 
Haven

By Jewel Donovan

Copyright 2017 Jewel Donovan

Smashwords Edition

All Rights Reserved

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

EPILOGUE

AUTHOR'S NOTE

# Chapter One

Will Stone hit the brakes on his black pickup as a deer ran out across the road ahead. Years of experience with driving on icy roads allowed him to maintain control as the vehicle skidded a little before coming to a stop.

The grey compact car coming the other way wasn't so lucky. The driver must have panicked and swerved to avoid hitting the deer. The car's wheels locked up as it went into a skid, sliding on the ice-covered road, brakes squealing, until it went off the road into the ditch, coming to a hard stop against a utility pole.

Will cursed and pulled his truck over as far to the side of the road as he dared, threw the vehicle into park, and turned on his four-way flashers. He knew that this road was a dead spot for cell service, so he didn't even bother to check for a signal as he got out and ran as fast as was possible on the ice towards the other vehicle. The car hadn't been going too fast when it had hit the pole, and he mentally crossed his fingers that the other driver wasn't badly hurt. The deer had escaped injury, darting away and running through the field that bordered the side of the road.

The radiator was steaming, the bumper crumpled. The airbags had deployed, and he could see someone slumped against the one on the driver's side.

Will climbed down into the ditch as quickly as he dared and tapped on the window. "Hey! Ma'am, are you alright?"

She was still for a few moments, making him worry she might have lost consciousness, before she sat back, looking stunned. She blinked a few times, shook her head slightly, then looked through the window at him with wide blue eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, tugging at the door handle. It remained shut. The door must be locked.

She shrank back a bit when she saw him before lowering the window a few scant inches. "Did—did I hit the deer?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

Will felt his eyebrows rise. The woman had just been in an accident. While she didn't appear to be hurt, she had to be feeling shaken, and her car was likely no longer driveable, yet she was worried about the deer? "No, it ran off."

She let out a breath of relief. "Good," she said.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked. "You hit a pole."

"Oh god," she exclaimed, as if just realizing what had happened to her vehicle. "Is my car okay?"

Will glanced over at the hissing radiator and crumpled front end and shook his head regretfully. "I think it's toast."

"Oh no." She bit her lip, looking on the verge of tears.

"Hey, as long as you're okay, right? Nothing seems to be broken? You didn't hit your head on anything?"

"Does the airbag count?" she asked, pressing a hand to her temple, then said, "No, nothing feels like it's broken."

She turned off the ignition, then pulled out a cell phone before Will said, "Don't bother. There's no service out here."

She didn't respond as she tapped in a passcode and checked for herself. She waved the phone around at different angles for a few moments before muttering, "Damn it," under her breath.

Told ya, Will thought, but instead only said, "Need a ride back to town? You can call for a tow from there." When she looked undecided, he added, "This road isn't used much and it might be a while before someone else comes by."

She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, considering. "Maybe you could call in a tow for me when you get there?" she asked, most likely wanting to avoid getting into a stranger's vehicle.

"I wouldn't feel right leaving you out here alone. It's going to be dark soon, and it's too cold. The temperature is already well below freezing, and it's supposed to drop another ten degrees tonight." As if to prove his point, a blast of icy-cold late November wind blew across them, making them both shiver. "You could freeze to death out here." When she still looked reluctant, he cracked what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I swear I'm not an axe murderer," he said. "I'm Will, by the way. Will Stone."

"I'm Am—" she cut herself off before finishing, "Lily."

"Lily..." he trailed off, waiting for her to supply her last name.

"Just Lily."

She seemed awfully suspicious. He wondered where she was from. Probably a bigger city. People tended to be a lot less trusting in bigger cities than where he was from, which had a population of about five thousand people. "Okay, just Lily, it's only about a ten-minute drive to Haven," he said, referring to his hometown. "You passed the turnoff a couple of minutes ago."

Lily appeared to wrestle with the decision before reluctantly saying, "I guess. Thanks." She opened the car door and climbed out, revealing that she wasn't properly dressed for an Alberta winter. Her navy-blue peacoat was too thin for this wind. While she had a ski hat on, her hands were bare, and she was wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and ankle boots that looked more fashionable than practical. They all but disappeared into the snowdrift. She pressed her lips together in a grimace, and Will guessed that her footwear had probably filled with snow the second she'd stepped out of the car. She obviously wasn't from around here, or she'd know how to dress for this weather. He doubted she had thermals on underneath those clothes.

Shit. What the hell was he doing thinking about her undergarments? This is what came from going without sex for over six months.

And now what the hell was he doing thinking about sex? If Lily could read his thoughts she'd probably run screaming down the road. It was clear she didn't want to spend any more time in his company than she had to, much less get any more intimately acquainted. He felt his face heat, hoping she wouldn't notice, or that if she did, she'd think his cheeks were just red from the cold and wind. He had to stop thinking like that. She was clearly afraid he was a creep. Better to not act like one, even if it was just in his own mind.

She reached back in to grab a stuffed duffle bag, and that was when Will saw that her car was packed full of suitcases and boxes.

"Going on a trip somewhere?" he asked.

She looked at him sharply, then quickly slid her glance away. "Something like that." As she slung the handle of the bag over her shoulder, it banged against her side and she winced.

"You sure you're okay?" Will asked. "Maybe I should take you to the hospital first. Get everything checked out."

"No!" she exclaimed abruptly, before her voice softened and she added, "I mean, no thanks. I'm fine."

"You sure? I don't want you passing out on me."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. It's just a fender bender."

It was a bit more serious than a fender bender, but Will refrained from saying so as Lily locked the car and began to climb out of the ditch.

Her impractical boots slipped on the snow-covered ice, and Will reached out a hand to catch her. "Careful," he cautioned.

She jerked away from his touch, which only made her slip again.

The woman was as jumpy as a mouse in a snake's cage. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I just don't want you to fall."

"Sorry," she said quickly. This time she let him take her arm to help her back onto the road, but he could feel that she was shaking. From the cold, or because he was touching her? He released her as soon as they were out of the ditch. His truck was sitting where he'd left it, still running, the driver's side door open. He led her around to the passenger side, opened the door, and took her duffle bag, tossing it up onto the bench seat before saying, "You might need a boost to get in." He didn't think she'd want him touching her again, but she was a small woman, maybe a few inches over five feet, and his truck was high. How many times had his sister Abby complained that she practically needed mountain climbing gear to get into the vehicle?

Once again, Lily looked reluctant before she accepted his help. Though he only touched her for a few seconds to help her in, he felt a prickle of awareness in his hands even with his gloves on. It had been too long since he'd touched a woman, he thought. This woman obviously had no interest in being touched by anyone. Or at least not by him. He knew some people found him intimidating given that he was six feet tall and muscular from years of manual labor.

He had no business feeling a spark of attraction for her. He was just helping a stranded motorist get back to town. Just a good guy doing someone a favor. He'd have done it for anyone.

Yeah, but you wouldn't be feeling the beginnings of a hard-on if she weren't so darn attractive.

Next time he made a delivery trip to Edmonton he was going to stay overnight, hit up a bar, and put an end to his current sexual drought. Then next time he found a pretty young woman stranded on the side of the road, he wouldn't think inappropriate thoughts about her.

Crap. This was going to be a long drive back to Haven. Even if it was only going to take ten minutes.

***

Lily winced as the truck door slammed shut, the loud noise making her jump as he closed it and headed around to the driver's side of the vehicle. What more could go wrong today? she wondered as she fastened her seat belt. She'd known that leaving in the middle of winter probably wasn't a good idea, especially when she'd been taking the Coquihalla mountain pass from British Columbia, but she'd felt she'd had no choice. She'd had to leave. She'd been planning to leave next spring, but things had gotten much worse in the last few days, and Lily had been afraid that if she didn't leave now, she might never get out of there alive.

Of all the rotten luck. She'd made it through the terrifying drive of the mountain pass just before they'd shut down the highway due to poor road conditions and reduced visibility from blowing snow, only to be taken off the road by a stray deer. The accident had left her so shaken she'd almost slipped up and given her rescuer her real name. A name she had left behind her in BC. From now on, she was determined to think of herself as Lily Smith, the name on her fake driver's license. Amanda Sullivan was dead. Gone. Along with the long blond hair that she'd hacked off and dyed a dark brown. It would be just her luck to have come this far only to screw up and give her real name.

She would bet Will was suspicious already, the way she'd reacted to his suggestion that he take her to a hospital. While she had a fake driver's license, she had nothing else. No health-care card, no insurance. To say nothing of not wanting to leave any documentation behind that could be followed. It wasn't like she had enough money to pay out of pocket for x-rays or whatever other tests they'd want to run at the hospital. She didn't have much cash on her, just the bit she'd managed to save over the last few months and what her best friend Jane had been able to spare. She hadn't wanted to take her friend's money, insisting that Jane had done enough with helping her to get a used car that couldn't be easily traced, to procuring her a fake ID. But her friend had insisted, and Lily had known she hadn't had much choice. She needed money for gas and food if she was going to get away. She'd pretty much planned to drive to the biggest city her money would take her and then try to find a job from there that would be willing to pay her in cash.

What if her car was damaged enough to be a write-off? She didn't have the money to replace it. Or for much in the way of repairs, even if it was salvageable. She could perhaps take a bus out of town, but then she'd have to leave a lot of her stuff behind. Not to mention the fact that she'd planned to sleep in her car until she could afford a place to live.

