Page 6 of Mountain Champion
“But you’re friends with Knox,” I point out. Not only is Knox part of Green Mountain Guardians, he also owns a construction company in town. Hazel’s constantly telling me she can have Knox come over to fix things, but I always tell her no, I wouldn’t feel right having him do work for me without paying him.
“Knox helps with some things,” Ronan replies. “But I like taking care of things myself. Keeps me busy.” Sitting back, he gives me an approving nod. “Everything seems good.” His gaze meets mine. “Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous? Seeing double?”
“Nope.” I push myself to a seated position. “Thankfully, the snow we got last weekend served as good padding.”
A tiny frown flickers across his face before he extends his hand to me. I hesitate for a second before taking it. I’m not sure why.
Then his big hand wraps around mine, and my heart jumps.
“Let’s go inside,” he says. “You should sit down at least. I bet you’ve got some bruises from the ladder falling on top of you. It would be a good idea to get some ice on them.”
Before I can argue, his arm comes around my waist, drawing me to his side.
My lungs stop working again, but this time it’s not from falling off a ladder.
What is this?I ask myself while he leads me into the house.Why am I reacting like this?I mean, I’ve always thought Ronan was handsome—any woman would—but I’ve never thought about him in a romantic way.
Liar,says the silent voice that likes to pipe up at the most inopportune moments.When Ronan was running that half marathon last summer and you saw him without his shirt on, are you really going to pretend you didn’t think about him in the shower that night? When you were touching yourself, and?—
“Stop it,” I blurt.
Ronan looks down at me, confused. “Stop what? Am I hurting you? Are you feeling dizzy? Sick?”
My cheeks fill with heat. Great. Now he’s going to think I have a brain injury.
“Just thinking out loud,” I mutter. Glad for the reprieve of the living room, I pull free of his arm and hurry into it. “I shouldget Haley’s dinner started. She has art club on Tuesdays; that’s why she takes the late bus. By the time she gets home, she’s usually starving.”
“Angel.” Ronan grasps my hand and tugs me to a stop. “Just take a few minutes. Sit down. Breathe. I know you think you’re fine, but you’re shaking.”
I glance down at the gloved hand not engulfed in his. And he’s right. It’s trembling.
“Come on.” He guides me over to the couch and guides me onto it. Then he looks at his watch. “It’s four-forty. Give yourself five minutes at least.”
“Okay.” I lean back against the couch cushions, already feeling my body protesting the new aches and bruises. As Ronan looks at me, I add, “I really don’t know what happened up there. I know I set the ladder up properly. Put it on level ground, made sure those locking things were secure…”
“The locking things?”
“You know.” I make a little motion with my hand. “The things that keep the top of the ladder from sliding down.”
“The rung locks. Which, I have to say, looked like they didn’t work.”
I shake my head. “Apparently not. I never thought about a ladder as something that needed to be replaced. But it is pretty old. So I guess they broke.”
Ronan frowns. “I suppose they could. Do you keep the ladder in the garage?”
“Behind the house. I know it’s probably better to keep it in the garage, but I could never seem to find a good spot for it. There are hooks on the wall, but I can’t reach them.”
He glances around the room before replying. All at once, I’m glad I had a whirlwind cleaning session last night after Haley went to sleep. It’s not immaculate in here by any means, but most of the clutter is tucked away and all the surfaces are freshlydusted. “You should get a new ladder before you try—” He stops. “Are you going to insist on putting up the rest of the lights? Even now?”
My shoulders draw up. “Yes. I’ll borrow a ladder from one of the neighbors.” Aware Ronan probably thinks I’m being irrationally stubborn again, and really, I don’t blame him, seeing as how I could have broken my neck only minutes before, I add, “I promised Haley I’d do special lights for her this year. Lights on the whole house, like her friends have.”
“But—”
“Her friends all have dads,” I explain quietly. “Dads who go all out with decorations and build their daughters treehouses and custom dollhouses. Dads who show up to the annual Daddy-Daughter tea that the school hosts. I can’t do most of those things for her. But the lights… I thought I could do that, at least.”
I’m not sure why I’m telling Ronan all of this. Maybe it was the fall. Maybe it’s being in close proximity to him without anyone else around. Or maybe it’s just thissomethingin his eyes as he looks at me.
He gazes at me for a few seconds, his expression unreadable.
