Love at Last (Last Frontier Lodge #2) by J.H. Croix Read Free Book Online

backseat to her body.
    A tiny corner of her tried to speak up and point out that what she felt with Garrett went beyond purely physical. She ignored it. She couldn’t let herself think too much about how it felt to be close to him. It was too dangerous. For a split second, she wondered if maybe she could go to Seattle, but she quickly nixed it. She loved her job and she was happy in Diamond Creek. She couldn’t find a better place to raise Nick and would never be able to replicate the kind of support she had here from family and friends. Garrett would return to his life, and she would be nothing more than a memory. That’s the way it needed to be.
    She let the hot water wash away her day, taking the lingering sensation of his touch with it. After she climbed into bed though, her mind kept replaying those heated moments and her body hummed with the visceral memory of Garret’s body against hers.

Chapter 5

    “Mom!”
    Delia whipped a brush through her hair and hurried down the hall, tying her hair in a loose knot as she came around the corner into the kitchen. She was getting ready to leave for work while Nick got ready for school.
    “Mornin’ Nick, what’s up?” she asked as she dropped a kiss on the top of his head. He stood beside the bench by the door and was busy digging through his backpack.
    Nick whipped his head up, his blue eyes wide. “I can’t find my math homework!”
    She met his worried gaze. “Where were you last night when you did your homework?”
    Before Nick had a chance to reply, Delia’s father came through the side door and tossed his gloves on the bench. “Started your car. Should be warm in a bit,” he offered by way of greeting.
    “Thanks, Dad.”
    Don nodded and kept walking, straight to the coffee pot. He poured a cup for himself and sat down at the kitchen table. Don was a loving father, but he was a man of action, not words. He wouldn’t say anything sentimental, yet he’d start her car every morning and brush the snow off all winter long for her. She loved him for that.
    Nick threw his backpack on the floor and sighed, leaning against the bench. Delia knelt beside him, stroking up and down his back. His shoulder blades felt like little wings under her palm. She could feel the shudder of his breath. She wished he hadn’t inherited her tendency to worry. She knew he’d be beside himself until he found that homework, and if he didn’t find it, he’d be on the verge of tears. He loved his first grade teacher, Miss Janie Stevens, known as Miss Janie to her beloved students. She was warm, witty, and practical. She also held her students to the standards she set and didn’t coddle them, so Delia knew if Nick didn’t find that homework, he would be marked down for it.
    “Dad, you didn’t happen to see Nick’s math homework this morning, did you?”
    She stood and looked over at him. Her father’s weathered face, gray hair and warm blue eyes were a familiar, comforting sight.
    He took a slow sip of coffee and cast his gaze on Nick. “Let’s retrace your steps. Where were you when you did your homework last night?”
    The next few minutes comprised Don patiently walking Nick through his night until Nick’s eyes lit up. He went flying from the room, his feet pounding down the hallway. Moments later, he raced back into the kitchen, triumphantly waving several sheets of paper in his hand. “I left it in your study!” He threw his arms around his grandfather’s waist and hurried over to his backpack, stuffing the papers inside. He was a conscientious boy, but not a tidy one. Delia figured she’d take conscientious over tidy any day.
    Moments later, the bus had come and gone. Delia washed a few dishes and dried her hands, leaning her hips on the counter and glancing over at her father.
    Don took another slow sip of coffee and cleared his throat. Her father wasn’t one to hurry. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you wanted your own place.”
    Her father’s gentle