Her eyes stung with unshed tears and she furiously blinked them back. Crying would solve nothing. She'd learned that a long time ago. It was bad enough that she'd had to accept a ride from a stranger. And not just any stranger, but a guy who looked big enough and strong enough to knock her into next week without even breaking a sweat. Why couldn't she have been found by a nice couple or some sweet little old lady? Not by a guy with a slightly crooked grin that made her feel a tingle she hadn't felt in a long time. She ruthlessly squelched it. The last thing she needed right now was to get tangled up with a man. Any man, but especially not one who looked like he outweighed her by a hundred pounds.

The truck rocked a bit as he climbed in. She tried not to jump when he slammed that door shut, too.

He fastened his seat belt, then cranked the heat. "It'll warm up in here pretty quick. If you stick your hands in front of the vent, they should thaw out by the time we get into town."

So he'd noticed that she didn't have any gloves on. Just what she needed, to be rescued by someone observant. If anyone came asking questions, she could be in trouble. And asking him not to tell anyone anything about her would only make him suspicious. "Thanks," she said quietly, holding her cold fingers up to the hot air blowing out of the vent. They stung as the circulation returned to them.

"So, where are you headed?" he asked, as he got the truck moving.

"Just passing through," she said quickly.

"Not from around here, are you?"

She shot a glance at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're not dressed for this weather for one thing, and your car has BC plates."

Damnit. What was this guy, a detective? Just her luck, he'd probably turn out to be a cop. "Anyone ever tell you that you ask a lot of questions?"

He glanced over at her and flashed a wry smile before turning his gaze back to the road. "Hazards of living in a smaller town. We tend to be a bit nosy. Sorry."

She nodded, then pointedly turned her gaze out the window, hoping to avoid more conversation.

"I'll take you to the coffee shop on Main Street and I can call Paul from there," he said.

"Paul?"

"The guy who runs the best garage in town. He's a pal of mine. He's the one I'd trust to not try to cheat you."

"I can call him myself, thanks."

"Do you even know what range road we're on to tell him where your car is?"

Well damn, the man had a point. She'd had no GPS and had been following the highway signs. She must have taken a wrong turn off the main road and had been wondering where she was just before the deer had run out in front of her.

"Right. Thanks. After you call him, you can just drop me off at the coffee shop, and I can take it from there," she said, hoping he'd take the hint and leave her alone after that.

"No problem, I was planning to stop there anyways. I'll even buy you a cup of coffee."

Sheesh, he was persistent. "You don't have to do that," she said quickly. "I already owe you enough as it is."

"You don't owe me anything. Just being friendly."

Yeah, guys often seemed friendly. At first. Right up until they had you trapped. Then they accused you of cheating on them for being ten minutes late getting home from work and backhanded you to the floor. "I'll buy my own coffee, thanks," she said, her voice clipped.

"It's just a cup of coffee, Lily. I really don't mind."

She felt like protesting some more, but realized she might appear weird or shrewish if she continued. And he was right. It was just a cup of coffee. It wasn't like he'd asked her for a blow job.

Holy crap! Why the hell had she just thought that? He hadn't made a single sexual innuendo towards her. Why had her mind gone there? Maybe because she'd felt a spark of attraction for him since the moment he'd knocked on her car window, asking if she was okay. And she'd felt a tingle when he'd touched her, even through the fabric of his gloves and her clothing, a tingle that wasn't just fear. She could still feel where his hands had been on her when he'd helped boost her up into the truck. Lily felt her face heat and ducked her chin down, hoping to hide her furious blush behind her hair. The last thing she needed was for him to guess that she'd had a moment's thought of giving him a blow job. So far he'd seemed friendly, but she would be daft to forget that she was in his vehicle and at his mercy. He could drive her off to some remote area if he wished and do whatever he wanted with her. While she had pepper spray in her pocket, it wasn't enough to make her feel safe.

Lily pulled her hands away from the vent and tucked them into her pockets so he wouldn't see them shaking. And closed her hand around the can of pepper spray like it was a talisman. "Okay. Coffee sounds good."

She was saved from trying to make more small talk by their arrival into town. The sign proclaimed the town's name as Haven, claiming it was the friendliest town in Alberta. Though it was the last week of November, the place was already decorated for the holidays, with wreaths hanging off lampposts and trees twinkling with colored lights. Lily had to admit it looked pretty. Will pulled into the parking lot of a diner. Lily was getting out of the truck almost before he had turned the engine off. It was a bit of a jump down, and she let out a grunt as she landed harder than she'd expected, having not accounted for the added weight of her duffle bag.

"Hey, you okay? I'd have helped you down," she heard Will protest from behind her.

Yeah, she'd just bet he would have. The guy was way too helpful for her comfort level. She wasn't going to let him put his hands on her again if she had any say in the matter. She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of, the fact that they looked like strong hands that could snap her arm with little effort, or the fact that she didn't want to feel any of those disconcerting tingles again. "I'm fine," she assured him before shutting the truck door and hurrying towards the diner, more than ready to put some distance between them.

Bells tinkled as she opened the door to the diner. The place was decorated for Christmas on the inside as well. On the sound system, someone was singing about rocking around the Christmas tree. A middle-aged woman wearing a festive apron and carrying a coffee pot said, "Sit anywhere you like, honey, I'll be right with you."

Lily slid into an empty booth, placing her duffle bag between her and the wall to ensure that no one could grab it easily. A few moments later Will took the seat opposite, already talking on his cell phone, telling the person on the other end where to find her car. "Her name's Lily, you can call her back at—" he looked at her, brows raised, waiting for her number.

Right. Lily pulled out her phone and tapped in her passcode. She'd had to leave her old one behind and had bought an untraceable pay-as-you-go phone to replace it. She'd only had it for a day and didn't have the number memorized yet. She pulled up the necessary information and read it out to Will, who relayed it, asked a few more questions, then ended the call.

"Paul says they'll be able to get to your car in about half an hour, but they probably won't be able to give you an estimate on repairs until tomorrow afternoon."

Lily bit her lip. It wouldn't matter how much repairs cost, a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand. She wouldn't have enough cash to cover it, and she had no credit cards. It looked like she was stuck here for the time being. She'd have to find a job to pay for repairs. She hadn't put nearly enough distance between herself and Vancouver to feel even remotely safe, and especially not in a smaller town. It was much harder to disappear in a place where people knew the mechanics by name. Why couldn't she have at least made it to Edmonton?

And now she had no place to sleep. With the temperatures as low as they were, sleeping in her car wouldn't have been comfortable, but she'd figured if she ran the engine every few hours to warm up, she'd manage.

She'd planned this escape for months. She thought she'd prepared for every contingency. Who would have guessed she'd be derailed by a deer?

The waitress came over and asked, "You need menus?"

"Just two coffees, Joleen, thanks," Will answered, stripping off his gloves before pulling off his knit hat to reveal hair that was some color between blond and brown.

Lily added cream and sugar to her coffee before wrapping her hands around the mug, absorbing the welcome warmth.

"So, is there somewhere I can take you?" Will asked after Joleen walked off. "You got a place to stay?"

"I—I don't know," Lily replied, once more feeling the bite of tears. Stupid, useless tears. She forced them back and took a sip of coffee so she could hide behind the mug. "Is there a motel in town? Something inexpensive?" she asked hopefully, although she doubted it. The place looked like a tourist trap. There probably wasn't anything from a major chain in it. And no matter what, it was money she could ill afford to spend. And would any place around here accept cash without a credit card for a deposit?

Will was silent for a few moments before saying, "I just had a thought. Looks like you'll be stuck here while you're waiting for your car to be fixed. Are you interested in a job?"

"A job? You know someone who's hiring?" Please let it be for some sweet harmless little old lady, she thought. She needed to get away from him and his intimidating size and smiles that made her stomach do funny things. Or maybe that stomach thing was because she hadn't eaten since that gas station bagel four hours ago. She hoped.

"Can you cook?"

Lily stifled a laugh. Could she cook? She'd wanted to be a chef since she was a little girl, maybe open her own café or run a catering business. And she'd spent the last six years working at Jane's Diner as a cook. And at another restaurant before that. "I can cook."

"Clean?"

"Yes." She felt her hopes rise for the first time since she'd lost control of her car on that icy road.

"I'm looking for a housekeeper."

Lily felt her stomach sink. She'd been hoping he was asking on behalf of someone else, not himself. No such luck.

"Job includes room and board and pays three hundred dollars a week. I can pay you in cash." He lifted his coffee and downed nearly half of it all at once.

A job and a place to stay? That would mean that she could pay off her car repairs even faster without housing costs to eat into her wages. She knew she should jump at the chance. It was like a gift—except it came with him attached. An altogether too-attractive man who made her nervous in more ways than one. Was this even a legit offer, or had he made it up to get her to go home with him? Maybe he just wanted to get her alone. Although she supposed he could have done that earlier, when she was in his truck. "I don't know..."

"My last housekeeper left a week ago, and there's only so long my younger sister and I can live on grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup out of a can."

"Your sister?" Maybe this could work if they had a chaperone, even a pint-sized one. "Is childcare involved?"

He gave a bark of laughter. "Don't let Abby hear you say that. She's seventeen going on thirty."

"I see." Lily took another sip of coffee to give herself time to think. "So it's just the two of you?"

"It's been just the two of us for the last ten years, since our parents died."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said reflexively.

"It was a long time ago."

Still, that meant he must have been taking care of his sister since she was seven, all on his own. That couldn't have been easy. He must have been very young when his folks died. He didn't look like he could be more than thirty, if that. He probably was close to her age of twenty seven.

This guy had to be too good to be true. He rescued stranded motorists, offered much-needed jobs to them, and now she found out he'd been orphaned and had raised his kid sister all by himself.

