The Cottage at Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy

Author:Jen Gilroy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2017-01-31T05:00:00+00:00

Sean parked the MG in the space behind his house and cut the engine. “Here we are.”

Charlie huddled in the passenger seat. She’d wrapped a blanket around her like a cape, and her chin was tucked into her chest. She opened her eyes and blinked at him, like a sleepy owl.

Protectiveness rolled over him. “My house. We’re here.” He tried to see his place through her eyes. The soft gray clapboard with a big stone chimney to one side, the wraparound porch, and the bay windows upstairs and down; a new house nevertheless part of the Vermont landscape, solid and rooted in place.

Sean rubbed his palms across his temples as the reality of the day and what he could have lost hit him afresh. He steadied his breathing. Charlie was stubborn and hard-headed, but she was also so damn sexy that every time he got close to her he was like a horny teenager again.

“Oh.” She struggled to sit up straight. “I’ll be fine once I shower and change. I texted Linnie and asked her to loan me some clothes.” Her bright smile didn’t fool him for a second.

He got out of the car and came around to Charlie’s side to open her door and grab her stuff from behind the seat. Only he wasn’t a teenager, and something had changed between them today, something he wasn’t sure he was ready for. He slung Charlie’s backpack over his shoulder and took her arm to help her out of the car.

“I can manage.” Charlie stepped forward and bumped into Ty’s skateboard, propped outside the back door.

“Humor me. I promised your sister I’d look after you.” Sean righted the skateboard and bit back a grin at the shocked expression on Charlie’s face. Mia was looking out for Charlie to protect her in a way he hadn’t expected, a way he respected, since it was rooted in love.

“What will your mom say when she finds out I’m staying here?” Charlie’s expression became wary.

“It’s none of her business.” Although his mom had made it clear she didn’t want him having anything to do with Charlie because she was a Gibbs. When he’d asked why, she’d snapped her mouth shut like one of the turtles in the mudflats along the river outside town and refused to answer.

He handed Charlie the dry-cleaning bag, then opened the door and led her through the garage, past his work truck, and into the mudroom, where Shadow greeted them with a frenzy of barks and tail wagging.

He leaned against the kitchen door. The bravado on her face, mixed with vulnerability, twisted his heart. As if sensing that he was trying to figure out what she was thinking, she dropped to her knees beside Shadow.

“Hey, girl.” She rubbed under Shadow’s chin. “How did you get in here?”

“Once the fire was out, Trevor needed to get her out from underfoot. He brought her up to the house.”

“Oh.” Charlie rested her face against the dog’s head, and Sean’s stomach somersaulted. “I bet you were real scared today.

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