Chapter5

#Chapter5

/"Did I buy that?/" The newspaper folded down in front of his face as Thorin peeked around it when Imara came through the kitchen door.

With her brows knitted together as she peeked down over herself, she shrugged her shoulders. /"Well, of course, you did. I’m not allowed to go out anywhere on my own. What’s wrong with it?/"

His eyes moved down to her feet and up again while his nose wrinkled. /"Well, to be honest, it’s a bit skimpy./"

The chair screeched across the old floor when she pulled it out and flopped down. /"Hell’s bells, Thorin. Would you like me to go put on my full bustle and winter coat?/"

Today’s paper doubled over before he slapped it on the table and slipped his finger through the handle of his coffee cup. /"This little get-up wouldn’t have anything to do with that strapping young farmer coming over today, would it?/"

Her cheeks flushed as she shifted in her seat and fanned her face, making Thorin laugh. /"I’m just picking on you. You’re a grown woman; nothing wrong with a little harmless flirtation. Just watch yourself around Shaw. We got to deal with these people regularly; probably best to keep him on Shaw’s good side./"

She picked up her glass of juice and brought it to her lips as she tried to think of a way to broach the subject. /"Thorin, have you ever wondered about what it was like to meet your mate?/"

The chair creaked under him as he pushed himself back against it. /"Is there something you want to tell me?/"

Her head shook no as she set down her glass. /"I remember Momma saying that she knew from the minute she met Daddy he was the one for her. You ever met anyone like that?/"

His eyes fell to the table as he sighed and shook his head. /"No. I don’t think she’s here. I’ve been alive a long time and been to lots of places. I figure if she were, Fate would’ve thrown her at me by now./"

An enormous hand wrapped around the doorframe before Shaw leaned in and rolled his eyes at Imara’s dress. /"I got the garden marked off and tilled. You want to come take a look before they get here?/"

/"Yes, sir, I’ll be right there./" She wiped the sweat from her neck, then stood and laid her hand on Thorin’s shoulder. /"Wherever she is, she’s a lucky woman./"

The sounds of her feet on the dry grass faded away, and Thorin glanced at Sofia. /"I think she’s in love with that boy./"

A chuckle shot from her nose as she cleared the plates from Imara’s spot. /"And I’m sure that he feels the same about her./"

He wiped his hand across his mouth and slumped down in his seat. /"Well, shit. What do you reckon I ought to do about this?/"

Smiling to herself as she washed the dishes, Sofia glanced out the window and saw Imara in the yard. /"What can you do, Thorin? She deserves a little happiness for once. Don’t take it away from her./"

Barefoot, with the dirt between her toes, Imara twisted her lips and kneeled in the garden. /"You sure about this spot, Shaw? You don’t think they’ll get too much sun, do you?/" With her hand cupping her forehead, she looked up in the sky and squinted at the hot Louisiana sun beating down on her pale face.

He rested his arm across the handle of his shovel and nodded. /"Plants like the sun, Imara. You might be the expert on healing, but I know everything else. This here’s the spot./"

Her lips trilled as she surveyed all the holes she dug. /"I’m not sure. Maybe we should try the shady spot near the carriage house./"

On the edge of the tilled-up yard, Ben smiled at Imara on her hands and knees with her ass in the air in front of him. /"Good afternoon./"

Her hands pushed into the dirt as she lifted herself, and she slapped it away from her knees while she made her way to him. /"Mr. Logan./"

The white cotton dress she wore left little to the imagination in that light, and Ben didn’t squander the opportunity to have a look as his eyes traveled over her slowly. /"You can call me Ben./"

She smiled and waved her hand at Harold as he brought the wagon around. /"Well then, you may call me Imara if you like./" Her arms crossed her chest, and she pushed her hair behind her ear as she narrowed her eyes to the bright sky to peek up at him. /"I wanted to thank you for bringing that on such short notice; I hope I’m not too much of a bother. I need to do my planting soon before the season passes./"

From behind her, Shaw rubbed his chin and lifted his brows at Ben. /"Will you tell Imara this here’s the best place for her garden. I figure being a farmer and all, you’d be able to settle things./"

Her nose wrinkled, and she sighed as Ben gazed at her. /"Sorry, but he’s right. Plants like the sun./"

An elbow nudged at her arm as Shaw passed by her. /"Told you so./"

With her hand covering her eyes, Imara glanced down to her feet before facing Ben again. /"I don’t want my plants burning up./"

After looking over his shoulder to make sure Shaw was out of earshot, Ben licked his lips as he watched her face. /"What are you growing?/"

She dusted off her dress as she pulled her lips to the side and shrugged. /"Herbs mostly./"

He stepped a little closer, and his voice came out at a whisper when he breathed down over her face. /"You’re a Healer, aren’t you?/"

Her pale cheeks and ears burned red, while her heart thumped and flipped in her chest, and her eyes fell to her feet. /"Um, no, just a hobby, I suppose./"

/"A hobby?/" He ducked from side to side to meet each direction she tried to escape to until she met his eyes again. /"You’re a terrible liar, Imara. Please, don’t ever lie to me again./"

She rubbed the icy dampness from her shaking hands as she tried to figure a way out of the conversation, but he could sense her heart racing and smell the adrenaline pulsing through her veins. The wolf was a living, breathing lie detector. /"You’re from Savannah, aren’t you?/"

/"Please stop./" Her head shook no, and she bit her quivering bottom lip. /"You don’t understand what you’re doing, Ben./"

His hands stuffed into his pockets before he peeked back over his shoulder. /"Then, tell me. Trust me, no one here’s going to harm you./"

The weight of Shaw’s eyes on her made her give him a nervous smile. He knew Imara had too kind a heart to be dishonest, and it wouldn’t be the first time he had to rescue her from a situation that got away from her.

She smiled to show her watcher everything was alright while she played with her necklace. /"If they find out you know about us, they’ll leave with me tonight, and you’ll never see me again./"

He placed his hand to his chest and shook his head. /"No, I won’t let that happen./"

Whatever she hoped might happen between them floated off into the sweltering heat when she realized then she couldn’t see him again. /"No one can find out we’re here. Do you understand?/"

Her feet slid back as she tried to slip away, but Ben reached out and grabbed her fingers. /"No, don’t walk away from me, Imara. You’re all I’ve been able to think about since I met you. I can’t go back to being without you now./" He rubbed his thumb across her fingers, and he smirked at the static of her touch tickling his skin. /"You feel it too. Don’t you?/"

/"I do./" Imara’s eyes fell to their hands. She had all she ever wanted right there in front of her, but when she heard Shaw clear his throat, she shook her head and pulled away. /"You have to stay away from me, Ben. Please./" The moment their fingers parted, her heart shattered, and she collapsed into Sofia’s arms when she made it to the picnic table.

The white lace apron blotted Imara’s eyes, and Sofia tucked her into her chest. /"Oh, Sweet Girl. Love is a terrible business sometimes./"

A growl came from Shaw’s throat as he yanked a shovel from the wagon. /"Goddammit, that’s just what we need right now./"

His eyes stayed fixed on Imara as Ben came to his father’s side. /"Well? What did she say?/"

He balled his hands into fists before he pushed them back through his hair and took a deep breath to calm himself. /"You’re going to have to handle the deliveries here from now on. I can’t see her anymore./"