"You're sure it's not a problem that I'm not planning to stay long term?"

"It's fine. I'm sure I can find someone else by the time you want to leave."

She should stop protesting before he changed his mind. It wasn't like she had any other options.

"We can give it a try for a week. If you hate it, you can move on to something else. What do you say?" he asked.

She stared at him silently. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she blurted out before she thought better of it.

He looked surprised. "Why not?"

"I—I don't know." Except in her experience people tended not to go out of their way to help others. Apart from Jane, no one else had bothered. People had pretended not to notice her makeup covering a bruise, her long sleeves even when it was hot out, or the fact that she 'walked into doorknobs' or 'fell down the stairs' or was 'sick' a lot. And before that, her mom had taken off when she was eleven. Her dad had drowned his sorrows in the bottle, then taken his anger out on her. She hadn't had much kindness in her life, and most of the time, what seemed like kindness at first came at a price later.

"That's what we tend to do around here. If you stay here long enough, you'll find that out."

She wasn't planning to stick around that long, but she refrained from saying so.

"Like I said before, I'm not an axe murderer. Joleen will vouch for me. Won't you, Joleen?" he said, raising his voice a little.

"Won't I what?" Joleen asked as she came over to their table.

"Tell Lily here that I'm not an axe murderer."

Joleen laughed. "Very funny, Will. Everyone in town knows you wouldn't hurt a fly. He's not an axe murderer, honey," she added to Lily. "Refill?"

Lily shook her head no, while Will had Joleen add more coffee to his mug.

"So Lily's planning to be your housekeeper?"

It seemed that the job was legit, not a ruse to get her into his house. If the waitress already knew about it, then he'd probably been asking around town for someone to fill the position.

"She hasn't said yes. Yet," Will grinned. "Maybe you can convince her."

"Will's a great guy," Joleen said. "If I was you, I'd take the job."

It wasn't like Lily had any other options. If he turned out to be a creep, well, she'd just have to find a way to deal with it. And hopefully the fact that he had a sister living with him would act as a buffer. "Okay. I guess I'm your new housekeeper."

"Great." He gave her another smile that made her stomach flip.

Oh boy, she was in trouble here.

# Chapter Two

"Who's this?" A young lady asked as soon as they stepped into Will's home, a two-level rancher on the edge of town. This must be his sister Abby. While the girl's hair color was a few shades darker than his, a deep rich brown, and her jaw narrower, they had the same cheekbones and chocolate-brown eyes. Anyone would guess from just a glance that they were related.

Except where Will was all smiles and easy, open friendliness, his sister had her arms folded, her expression guarded and a touch hostile. Not even a hint of a smile to be seen.

"Our new housekeeper," Will answered. "Her name's Lily. Lily, this is Abby."

"Hi," Lily said, her voice hesitant. Was this why they were currently without a housekeeper? Had Abby's cold attitude driven the last one off?

Abby didn't respond to the greeting. "I told you we don't need a new housekeeper," she said to Will, pointedly ignoring Lily.

"Yes, we do. You're too busy with your midterms and college applications."

Her lower lip thrust out in a pout. "I said I could handle it."

"You shouldn't have to," Will responded. "And anyway, the decision's been made."

Lily shifted from foot to foot, feeling awkward standing there while they had a family argument, but not knowing what else to do. It wasn't like she knew which room was going to be hers so she could escape while Will and Abby had it out. She looked around, taking in the slightly cluttered home, and pretended she didn't hear them.

Abby glanced over at Lily, giving her a once-over before looking back at Will and asking, "Where'd you find this one? Wandering along the side of the road?"

"Abigail!" Will exclaimed. "That was rude."

The girl's face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Her gaze dropped to her feet. "Sorry," she mumbled, not sounding at all apologetic.

Lily found herself studying her feet as well. Abby couldn't know how close to the mark she'd been. Will had found her on the side of the road, after all, even if she hadn't been actually wandering along it at the time.

"Lily's only going to be here for a short time. We can try to get along for a little while, can't we?"

"I suppose."

"Good," Will said. "I'll show Lily around, let her get settled, and then she can maybe rustle us up some dinner."

Abby looked like she wanted to say something else, but instead just turned and stalked away. A few moments later a door closed with a bit more force than necessary.

Will looked chagrined. "Sorry about that. Teenagers, you know?"

"It's alright," Lily hurried to reassure him. "Seventeen can be a difficult age." How well she knew that. When she'd been seventeen she'd been counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, until she could leave home, all the while trying to juggle a part-time job and keep her grades up. To say nothing of dealing with hormone swings.

Don't think about hormones! Right now hers were a little too active for comfort. She'd like for them to take a nice long hibernation for the rest of the winter. Or perhaps the rest of her life. Those things caused nothing but trouble.

They shed their outerwear and shoes before Will showed her around. The lower level had a rec room, a laundry room, and a door that he said led to his workshop. Apparently he made a living building furniture. Not a cop, then, she thought. Thank goodness. On the upper level there was a basic kitchen that had a few dirty dishes in the sink and on the counters, a small dining room, a cozy living room, a bathroom, and three bedrooms, hers located at the end of the hall. It was a small room that had a sleigh bed made of caramel colored wood and was made up with a red plaid quilt. A matching dresser and a nightstand with a lamp on it completed the set. Lily wondered if he'd made the furniture.

"There's a lock on the door," he said, showing her the slide bolt on the inside, making her breathe a small sigh of relief that she hoped he hadn't noticed. With a lock on the door, she might sleep a little better tonight.

"No separate bathroom, I'm afraid, you'll have to share the main one with Abby. I've got an ensuite, so at least it isn't three of us to one bathroom."

After only public bathrooms and the prospect of having to shower at a gym, even a shared bathroom sounded heavenly. "That'll be fine."

"Right, so while you get settled, I'll head over to the garage and get your stuff."

"You don't have to do that," she protested automatically before he cut her off.

"It's no problem. Besides, how would you get it here? Plan to carry it across town?" he asked with a laugh.

She gave a small laugh in return. It felt strange, laughing. She hadn't laughed in a long time. "I guess that wouldn't be very practical," she said, dropping her duffle bag on the bed. "Thank you," she added, feeling like she'd been saying that to him a lot since she'd met him. "I'll get started on some dinner. Any dietary restrictions?"

"Nope, no one's allergic to anything, and we're not into any of those fancy diets. Just basic home cooking is fine. I'll need your keys," he added.

Of course. Lily dug them out of her pocket and dropped them into his waiting hand, careful to not let their fingers touch. "Thanks again."

"Anytime," he said before walking out.

Lily sat down on the bed. What had she gotten herself into? She was now living with a man when she'd sworn off all men. Not that she was living with him in that sense, but still. She'd planned to stay far away from men from now on. She was through with the lot of them. Yet here she was taking help from one, and now she was living in his house.

His sister didn't appear to be too keen on the idea, either. Lily hoped Abby wasn't going to make her life hell.

It's just for a little while, she reminded herself. Once she had the car repairs paid off and maybe a bit extra for gas and food, she'd be out of here, as far away as she could get. Some big city where she could disappear. Someplace where she'd hopefully never be found. She just hoped Trevor didn't catch up with her in the meantime. Maybe it was a good thing this was a smaller town. He might not think to look here. And it was named Haven. Maybe a sign?

She snorted, then pressed a hand to her aching ribs. Though she didn't think they were broken, they were badly bruised from where Trevor had kicked her that last time he'd gotten angry. The last time he'd beaten her, calling her a cheating whore. What a joke that was. She'd never been with anyone but him. They'd been together since she was sixteen and he seventeen. She'd had stars in her eyes when he had asked her out. The captain of the basketball team interested in her, the socially awkward girl with thrift-store clothes and hardly any friends. It had seemed like a dream at first. She'd moved out the day she had turned eighteen to live with him. Her dad had called her a whore, too, as she left. Along with a bunch of other names, before he told her to never come crawling back to him for anything.

Lily gave herself a mental shake. That part of her life was over. It didn't bear thinking about. She'd better see what she could fix for dinner.

***

The kitchen hadn't been well stocked, but Lily had found enough to make a ham frittata and cheese biscuits, something she could have on the table in half an hour. She had just pulled a barstool up to the kitchen counter to eat her portion when Will came into the room.

"Aren't you going to join us, Lily?"

"Well, I hadn't thought...I mean, you're my employer. I didn't want to intrude." Plus she didn't think Abby would be thrilled by the idea.

"You wouldn't be intruding. There's no need for you to sit in here all by your lonesome."

"I—" She couldn't think of a reason to refuse. It wasn't like she could tell him that she'd rather spend as little time as possible with him, lest she slip up and give something away. To say nothing of those pesky stirrings of attraction she felt around him.

"I insist." When she still hesitated, he added, "Come on, my food's getting cold and I'm hungry. Don't make me have to spend more time convincing you." He gave her another of those million-dollar smiles.

She couldn't argue with that, Lily supposed. Cold food wouldn't taste as good and he might decide he wasn't happy with her cooking after all and withdraw his job offer. "Well, alright. Thank you." She grabbed her plate and followed him into the dining room. He hadn't taken a bite yet, Lily saw. Abby hadn't waited for them. She'd already eaten a quarter of her portion of frittata and one of the cheese biscuits. She glanced up at Lily with an unreadable look before turning her attention back to the cell phone in her hand as she tapped out a text message.

Will sat down next to Abby and Lily took the chair on the opposite side of the table that was on the furthest corner from where he sat. She'd just put a bite of seasoned eggs and ham in her mouth when Will let out a quiet moan.

