Free Loving The Country Boy (Barrett's Mill Book 4) by Mia Ross Page B

single word, he heard a lot more than she’d probably meant to tell him. He’d met a lot of people during his travels, and their stories had always intrigued him. It made him sad to know that the beautiful woman sitting across from him was carrying such a heavy burden all by herself. More than once, she’d referred to her busy life in LA, and not in a good way. It made him wonder if she might consider chucking that glittering existence in favor of something calmer.
    Like Barrett’s Mill.
    The thought jumped into his mind on its own, startling him with the possibility of Tess being around much longer than he’d anticipated. He still had no intention of getting serious with anyone just now, but he knew that if Tess stayed in town, sticking with that plan could prove to be extremely difficult for him. Who was he kidding? Smart and sassy, she fascinated him on a regular basis. Steering clear of her would be downright impossible.
    “So,” she began as she scooped up the last bit of pie filling. “Now that we’re sharing, I’m curious what brought you back here after all these years.”
    “There’s really not that much to tell.”
    Meeting his eyes over the camping lantern in the center of the table, she pinned him with a look that clearly said she knew otherwise. “I noticed you rubbing your shoulder earlier. Were you hurt up in Alaska?”
    That she’d come so close to the truth rattled him pretty hard, but he managed to nod. “Yeah.”
    “What happened?”
    “I was working on one of those big oil rigs, and there was an explosion.” Only his parents knew what had brought him back to Virginia, but once he kicked the door open, the whole story came pouring out. “Four guys died in the fire, and a dozen others were badly injured. I was on my way off the platform when it happened, so I got blown clear of the worst of it. The whole thing shook me up pretty bad.”
    “I can only imagine,” she murmured in a tone laced with sympathy. “What a horrible thing to go through.”
    “I was in shock, I guess, ’cause I don’t remember the EMTs taking me to the hospital. I spent a few days there, and when the doctor cleared me to leave, I got in a taxi and went straight to the airport. Didn’t even know where I was going.” Months later, the stench of smoke and burning oil was still fresh in his memory, and he took a deep breath, reminding himself the chaos was all in his head. “At the ticket counter, the clerk asked me where I wanted to go, and at first I had no clue. She was an older woman, and I half expected her to call security to come get this nutcase bandaged up like a mummy, but she didn’t. Instead, she smiled at me and asked if I wanted to go home. That clicked for me, and she got me the last seat on a flight that ended up in Roanoke.”
    He hadn’t told anyone—not even his parents—that part of the story. Reliving it choked him up more than he cared to admit. Glancing over at Tess, he noticed her own chin quivering before she firmed it into a smile. “I’m glad she did. After a tragedy like that, you need to be where you feel safe and can be around people who care about you.”
    In all honesty, he sometimes felt like he’d run away from home at eighteen, and when the world kicked him a little too hard, he’d come crawling back. Fearing that might make her feel worse about her own circumstances, he decided it was best to keep that detail to himself.
    While they’d been talking, a spirited argument had broken out inside the mill house, and she glanced at her watch. “It’s been five minutes, and they’re still at it. I suppose we should get in there before they kill each other.”
    “Sounds good,” he agreed, grateful for the distraction.
    He stood and waited for her before starting up the steps. Pausing on the tread above him, she turned back with a wry smile. “How ironic that the new Barrett in town is turning out to be the voice of reason around this place.”
    “Funny, I was just