand in front of your face. “Mac?” she whispered even though she knew he hadn’t gone far. It was just so quiet.
“Just sit tight. I’m going to turn on some of the candles.”
His deep voice was calming as his chair scraped back against the wood floor. Then another flash of lightning lit up the room as he moved across the kitchen to where he’d left the box of supplies. She shivered as they were plunged back into darkness again and found herself very happy he was here. The thought of being alone right now, in a remote lake cabin without power? Under the best of circumstances she wouldn’t be okay with that, but after the year she’d had… No thanks. After being kidnapped, she’d woken up disoriented and at night in that shitty FEMA trailer. There had been no light. Being in the dark was still disorienting. It was why she now slept with a night-light.
Still, Mac showing up unexpectedly had her off-kilter in the worst way possible. She felt like a mess, just blurting stuff out. And having a slight buzz from her wine likely wasn’t helping either. But around Mac Collins she tended to speak before she could think things through. It had been like that from the moment she’d met him near the beginning of the year.
She’d shown up to tutor his younger brother and been sort of awestruck by the big, sexy man. Good God, he was what fantasies were made of. Tall, broad shoulders, ridiculously muscular arms and a beard that gave him that dark, brooding lumberjack look—which was only helped by the flannel he wore in his woodworking shop. And those electric blue eyes were like icing on the cake of sexy Mac Collins. Well, maybe his forearms were the icing—those she would definitely like to lick. His forearm game was no joke.
And oh God, she had to stop spiraling over him.
Little lights flickered on suddenly and she saw that Mac had gotten a couple of the battery-powered candles turned on.
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and it came out in a loud whoosh of noise.
“You okay?” His deep, rumbly voice sent a shiver of awareness through her.
“I’m good.” Just embarrassed by her fear of the dark. Now that the little lights were on, and she could see him a mere ten feet away in the kitchen, it made her feel more grounded, knowing they wouldn’t be stuck in utter darkness again. Carefully, she pushed up from the table, leaving her wineglass and bowl where they were.
Another line of lights flickered on across the countertop, and as she reached him, Mac handed her a flashlight.
“It’s got a short lanyard on it. You can keep it hooked around your neck so you’ll never be—”
The lights suddenly shot back on and she sucked in a breath for a whole different reason. Being this close to Mac under the bright intensity of the kitchen lights was a whole lot of Mac goodness. He smelled earthy, sexy, and yep, she had to stop the mental spiral that seemed to happen around him. She thought of it as “the Mac spell.”
His gaze fell to her mouth and heat bloomed in her middle, spilling out, lower, lower.
Ooohhh, no. Clearing her throat, she took a small step back. This really wasn’t a good idea. Her track record with men was what horror movies were made of, and she refused to allow herself to do something dumb just because they were alone and she’d had too much wine.
Except…she’d only had a couple glasses. And she knew what she wanted, with wine or without.
Mac.
She’d wanted him since she’d met him, had fantasized about his big hands and full mouth far too often. She’d resisted the urge to paint him—so far—because it felt almost intrusive, but the urge to capture his face on canvas was there.
He took a step away as he pulled out more candles and she could breathe again. “Let’s go ahead and set these up in the living room, kitchen, the bathroom and bedrooms. Might as well get them going because we’ll lose power again, I’m sure.”
It was a relief to have something to do to keep her occupied, to keep from obsessing over his gorgeous, kissable lips. “Okay, and I’ll go ahead and load up the dishwasher while we’ve still got power. Clean everything up while we can.”
“Sounds good. I’ll start with the living room and get the fire going too.”
They moved into action and she was glad to have something to do with her hands—something that kept her mind from wondering what was under Mac’s shirt.
* * *
Adeline settled on the couch as Mac finished stoking the fire. Being here with him was bizarre but he’d ended up being a good person to have with her during a crisis. Not that having the power go out was a real crisis, but he was so unruffled about everything. A solid rock. In more ways than one.
“So, how’s work?” She needed to keep things in neutral territory and wasn’t quite ready to go to bed yet. So even though being around him had her senses going haywire, she wanted to spend more time with him. He made her feel safe, and work was safe enough territory.
“Good. Exhausting, but I love what I do. So no complaints.” He did custom woodwork, whether it was furniture or pieces of art, and the man was insanely talented. There was a long-ass waiting list for him and she was pretty sure he had jobs scheduled for the next two years. His customer base was worldwide and didn’t mind waiting. He also did custom projects for a local construction company—owned by her best friend’s soon-to-be husband.
“So you just decided to get away in the middle of the week?” She picked up her mug of hot tea, having switched over to it once they’d cleaned everything up and set up all the candles. The power was back on but they’d turned off most of the lights anyway, letting the fire illuminate the living room. The crackling and soft heat made everything feel cozy, intimate, as if the outside world didn’t exist at all.
“Joe’s been bringing his girlfriend over a lot lately.” Mac’s tone was dry as he sat in one of the comfortable chairs by the fireplace, angling himself toward her.
“You don’t like her?” Adeline had met Marcy before, and when Joe had been missing, the woman had been distraught.
“No, she’s nice. She’s good for him. It’s just… There are a lot of people in our house all the time now. It’s been an adjustment for me.”
“I bet.”
He seemed like he was more or less a loner. Or maybe not, because he was tight with his brothers. But he looked after them and was more of a fatherly figure than a brotherly one. She guessed it was an adjustment because his brothers were now adults with their own lives, not teenagers who needed tons of guidance.
“So look, I’ll head out of here tomorrow and you can stay,” she said. She had a house to herself and didn’t mind heading back home. It was clear he needed space and she wanted him to get it.