Lily quickly swallowed, her heart pounding. "Is there something wrong with the food?" She hadn't screwed this up already, had she?

"Something wrong?" Will said. "Are you kidding? This is awesome. Better than s—" he broke off with a cough. "Uh...chocolate," he finished, looking uncomfortable as he stared at his plate.

Had he just been about to say that her cooking was better than sex? Lily felt her face flush at the images that suddenly leapt to mind. Oh, how she hated her fair skin that blushed so easily. It was like everything she was thinking was written on her face. She'd just met the man this afternoon and already she'd thought about sex more than once. Even though she could have sworn any sexual desire she'd once possessed had died long ago.

She'd think he was trying to make a sexual reference on purpose if it wasn't for the fact that his expression showed he was feeling just as self-conscious as she was.

The awkward silence dragged out until he bumped his shoulder against his sister's and asked, "What do you think, Abs?"

"Hmm?" Abby looked up from her phone. "What?"

"The food. Do you like it?" Will prompted, a silent reminder that manners dictated one compliment the chef.

"Oh. Yes. It's good. Thank you," she said, sounding reluctant to pay Lily a compliment, but not willing to be rude again. Because she was warming up to Lily a bit, or because she didn't want to be scolded by her brother?

"I'm glad you like it," Lily answered with a small smile in Abby's direction. Though Lily wasn't going to be here long, things would go much easier if she could find a way to get along with the teen.

Abby held her gaze for a moment, not returning the smile, before looking back at her phone. Probably not warming up to Lily, then.

Will caught Lily's eye and gave her a wry grin. "Teenagers. You'd think that phone was a life support device."

"Very funny, bro," Abby said dryly, still typing, not looking up from the screen.

Will gasped in mock surprise. "You heard me? So you can notice something apart from that thing."

Abby's lips twitched before she put the phone down, rolled her eyes, and picked up her fork. "Alright, alright, I can take a hint."

Lily watched the byplay between brother and sister with a twinge of jealousy. She'd been a lonely only child, longing for a sibling, only to feel much lonelier when her mother left without a word of warning, never to return. It was no wonder she'd fallen for Trevor so hard. He'd been the first person to show her any positive attention in years, and in the beginning, he'd seemed wonderful.

You're not going to think about him anymore, remember?

She turned her attention back to her food, tuning out the conversation as Will and Abby talked about what she'd learned in school that day. The sooner Lily finished eating, the sooner she could escape to her room.

***

Will was in the rec room, scanning book titles to pick out his next read, when his sister walked in. "Hey Abs, you want to watch a movie or something?" While he'd planned to read, he'd put that on hold to spend time with his sister. She was nearly all grown up, and generally too busy hanging out with her friends, or on her phone texting with those friends, to have time to spend with him, so every moment was precious.

"No thanks. I just came to see if I left my charger in here. Ah, here it is." She turned to leave, then stopped. "Why did you hire her?"

"Lily?"

"Who else? You hire someone else when I wasn't looking?"

More teenage snark. It seemed like Abby had a double dose of attitude today. Will shrugged. "She needed a job, we needed a housekeeper. Seemed like a win-win."

Abby twisted the charger cord around her fingers. "So, are you going to sleep with this one, too?"

"Geez! Abby!" he exclaimed. "I did not sleep with Holly," he said, referring to their last housekeeper.

"No, but I know you were sleeping with Cassie before she left," Abby said, referring to the one they'd had before Holly.

Will rubbed the back of his neck. "We are not having this conversation." While he hadn't exactly been a monk these last ten years, he'd done his best to be discreet around his sister. No overnight stays, no live-in girlfriends unless they were willing to take on Abby. He and Cassie hadn't had a real relationship. She'd been planning to leave for nursing school, and they'd had a mutually beneficial arrangement for the last six months she'd been with them. And he hadn't realized his sister had guessed.

Abby snorted. "I'm not a little kid anymore, you know."

"I know." Boy, did he ever. When he'd first decided to take over guardianship when their parents died, the years it would take to raise her to eighteen had stretched before him like an eternity. Now it seemed like he'd blinked and she was on the brink of womanhood. Gone was the grade-schooler who had worshiped the brother who was over ten years her senior. In her place was a young lady who still had a heart of gold, but was also full of sass. While a part of him had once longed for the day he'd be done with the responsibilities of parenting that he'd been forced to take on at such a young age, another part of him was sad at how fast the time had passed. "Why this sudden interest in my love life?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, that's all. You said yourself she's not staying."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Who said I was interested in her anyways?"

Abby let out another snort. "Oh, like she's not your type?"

"My type?"

"Come on, bro. This is what you do. You take in strays, you start to care too much, and then you get hurt when they leave."

Will wanted to protest that Lily wasn't a stray, but what could he say? She was pretty much the definition of a stray, a woman obviously on the run from something. "I didn't hire her to sleep with her, alright? Like I said, she needed a job, we needed someone to work for us. Simple as that."

Abby kept fiddling with her phone charger cord. "I know you gave up a lot to take care of me when our folks died," she said. "I guess I'm just feeling a little protective of you. I'm leaving for college next year. Like I said, I don't want to see you get hurt again, like you were with Samantha."

Will had thought she'd been too young to remember his old high school girlfriend, the one who had broken his heart. Abby had only been seven and still reeling from the loss of their parents. "I appreciate your concern, kiddo, but I'll be fine. We're just giving her a place to stay for a few weeks. I'm not planning on asking her to marry me or anything. And by the way, you could have been a little nicer to her. She didn't do anything to you."

Abby dropped her gaze, looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I guess I just wasn't expecting it. I told you before we didn't need a new housekeeper. I'm old enough now, I can handle it."

"Not if you want to keep your grades up. It's your senior year, and you need to do well if you want a scholarship."

Abby shrugged. "I guess."

"She's only going to be here for a few weeks. It would be easier if we could all get along."

"I suppose."

"So can you try?"

Abby sighed. "Fine. If it means that much to you, I can try."

"That's all I ask, kiddo." He reached over and ruffled her hair like she was still seven years old.

She shrieked. "Don't mess up my hair!"

He laughed, feeling a little nostalgic. How things had changed. He remembered a time when he'd practically had to sit on her to let him comb the tangles out of her hair. Now she spent an age in the bathroom every morning, took longer showers than he did, and owned what seemed like a thousand beauty products, most of which he had no idea what they were used for. "Sorry. Goodnight, Abs."

"Goodnight, Will."

A few moments passed before he heard a knock on the doorjamb. He turned, realizing it must be Lily. Abby wouldn't knock. Yikes, had she overheard his and Abby's conversation? He sure hoped not.

Because despite his protestations to the contrary, Lily actually was his type. A dainty little thing with an elfin face and big vulnerable eyes. He always was a sucker for a pair of big blue eyes.

He cleared his throat. "Hey."

She gave a small smile. "Hey. I couldn't help noticing earlier that you had a lot of books in here and I was wondering if I could borrow one."

Ah, a fellow reader. Nice. Abby wasn't much for books anymore, but that wasn't surprising given that kids these days could stream shows or internet videos any time they wanted on their smartphones and tablets. "Of course."

"Thanks." She crossed over to look at the titles. He noticed that she chose the set of shelves farthest away from him. He remembered she'd done that at dinner, too, put as much space as possible between them. He wondered what made her so nervous. Probably running from a man, he'd guess, given how jumpy she was around him. Not to mention that her car looked like it had been stuffed with just about everything she owned, she'd been driving in the middle of an almost-blizzard with no destination in mind, and she'd been so reluctant to accept his help. His jaw tightened with anger at the thought of some asshole hurting her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, after a few minutes of silence had passed. "You have my favorite series." It was on the top shelf and she strained up to reach the latest hardcover in the set, but was only able to just barely brush the bottom edge of the spine with her fingers. She made a soft frustrated sound.

"I'll get that for you," Will said, walking up behind her and taking the book down without even having to stretch to reach it.

She jumped away from him. Again. Damnit. He hadn't even thought about the fact that he'd be crowding her by walking up behind her like that. What should he do now? Apologize for making her uncomfortable? Except she seemed reluctant to give away anything about herself. If she realized he suspected what she was hiding, she might go further into her shell. Abby had been right about strays. He couldn't resist trying to help someone who was hurting. Better to act like he hadn't noticed. "Here," he said, holding the book out.

"Th-thanks."

Their fingers brushed as she took it from him. It was the first time they'd touched skin to skin, and he again felt that sizzle of attraction. Did she feel it too?

Her eyes widened slightly, and she glanced up and caught his gaze before quickly looking down at the book in her hands. Yup, he was willing to bet she felt it. "This looks brand new," she said. "Are you sure it's okay if I borrow it?"

"Of course."

"Thanks. Well, goodnight, Will."

"Goodnight, Lily." He stepped back so she wouldn't have to brush up against him to leave the room. Even so, she skirted around the couch rather than walk past him.

# Chapter Three

One thing Lily hadn't considered when she'd taken this job was that he'd be around all the time.

She'd thought that he'd have a job that required him to leave the house. But since his workshop was in his home, that meant he was always there. She could periodically hear power tools running, or a hammer banging. Or a muffled curse when something went wrong.

She would have preferred to be by herself. Being alone meant she could let her guard down a little. It was bad enough that she'd jump if the phone or the doorbell rang. Or when the furnace kicked on. But at least when you were alone, no one could sneak up on you.

And that also meant it was just the two of them in the house while Abby was in school. It meant that she'd have to eat lunch with him. She figured he would insist she join him at the table, just like he had last night.

