Page 94 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector

"Worse."

"That's helpful." She tries the other side and misses again.

I step closer. "Here, let me." Her hand falls.

I brush my thumb slowly across her cheek. A faint red stain disappears beneath it. There's purple on the other side. I wipe that away too.

Maddy grows quiet. So do I.

Then I see another trace near the corner of her mouth. My thumb moves toward it, slower this time. Her eyes stay on mine as I brush the stain away. My hand remains against her cheek. I look at her mouth. When I meet her eyes again, she hasn't moved.

I lean toward her. Her hand settles lightly against my chest. I kiss her, slowly, soft at first, then lingering as she leans into me. This one doesn't ask a question. It remembers the answer.

Her fingers curl slightly against my shirt, and I let the kiss last another moment before drawing back. We stay close. A smile touches her mouth.

"You missed one."

I look at her cheek. "Where?"

"I have no idea. I just wanted to see if you'd do that again."

A laugh slips out of me. "Dangerous, Hart."

"I'm beginning to think you like dangerous."

"Maybe a little."

I brush my thumb once more over her cheek before letting my hand fall. We keep walking. That's what surprises me, the ease of it. No awkwardness after the kiss. No need to stop and figure out what we're doing. We just keep going.

By the time we head toward the main fields, Maddy is talking about three dishes she claims she isn't actually planning. And I'm wondering whether we have enough room to expand the currant rows next season. I keep that part to myself. For now.

Later that afternoon, Noah finds me near the equipment shed. "Martinez!"

I turn as he comes around the corner, Atlas already getting to his feet.

"Grandma says I have twenty minutes."

"Then you'd better use them wisely."

He crouches beside Atlas and tells me what he learned about German Shepherds that week. Some of it I know. Some he gets almost right. I let him finish before correcting him, because he's eight and serious about getting things right, and there's something about that combination that makes me want to give him all the time he asks for.

Eventually he sits on an overturned bucket while Atlas settles beside him. "Do you think dogs know when somebody needs them?"

I look at Atlas. "Yeah. Sometimes before the person does."

Noah thinks about that as he scratches behind Atlas's ear. "That's pretty cool."

"It is."

Helen calls him from across the yard. He jumps up. "Sorry, I gotta go. Grandma is calling. See you later, Martinez."

"See you, kid."

He runs toward her. I watch until he reaches Helen.

For a moment, something old presses at the edge of my thoughts. I lower my head. Atlas leans against my leg. I rest a hand on his head and let out a slow breath.

When I look up, Maddy is watching me. She saw it. Whatever crossed my face, she saw enough to know that something about Noah got to me. For a second, I wait for the question. It doesn't come. Not now.