Free A Time for Home: A Snowberry Creek Novel by Alexis Morgan

but right now he was going stay right where he was.
    “Nick, you’re thinking way too hard.”
    Angling his head to look down into Callie’s pretty face, he meant to tell her that he shouldn’t be there. Or maybe to thank her for making him feel so welcome. Yeah, that would be good. But instead, he did the one thing he shouldn’t have.
    He kissed her.

Chapter8

    N ick sure knew how to kiss. He tasted like the night: cool and mysterious, his lips surprisingly soft, especially in contrast to the slight rasp of his whiskers against her skin. He probably hadn’t shaved since that morning, but she didn’t care, and now wasn’t the time to be thinking about it anyway.
    This was a moment to savor and definitely one for the record books. She sighed and tipped her head back to rest against the strong curve of his shoulder, parting her lips just enough to let Nick know that she’d welcome an even deeper kiss.
    The hint worked. He wrapped his arms around her as his tongue swept in and out of her mouth on a quick foray. Murmuring her approval, she raised up to do a little exploring of her own, at the same time tracing the curve of his cheek with her fingertips.
    The night air took on a special warmth, surrounded as she was by the strength and heat of Nick’s warrior body. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to crawl right up on his lap, to feel the press of her body against his. That would be too much too soon, but if she didn’t back away now, she might not be able to resist.
    Before she had a chance to retreat, Nick took the initiative and broke off the kiss, jerking back out of reach. He stared down at her, his eyes flared wide and looking a little panicky. His breath came in short gasps, but then her own sounded as if she’d been running sprints, too.
    His expression abruptly morphed from confused to absolutely blank, every emotion he’d just been feeling evidently disappearing between one second and the next. Her skin prickled with goose bumps as if the temperature had suddenly dropped ten degrees.
    She would have retreated to the far end of the swing if his arm wasn’t still holding her prisoner. As if reading her mind, Nick shifted his arm off her shoulders and up onto the back of the swing. Callie inched away, opening up a far larger breach between them than the short distance she’d actually moved.
    “Nick?”
    His eyes dropped closed and stayed that way for several seconds. When he finally looked at her again, she was looking at a total stranger, so cold and distant.
    “Callie, I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
    Okay, now she was getting mad. “Do what, Nick? It was a kiss. Nothing more.”
    Evidently he didn’t agree. Nick stood up and walked a short distance away, hovering just out of reach. Callie stayed on the swing, not sure what had just happened and not all that anxious to find out.
    “I’d better go, Callie. And unless you’ve changed your mind about me sticking around, I’ll get started on the yard tomorrow morning.”
    He kept his back to her as he spoke. Did he really think she’d send him packing because of one ill-advised kiss? Maybe so, because he sure sounded dead serious. She wasn’t even tempted to ask him to leave, if for no other reason than she hadn’t had time to decide what to do about Mooch.
    Keeping her voice businesslike, she gave him his answer. “I’m not sure what yard tools you’ll find over there in the garage, but feel free to borrow anything you need from my dad’s toolshed. If there’s stuff like fertilizer or weed killer that you need, make a list so I can pick it up for you.”
    “I’ll do that.” The rigid set of his shoulders softened a bit. “And, Callie, just so you know, the problem is with me, not you.”
    She wanted to point out that that was what they all said, but he was already gone. Mooch stopped to get petted one last time and then charged off into the darkness to catch up with his buddy. Callie set the swing in motion, swaying gently as