Still, she knew she shouldn't complain. Just yesterday she'd been homeless and stranded and desperate. Well, she was still stranded, and still somewhat desperate to get out of Haven, but at least she wasn't homeless.

Paul from the garage had called midmorning with his estimate for repairs. He'd told her that given the age of her car and the extent of the damage, it might be easier to just buy a new one. Lily had felt sick upon hearing it. Her new identity didn't exist, so she had no way to get a loan. But Paul had told her that if she was really determined to get it driveable again, he could repair it, and had quoted her a figure that would take her until the end of the year to pay if she saved every penny of her housekeeping wages. When she'd asked if he required a deposit, he'd told her that since he'd heard she was working for Will, that was all the collateral necessary. The difference between city and town living, she'd mused as she'd ended the call. She hadn't even been here for one entire day, and already people she hadn't even met knew that she was working for Will. Just one more reason why she needed to leave as soon as possible, before anyone came around asking questions.

Lily was carrying a stack of clean towels, looking for the linen closet, when she came around a corner and ran right into Will.

"Woah there," he said, his arms coming up to steady her. His hands closed lightly over her upper arms.

Lily's throat tightened in panic. She had crashed right into him and lost her balance, leaving her crushed against his chest, only the towels in her arms between them. And now he had those big hands of his on her. Those hands that could hold her against her wishes with minimal effort. Or possibly do worse to her. Oh god. They were all alone. There would be no one to hear her scream. She had to get away. She had to get away right now.

"Let go of me!" she exclaimed, her voice frantic as she pushed at his chest, stumbling back from him. The top two towels on the stack fell off and crumpled to the floor.

He was looking at her with a slightly confused expression on his face. "Sorry," he said, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean anything by it, just wanted to keep you from falling."

Of course he had. She'd overreacted. As usual. He must think she was irrational or strange. Maybe she was those things. She'd certainly felt like it for nearly as long as she could remember. Before her mom had left, she hadn't been like this. Sure, she'd been shy and awkward, but she'd laughed a lot more back then. She hadn't been afraid of her own shadow. But ever since her mom had taken off, Lily had learned that the world was a dangerous place. The illusion of safety she'd felt as a child had been just that: an illusion, shattered all too easily.

Her heart still pounding with the rush of adrenaline, she felt her face flame with embarrassment. He'd only touched her arms, for heaven's sake. What could she even say to him? Sorry I acted like you tried to rape me? It was all her fault, anyway. If she hadn't been rushing so fast, she wouldn't have run into him in the first place. She wouldn't have lost her balance and he wouldn't have needed to catch her. When would she ever learn to be more careful? When would she stop making a fool of herself? "I-I was looking for the linen closet."

"Down the hall behind you, on the right."

"Thank you." She bent down and grabbed the dropped towels and put them on top of the stack without even bothering to fold them. "I heard from the mechanic," she said as she again rose to standing, changing the subject to try to take the attention off her reaction. Her overreaction.

"So what's the damage?"

Beyond the repairs, she would need to earn a little extra money for food and gas to tide her over until she could find another job. She mentally calculated, adding another week to the total she'd need for car repairs. "It looks like I'll be here for about six weeks. If that's okay."

"It's okay."

"I'll just get this put away, then I can fix us some lunch."

"That's fine, Lily."

She nodded jerkily, then turned and walked away as quickly as possible, vaguely aware that he'd walked off again and glad he wasn't still watching her. When she got to the linen closet, she buried her face into one of the towels, trying to stop her shaking. Because when she'd been pressed up against him, she'd felt something besides just fear. She'd noticed that he smelled nice, like cedar, and something else she couldn't define. In spite of her fear, there had been a part of her that had wondered what it would be like to have him hold her for something other than just steadying her to keep her from falling on her face.

This was dangerous. She couldn't afford to develop feelings for him. In the beginning, she'd had fluttery, tingly feelings for Trevor too, and look how that had turned out. Even though a part of her said that Will was different, she didn't think she could trust her own judgement when she'd been so wrong before.

And she was leaving in six weeks. The last thing she needed was to develop any emotional entanglements that would make it harder for her to go. She needed to put a lot more distance between herself and her past.

***

"You didn't have to invite her along," Abby said over the truck's radio, as she and Will headed towards the local tree farm to get a Christmas tree.

Will pressed his lips together against a wave of irritation. Just a few minutes ago, he'd asked Lily if she'd wanted to come with them. She'd demurred, saying that it was a family activity, the unspoken inference that she wasn't family. Which she wasn't, but he'd figured that since she was going to be spending the holidays with them, she might like to be included. There had been a flash of longing in her eyes, but she'd declined even when he'd pressed. When he'd turned to go, Will had realized why. Abby had been standing behind him, her expression as angry as a thundercloud. Lily couldn't have missed seeing it.

"Of course I didn't have to. I was just trying to be friendly."

"She works for us. You don't have to act like we're one big happy family." Abby folded her arms and stared out the truck window.

"That wasn't what I was trying to do. Besides, didn't you promise to try and be nicer to her?"

Abby let out a sigh. "Whatever."

Teenagers. As difficult as it had been raising a seven-year-old, his sister's adolescence was going to be the death of him. "I don't know what your problem is." When she pulled her phone out of her pocket, he said, "Could you put that thing away for two minutes?"

Another sigh as she put the phone back and folded her arms again. "Fine."

"Talk to me, Abs. What's going on?"

"I just thought this was going to be a family outing, that's all. She's not family."

Like he was ever going to forget that with her reminding him every ten seconds.

The radio started playing, "I'll be home for Christmas," and a light when off in Will's head. "It's mom and dad, isn't it?" It only made sense that she was missing them more at this time of the year. He was, too. The holidays were supposed to be happy, but they could also remind you of what you didn't have.

Back when their parents had still been alive, getting a tree had been a family outing, a tradition for just the four of them. Mom had always tromped them through the whole farm, searching for the perfect tree until they had all had numb toes and fingers and had begged her to just pick one before they all got frostbite. Dad had always insisted on cutting down the tree himself, which had taken forever, something they'd all ribbed him about. And then they'd had to help drag the thing back to the car, laughing as they tried to avoid getting poked in the eye by the branches. Even when he'd been a teenager who'd been too cool to hang out with family, he'd always loved getting the tree.

Abby nodded. "I miss them," she said in a small voice.

"I miss them too, kiddo." Will reached over and squeezed her shoulder for a moment before putting his hand back on the gearshift.

"It's just that this will be the last Christmas before I go away to college, and I didn't feel like sharing you with anyone." She sighed again, this one sounding wistful instead of defiant. "That's silly, isn't it?"

"No, not silly, Abs. I guess I just thought that since Lily is alone, we could include her. I don't think she's had a lot of kindness in her life."

Abby was silent as she digested that.

"I'll tell you what, we can compromise. We'll do the tree, just you and me, but the next time we do an outing, we can ask Lily to come along. What do you say?"

"I guess." There was a few moments of silence before she pulled her phone out again. This time Will just shook his head slightly and let it go. It was a start.

***

Will had just finished wrestling the tree into the stand when he heard the sound of something breaking, followed by a curse, coming from the kitchen. When he ran to check what had happened, he found Lily standing in front of the open oven door, staring in dismay at a broken casserole dish and splattered food in front of her.

"Oh my god—" she gasped. "I'm sorry, I lost my grip in these oven mitts and dropped it."

"It's okay," he began before she cut him off.

"It's NOT okay!" she exclaimed, eyes bright with tears. "Don't you understand? That was dinner, now there's nothing to eat." She stared down at the mess. "I'm so sorry."

"Lily, it's okay," he began again, taking a step towards her, careful to avoid the broken shards of ceramic on the floor.

Several things happened in the next instant. Her gaze swung around towards him and her eyes went wide. She sucked her breath in with an audible gasp, lurched back against the cabinets, dropped into a crouch, and threw her arms up over her head.

Holy shit.

If he'd had any doubts before that someone had hurt her, they were gone now. Before he might have told himself that maybe she just had social anxiety. Or touch aversion.

But this was more than that. This was a defensive posture. She'd reacted without thinking, like a wounded animal, ready to ward off a blow.

The kitchen clock ticked off several long seconds while she remained in that position, visibly shaking. Finally, her arms slowly lowered as she stared at him with those huge blue eyes.

"Lily," Will pushed the words past a lump in his throat. "I wasn't going to hit you."

Her face flamed and she dropped her gaze.

Another long moment passed as Will searched for something to say. Who hurt you? he wanted to ask. But it wasn't his place. He sensed she was embarrassed enough at her reaction. Just like she'd been this afternoon when she'd crashed into him with the towels. Finally he said, "Why don't I help you clean this up?"

"You don't need to do that. It's my fault. I'll do it." She bit her lip, surveying the mess. "I guess I'll make something else for dinner."

"How about we just order a pizza for tonight?"

"If you would rather do that. I'll pay for it," she said quickly. "And for your casserole dish."

"You don't have to do that, Lily. It was an accident."

"It was my fault. I insist. Just take it out of my wages. Please."

He wanted to argue some more, but stopped. She looked so mortified. He should let her salvage at least some of her pride. "Alright. I'll go place that order. Pepperoni okay?"

She gave a small tremulous smile. "My favorite."

He wanted to say something. Tell her that she was safe here. But somehow he doubted she would believe it. She had the look of someone who hadn't felt safe in a long time, if ever. And she seemed so embarrassed by the whole incident. Like she'd rather pretend that nothing had happened.

