Page 95 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector

I turn toward her. “How’s the inventory going?”

“Almost finished.” She lifts the clipboard in her hand. “Cole and I are checking the last few things.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m enjoying it. Although you should probably keep that from Cole.”

“He’ll find more.”

“Exactly.”

I walk over to her and take her free hand. Her fingers close around mine.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I say.

Her smile softens. “So am I.”

I lean down and kiss her, gently, letting it linger until she rises a little closer. When I draw back, she keeps hold of my hand.

“You’re making it difficult to finish the inventory.”

“I could apologize.”

“Would you mean it?”

“No.”

She laughs. Across the yard, Cole calls her name.

“There’s my supervisor.”

I give her hand one last squeeze before letting go. “See you in a bit, Maddy.”

“You’d better, Javier.”

She heads toward the packing barn, glancing back once before she reaches the doors. I’m still smiling when I return to work.

Chapter Twelve

Madison

The first rumble of thunder comes just after four.

I look up from the clipboard in my hand. Across the packing barn, Cole does the same.

"That sounds promising."

"Very."

Rain starts a few minutes later. Not gradually. One second the yard is dry, and the next, water hammers the metal roof hard enough to drown out conversation.

I step to the open doorway. The farm has disappeared behind a wall of gray. Another crack of thunder rolls overhead, and my fingers tighten around the clipboard.

I hate thunderstorms. Always have. Thunder. Lightning. The strange darkness that comes in the middle of the day. I can handle a kitchen full of shouting chefs, a dining room with two hundred reservations, and a supplier calling twenty minutes before service to tell me the halibut isn't coming. But thunder? Apparently that's where my courage ends.

Outside, people are already moving. Jack crosses the yard toward the equipment barn while two of the newer veterans secure a tarp over a stack of feed.

Then I see Javier. He runs through the rain with Atlas beside him. He reaches the barn and pushes wet hair from his forehead.