There was no conversation as they ate dinner that night. Tension hung heavy over the table. For once, Abby wasn't on her phone, but was instead bent over her homework. And having a difficult time of it, if her sounds of irritation were of any indication. Finally, she threw down her pencil and asked, "Will, you know anything about polynomials?"

"Poly-what-amils?" While he'd graduated with a decent grade point average, math hadn't been his strong suit. "Sorry, kiddo. I probably know less about them than you do."

Abby sighed. "I've got midterms in two weeks and I can't figure these stupid things out."

"I could probably help you," Lily said quietly.

"You would?" Abby looked a bit surprised. Probably wondering why Lily would offer to help after Abby had been so snotty to her.

Lily gave a small smile. "It's no trouble. It's been a while since high school, but I aced my math final."

There was a moment of silence while Abby thought about it. "Okay, thanks."

Lily rose from her chair and dragged it around the table, saying, "Scoot over a bit," as she pulled her chair in next to Abby. On the opposite side of her from Will. Of course. Then she started to say a bunch of stuff that went over his head, but seemed to help Abby.

Will smiled to himself. It was nice to see Abby not being so sassy towards Lily. Maybe Abby had meant it when she said she'd try to be nicer.

***

The next evening, Lily was absorbed in the plot of her borrowed novel when she heard Will say, "Abby and I are going skating at the outdoor rink. Care to join us?"

Lily looked up from her book. Will was already dressed to go and holding a pair of hockey skates. Behind him was Abby, also dressed in her winter gear, a pair of figure skates with the laces tied together slung over her shoulder.

Was the man ever going to stop trying to include her? It felt strange, someone being nice to her. "I don't know. I haven't been skating since I was a kid. I'm not sure I remember how."

"It's like riding a bicycle, it should come back to you."

"But I don't have any skates," she protested.

"You can rent some there."

"Do they also rent out pillows so I can tie one around my waist for when I fall on my butt?" she quipped.

Will laughed. "You can't be that bad."

"Wanna bet?"

"I'll help you. If I can coach the little league hockey team, I'm sure I can teach you."

He coached kid's sports? Well, of course he did, she thought. He probably also fed the homeless and healed small animals in his spare time. The guy seemed too good to be true. He hadn't even questioned her about her overreaction last night, when she'd instinctively tried to avoid being hit. When it had turned out that she'd been in no danger of being hit. He'd probably been eaten up with curiosity, yet he hadn't interrogated her.

"Come on, Lily, it'll be fun."

It did sound like it could be fun, but should she accept the invitation? Abby hadn't exactly been thrilled the last time Will had tried to invite Lily along on an activity.

Then Abby spoke up from behind him. "Yeah Lily, it'll be fun."

Was Abby actually asking her to go along? Perhaps she was finally coming around to the idea of having Lily in their lives for the next little while. Helping the teen with her math homework must have gone a long way. She'd said that the way Lily had explained polynomials had finally made it make sense.

Lily knew she probably shouldn't join them. She was supposed to be avoiding forming ties with anyone. She needed to keep her head down, get through the next few weeks, and get the hell out of Dodge. Or Haven, as the case may be. But she was tempted. When was the last time she had done something frivolous and fun just for the sake of it? The last few months had been a time of planning and nerves, sneaking key possessions out of the apartment to hide them at Jane's place, squirreling away a few dollars here and there for her escape fund. Planning how she'd make a new life someplace else.

"Please come with us," Abby added, sounding like she really did want Lily to go with them.

"Well...alright. Give me a moment to get ready." Will and Abby both smiled at her, and Lily felt her heart lift.

In her room, Lily pulled on two extra sweaters to make up for the fact that her coat was made for milder climates, not an Alberta winter, as well as two pairs of her warmest socks. She had no mittens, but found out that Abby was willing to loan her a spare pair.

The outdoor rink looked like something out of a TV movie. There was Christmas music playing on an old sound system and booths where vendors sold snacks and hot chocolate. People of all ages skated by, most of them looking confident on the ice, even the small children. They probably started skating from the age of three around here, Lily mused as she laced her skates. Will and Abby were already on the ice before she was finished.

"I'm going to make a fool of myself," she said as she stepped onto the ice, holding her arms out at her sides for balance. Her ankles wobbled and she gave a small shriek as she felt her center of gravity go all over the place, making her wiggle as she tried to catch her balance. "You guys think I was only kidding about that pillow, but I'll probably need one," she said. She heard Abby laugh.

"It's easy once you get the hang of it," Will said. As if to prove his point, he skated a quick figure-eight around her and his sister, one loop around each of them, before coming to a skidding sideways stop that sent a shower of snow over both of them. They shrieked and Will laughed.

"Show-off," Lily growled, but without any real heat in her voice.

"I practically grew up on the ice. I played a bit of hockey in high school."

"My brother's being too modest," Abby said, turning in a slow spin next to Lily. It looked like she'd grown up on the ice, too, maybe even had lessons. "He could've gone pro."

"Really?" Lily asked.

Will shrugged as if it was no big deal. "It was a long time ago."

Abby stopped spinning and shook her head at her brother. "Like I said, too modest. You had more than one scout after you."

Will didn't answer. Lily looked from brother to sister and back again, sensing there was more to the story. Abby gave him another sardonic shake of the head and then pushed off to skate in a large circle, ending in another faster spin that had the pom-pom on her hat flying out behind her. She looked as graceful as could be on her skates, while Lily felt like a lumbering elephant on hers.

Will skated backwards in front of her, holding out his hands. "Come on, give it a try, Lily. Just push off and skate towards me."

She gave a tentative push with one foot, then the other, feeling herself glide across the ice. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad at this after all, she thought, before trying it again.

As soon as she'd completed that thought, she felt her blade catch on the ice and she was falling forward. She let out a high-pitched squeal, arms wind-milling as she fought for balance, before landing right against Will's chest, grabbing fistfuls of his jacket.

"Woah there," he said, like he had the last time they'd collided. Just like yesterday, his arms caught her. But this time it felt different. Maybe it was because they weren't alone. They were surrounded by people. She knew he couldn't hurt her out here in public. His arms around her didn't make her feel trapped this time. It felt right, somehow.

Her heart was pounding from the near fall, but beyond the fear, there was something else. The world seemed to narrow to just the two of them. The sound of the Christmas music faded into the background. She caught his scent again, cedar and something else intoxicating that made her want to bury her nose into his neck and inhale. Her gaze lifted to meet his. The clouds of their unsteady breath mingled in the cold air. What would it be like to kiss him? she thought suddenly. Was he thinking about it too? His eyes had grown heavy-lidded with what looked like desire. He wasn't wearing a hat tonight, and his hair had fallen over his brow, and she felt the urge to reach up and brush it back. Even through the layers of their winter clothing, she could feel every inch of where their bodies touched. She imagined she could feel his body heat radiating into her, thawing all the numb parts of her, even though she knew that wasn't possible.

The moment stretched, held. Someone swooshed past them, narrowly avoiding another collision. Lily slowly became aware that they weren't alone. And Abby might be watching. While the girl was friendlier tonight, she might get all prickly again if she caught Lily making goo-goo eyes at Will.

"Seems like you're destined to keep catching me when I fall," she said at last. How many times had that happened since they'd met? She'd lost count.

"I don't mind," she heard him say quietly. Was that just her imagination, or did his voice have a husky edge to it?

She got her skates under her and pushed away from him, carefully so as not to lose her balance again. She nervously dusted snow off her coat and straightened her ski hat to give her hands something to do. "I warned you guys I was going to make a fool of myself," she joked in an effort to break the strange tension between them.

Abby skated smoothly back over to them. "Why don't you skate between us? We'll hold your hands and keep you up," she said, leaving Lily to wonder where the surly teenager had gone. Who knew a couple of hours helping the girl with her math homework would create this much of a change? Lily would have done it sooner if she'd known.

"I might end up pulling you both down with me, but if you're willing to take the risk," she said, making them laugh. They each took one of her hands. Again Lily felt that tingle when hers all but disappeared into Will's larger one. Even though no skin touched, her hand felt alive with sensation. She hoped he wouldn't notice as she again pushed off and glided across the ice, still swaying a bit unsteadily.

Abby and Will slowed their pace to match hers, urging and encouraging her with each stroke as she gained confidence, helping her to stay on her feet when she wobbled. Slowly she began to feel more and more stable and they picked up speed.

"That's it, Lily, you're getting the hang of it," she heard Abby say beside her.

Will had been right, this was fun. It felt almost like flying. For just a little while, she was able to pretend that she hadn't a care in the world. That there was nothing to run from, no one to hide from, no worries beyond staying upright and skimming across the surface of the ice. Hearing the laughter of people and the sounds of the festive music around them. Feeling the cold air bring roses to her cheeks.

They turned the corner of the rink together and Lily laughed with the sheer joy of it. Her laugh almost felt rusty. She hadn't laughed, really laughed, in as long as she could remember. "I'm glad you convinced me to come along," she said at last, glancing over at Will with a smile.

He smiled back, making her stomach flutter again. "Me too."

Oh, this was dangerous. None of it was real. They weren't a family, not by a long shot. This illusion of safety, of being without a care in the world, it wasn't true. But maybe it was okay for her to forget about that. Just for a moment. Reality would come knocking all too soon.

# Chapter Four

Will closed the door on his workshop the next evening. Usually he kept his work hours to the day, but he'd had an inspiration for some detail work on a coffee table he was working on and had decided to spend some time on it.

He heard canned laughter coming from the rec room. Someone must be watching a show. Maybe he'd join them. "Abby? Lily?" he said as he stuck his head in the room.

There was no response from the overstuffed couch, and as Will rounded the corner of it, he saw why. Lily had fallen asleep, curled up in one corner of the couch. Unconscious, she looked even more fragile than she did awake. She was so thin, as if she hadn't been eating properly for a long time. Her hair looked dry, and while he was no expert, he wondered if she'd dyed it. It was a flat monochrome dark brown, devoid of any natural highlights. Her eyes had dark circles under them. He wondered how long she'd been on the run before he'd found her. And how long before that had she been living in fear?

There was another loud burst of laughter from a popular sitcom playing on the television, but Lily didn't even stir. He should leave her alone to rest, except he knew from experience that this couch could be hard on a person's back if they lay down on it for too long. And her neck was at an awkward angle on the armrest. She'd have a crick in it by morning.

"Hey, Lily," he said. When she didn't stir, he repeated it a bit louder. Still no response. He sat down next to her. "Lily," he said again, gently shaking her shoulder.

In an instant, she went from lying completely still to a frantic bundle of movement, thrashing and kicking and clawing and crying out. Her nails raked across his neck and he barely escaped taking a foot to the gut. "Lily! It's okay!" he exclaimed as he caught her wrists to keep her from doing more damage to him. His neck stung where she'd scratched him. "Wake up, Lily. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Will?" she said in a quavering voice as she became aware of her surroundings, her eyes open now.

"Yeah Lily, it's me."

"What's happening?" she asked, before she looked down at his hands. "Let go," she said, sounding panicked as she tried to pull her wrists from his grip. "Let go!"

He did so, and she scrambled back from him, huddling deeper into the corner of the couch like a frightened animal. "What do you want?" she asked, looking both suspicious and scared, her voice trembling.

"Not a thing." Did she think he was going to try to force himself on her, he wondered, feeling sick. No one should have such fear in their eyes. "I was just trying to wake you."

"Why would you do that?" she asked warily.

"This couch can be uncomfortable to sleep on for too long, that's all. I didn't want you to get a pinched nerve or something."

"Oh." Then she seemed to notice that she'd hurt him. "Oh god, Will, I scratched you! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He gingerly pressed a hand against the injury on his neck, then pulled it away to look at his fingers. No blood. At least it wasn't deep.

If anything, she looked even more scared, babbling that she didn't mean to do it, she was sorry, did he have a first aid kit, she'd take care of it. She was sorry, so sorry.

"Lily," he said, cutting her off.

Her words stumbled to a halt and she stared at him, her eyes wide in her pale face.

"It's okay. I'm not angry. I know it was an accident."

She looked unconvinced, and still scared of retaliation.

"Who hurt you?" he asked. He'd been telling himself for days that it wasn't his place to ask. That if she wanted to tell him, she would. But this was the last straw. He couldn't keep the question in anymore.

Apart from another burst of laughter from the television, silence fell. "I don't know what you mean," she said at last.

"I mean that's the first time I've woken up a woman to have her try to claw my eyes out."

He hadn't thought she could get any paler, but somehow, she did. "You just startled me, that's all."

It was a lot more than that, and they both knew it. "Lily," he soothed. "You're safe here, you know."

She didn't answer, just huffed out a sound of disbelief.

"Look, I wasn't going to pry, but I can't ignore this anymore. It's obvious someone hurt you." And while he wasn't normally a violent man, a part of Will wanted to hunt the bastard down and beat the shit out of him.

"It doesn't matter."

His heart squeezed with pain that she could even think that, let alone say it. Even in the short time he'd known her, he'd come to care about her. "It matters to me. Tell me. Maybe I can help."

She gave a short bitter laugh, so different from the beautiful one he'd heard from her when they'd gone skating the other night. This laugh was full of cynicism, from someone who had seen far too much, experienced far too much. "No one can help me," she said. She got up off the couch. "I'm sorry I hurt you," she continued. "But please, just leave me alone. It's better for everyone that way." Then she rushed out of the room like there were vicious dogs nipping at her heels.

Will watched her go. While the scratches on his throat still smarted, the ache in his gut was worse. Abby had warned him not to get too attached to his stray, but he had a feeling it was too late.

***

Who hurt you? he'd asked.

She'd thought she was better at hiding the truth, but it appeared she needed a lot more practice. She'd been so startled and frightened when he'd awoken her that she hadn't even recognized her new name at first. She'd nearly asked, "Who's Lily?" before remembering that was supposed to be her.

Why did he have to be so nice to her? She was so used to keeping her walls up to protect herself that she didn't know what to do with kindness. He made her want to forget that this was only a temporary sanctuary for her. Not just for the sake of her own safety, but for his, and his sister's too. Trevor had told her that if he ever caught her with another man, he'd kill them both, and anyone else who got in his way. And she knew him well enough to know that he'd meant it. You didn't spend eleven years with someone without knowing when they were bluffing and when they weren't. She pressed a hand to her still-sore ribs as a reminder.

She'd tried to leave him before. The first time, he'd charmed her back by showering her with gifts and affection and telling her that he was so sorry, swearing that he'd never hit her again, he'd only gotten so upset because he loved her so very much. She was his light, his life, didn't she know that he couldn't live without her?

The next time she'd tried to leave him, things hadn't been so pretty. He'd all but dragged her back to their apartment and hadn't let her go to work for three days. It was only after she'd managed to convince him she'd never leave him again, and that they needed the money, that he'd let her out of the apartment to go back to her job at the diner. She'd tried so hard to keep him happy, but nothing seemed to please him when he was angry, and he seemed to be angry more often than not.

One night he'd broken her arm when she'd forgotten to set the oven timer and had burned dinner. The doctor at the hospital who had set the break had looked at her with kind eyes and tried to convince her to talk to the police, even though she'd sworn nobody had done anything to her. That she'd just fallen down the stairs. The problem was, Trevor was best buddies with a bunch of the force. She didn't trust any of them. After all, the one time that one of the neighbours had called 911, the officer responding had convinced her that she didn't really want to press charges over a misunderstanding, right? No need to wreck a guy's life because she'd accidentally hit her head on a cupboard during an argument.

She'd been too ashamed of just how bad things had become. And it was all her fault anyway, for always messing up and making him so angry. If only she could do better, maybe he wouldn't hurt her. She was a screw-up, she knew that. Hadn't her dad been saying so long before she'd met Trevor?

Jane had insisted that was all lies. That Lily was good enough. That her father was a loser and a bully, and that Trevor was too. And that Lily didn't deserve to be hit even if she was a screw-up, which Jane had insisted she wasn't.

Jane had wanted to take her in, but Lily hadn't been willing to risk her best friend's life. And she'd finally admitted to herself that she wasn't ever going to be able to make Trevor happy, and eventually, he was going to kill her, and that was when she'd realized she had to escape and disappear completely. Because as worthless as she felt, there was still a spark of fight left in her. She didn't want to die.

Tell me. Maybe I can help.

If only he could. Will made her want to forget about all of it. To let him protect her. To let him put his arms around her and hold her close. Maybe even to act on the attraction between them. Even though he was big and strong and that should make her afraid of him, somehow, she sensed it would be different with him. He never forced even the most innocent of touches on her, always let her go when she asked him to. What would it be like to be with someone who gave rather than just taking what he wanted? Would it be so wrong of her to grab a small piece of happiness before she left? To give herself a memory she could treasure long after he'd forgotten all about her?

She reminded herself that she hardly even knew him. How could she trust that her perception of him was correct? She had been so very wrong before, and it had nearly killed her. Literally.

You're safe here.

If only that were true. But she had the suspicion that no matter how many miles she put between herself and Trevor, she'd never feel safe again.

***

The next afternoon, Lily was humming along to the Nutcracker on the stereo as she iced a set of cupcakes. Abby had requested something chocolate for dessert. Lily had been only too happy to oblige.

Will came into the kitchen. "Is there any coffee made?"

"No, but I can make some."

"Don't worry about it, I'll do it."

She wanted to protest that that was her job, but decided not to. After all, he'd been getting his own coffee before she came along, and would be doing so after she left.

"You want some?" he asked as he measured out coffee grounds.

"No thanks. One cup a day is my limit, or I get jittery."

He pressed a few buttons on the machine, and soon the kitchen was filled with the scent of coffee brewing.

"You baked," he said when he spied the rack of cupcakes on the counter.

"Abby asked me to make something," Lily said as she finished smoothing chocolate icing on one cupcake and started on another.

"Looks delicious." He stepped closer and stuck a finger in the icing bowl.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "No snitching."

He gave her a cheeky grin. "Going to smack my hand now?"

She laughed a little. "I would never smack your hand."

He stuck his finger in his mouth. "Mm. Delicious. Did you make this from scratch?"

She shrugged. "It's just a basic buttercream."

"If you keep cooking like this I'm going to have to go on a diet."

Lily stifled a snort. Did the guy never look into the mirror? He didn't have an ounce of extra fat on him. Years of physical labor had kept him toned.

"Everything you've cooked is so good. You ever thought of doing it professionally?" he asked.

"When I was a kid I wanted to have my own café, or maybe run a catering business, but...well, life got in the way."

"There's still time, you know."

Not for her, there wasn't. Not when she had no real identity, no money, and no chance of ever getting a loan with no identity. A business meant tax returns, building leases, advertising, contracts with vendors, maybe even employees. All things that she couldn't do while trying to live off the grid. Nor could she set down roots that way when any moment she might have to leave and start over somewhere new.

She shrugged again. "Maybe," she said without much conviction as she finished up the last cupcake and put the knife in the sink.

He was standing close to her, yet she didn't feel crowded or trapped. Maybe because he'd been nothing but kind to her. Even after she'd accidentally scratched him last night. The marks on his neck were still red, and she winced inwardly at the sight of them. Yet he hadn't even seemed angry about it, only concerned as to why she'd reacted in such a way.

He scooped up another forefinger of icing and she found herself watching him as he ate it. She had the random thought that if she kissed him now, he'd taste of chocolate. His finger came out of his mouth with a soft sucking sound and she found that she couldn't stop staring. And why was it getting so hard for her to breathe?

Later, she would never know which one of them moved first, but suddenly she was up against him, her hands on his chest, her face lifting to his, his head lowering to hers.

It was just the barest brush of mouths at first. His lips were soft, softer than she would have expected. The touch of his mouth was gentle on hers, yet she felt a bolt of sensation all the way down to her toes. One of his hands came up to cup her face as he kissed her again, pulling lightly on her lower lip in a way that made her moan softly. His lips gently coaxed hers apart for the touch of his tongue and she moaned again as she kissed him back more deeply.

He did taste like chocolate, she thought, but kissing him would be wonderful even without it. She gripped handfuls of his shirt and went up higher on her toes to fit their mouths together more completely. If she'd thought she'd felt tingles when he'd held her hand, it was nothing compared to this. Her whole body felt like it was coming alive after a long hibernation of numbness. She felt her nipples tighten and her panties growing damp. When had she last wanted like this?

Was she playing with fire here? He was such a big man. Overpowering her would take little effort on his part. Would he expect more from her than just a kiss, more than she was ready to give? Yet while she felt that he was becoming aroused, he seemed content to keep kissing her, his touch still gentle, not turning rough or demanding.

He whispered her name before tipping his head the other way and taking her mouth again. She forgot all the reasons why this was a bad idea. It had been so long since she'd been kissed just for the sake of kissing. Or had been kissed with a thought to her enjoyment. His kiss was not punishing or bruising, not asserting dominance over her. Just an intoxicating give and take of lips and breath and tongues.

She felt as if she could go on kissing him forever when he slid his arms around her to pull her closer and his hand moved across her sore ribs. She suddenly remembered why getting involved with a man was dangerous. She gave a cry of pain, shoved against his chest, and stumbled back, her breath coming fast with a mixture of lingering arousal and panic.

For a few long moments they stared at each other. "I—I'm not sure why I did that," she said at last.

"Kissed me, or pushed me away?"

She lifted a hand to her mouth, feeling that her lips were swollen from his kiss. "Kissed you." Her voice shook as she said the words.

She waited for him to react. Would he get angry? Call her a tease? Though she used all her self-control not to glance down, she knew their kissing had given him an erection. She'd felt it earlier when she'd been up against him.

"I've wanted to do that for a while," he said.

So had she, although she wasn't about to say so.

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry I did it, because that would be a lie. But I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable," he continued.

She wasn't sure uncomfortable was the correct word for it. Hot and bothered might fit better. Up until he'd unknowingly touched her injury, she'd felt nothing but a pleasured excitement and the wonder of discovery. Even now, a part of her wanted to walk back into his arms and do it again. The part of her that still throbbed with arousal.

"I'm not going to make any demands of you, Lily. I hope you know that. I told you last night that you're safe here, and I meant it."

She probably shouldn't believe him so easily, except he'd already proven that to her since he'd met her, again just moments ago when he'd been so gentle with her, and now when he'd let her go even though she'd turned him on.

"I won't kiss you again," he said. Then he gave a cocky half-smile and said, "Unless you ask me to."

Ah, and therein lay the problem. She wasn't sure she was strong enough to refrain from asking him for more kisses.

He turned and fixed himself his cup of coffee, then headed back to his workshop, whistling. As if the world hadn't just shifted on its axis.

She would never look at chocolate icing the same way again.

# Chapter Five

A few days passed, and Will was as good as his word. He didn't try to kiss her or touch her again. But that didn't keep him from looking at her with a hungry look on his face. She'd catch his eye across the room and feel the tension between them and knew he was also remembering what their kiss had been like. Sometimes he'd wink at her and make her blush.

He continued inviting her to join him and Abby on outings. To go skating again, or sledding, or to watch the town's Christmas parade or tree-lighting ceremony. Sometimes she joined them, sometimes she declined.

Tonight, it seemed he was determined to convince her. Abby's school was doing a caroling fundraiser and he'd been roped into being a chaperone.

"Come on, Lily. I don't want to be the only person my age there around a bunch of kids."

"You're hardly ancient, bro," Abby protested.

"Wait...are you calling me old?" Lily teased. It had been a while since she'd teased anyone, but it felt nice, if a little out of practice.

"Hardly," Will said, giving her another of those looks that left no doubt that he found her attractive.

She fought a blush, hoping Abby wouldn't notice. "Do I have to sing?"

"No," he replied. "I won't be. I can't carry a tune in a bucket."

Abby laughed. "He's not lying. Will's singing would make all the neighbourhood dogs howl."

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "I'm not that bad."

"Yes, you are!" Abby insisted, before saying, "Come with us, Lily. It'll be fun."

How could she say no when they were both asking her? Lily gave in and agreed to join them.

They met with a bunch of Abby's classmates at the high school, then were tromping off in a big circuit around the neighbourhood, singing for people and collecting donations. Lily stood apart from the group with Will, watching the kids as they performed, some with more enthusiasm than talent, but all obviously enjoying themselves. Being with him felt natural. As if they were a couple watching their kids together. Of course the kids were all too old for any of them to actually be hers, but she could pretend, couldn't she? Lily knew it wasn't real, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy it. None of her interlude in Haven was real, she thought. All too soon she would be leaving. Now was the time for her to store up some memories to sustain her through the rest of her life.

At one point, Will offered her his arm when the sidewalk was slippery. Even after the danger of her falling had passed, she stayed where she was, her hand tucked up against his side. When he realized she wasn't going to let go, he smiled down at her and made her stomach flip as she returned his smile. Through the layers of clothing, the feel of his arm pressing against the side of her breast made her tingle and her nipples stand up. She told herself that maybe that was because it was cold outside, but she didn't feel cold tonight. Instead she felt warm all over.

If Abby noticed that they were acting more friendly, she gave no sign. Maybe she was too busy with her friends to notice. Or maybe it just didn't bother her as much as it had seemed to in the beginning.

The caroling lasted for a couple of hours as the group worked their way back to the school. Abby begged to go to a late-night movie with her friends, even though it was a school night. Will agreed, on the condition that she be home by her midnight curfew.

Lily was extremely aware that they were going back to an empty house, just the two of them. And that there was more tension between them than ever. She wanted to ask him to kiss her again, but didn't know how to get up the nerve. So instead offered to make them some hot chocolate to warm them up once they were back in the house.

As they drank it, she again thought that he'd taste like chocolate if she kissed him now. They were in the kitchen, where they'd kissed the first time. He caught her gaze and she could tell he was thinking about kissing her, too.

She tried to muster up the nerve to make a move. Halfway through her mug, she set it aside, gathering up all her courage.

"You said you wouldn't kiss me again unless I asked."

"That's right."

"Well, I'm asking."

He gave her that crooked grin she loved so much and set aside his own drink. "Come here," he said softly, and then they were kissing again.

There was a part of her that had thought maybe she'd remembered it as being better than it was. But she was wrong. If anything, she'd forgotten how good it was between them. The sensation of his hard, strong body against hers, the feel of him beneath her hands. His hands rested lightly on her hips, holding her against him, but not making her feel trapped. She knew if she pulled away at any time, he'd let her go.

He made a pleased sound as she circled her arms around his neck and wove the fingers of one hand into his hair as she deepened their kiss, taking in all the sensations awakening in her. Again she felt herself growing aroused, her breasts aching, her body starting to get wet as she moaned against his mouth. He pulled her more firmly against him until she couldn't help but feel that he was getting hard against her belly.

It was so, so good. Almost too good. She wanted more than kissing, even though she was also afraid of what more entailed. Trevor had called her frigid, telling her that she wasn't good in bed, saying that was why he'd cheated on her more than once. He'd called her scrawny, complained that her breasts were too small. And after a while, he'd stopped even trying to please her and had just taken what he wanted, sometimes with force.

This was going too far. Lily reluctantly broke their kiss, resting her forehead against Will's neck. She felt her heart pounding, her breath coming in an unsteady rhythm that matched his. "We should stop," she said.

"Should we?" he asked, as he pressed a kiss to the spot where her shoulder met her neck, making her shiver.

"This can't go anywhere. I'm leaving in a few weeks."

"You're the one who's determined to leave," he said. "I haven't asked you to go. You could stay."

Oh, how she wished that she could stay. That she could be safe here in Haven, with him. "I can't," she said, her voice heavy with regret.

He kissed her shoulder again. "And you don't do flings?" he asked.

"I don't know. I never have before." She'd only ever been with one man. She'd always thought of sex as something that required commitment. She and Trevor had been together for almost a year before she'd lost her virginity with him in the backseat of his car. An experience that had been painful and unsatisfying on her side, and left her wondering what her girlfriends were all giggling and enthusiastic about.

But a fling? Could she do it? She'd never thought of herself as the type. But then, she'd thought a lot of things about herself that had turned out to be wrong. She hadn't thought she'd be strong enough to leave Trevor for good, but she had. She hadn't thought she'd ever feel the stirring of sexual desire again, but here she was, already on fire even though Will had only kissed her.

"We're both adults. There's no reason why we can't," he said. He kissed her ear, then nibbled at her earlobe until her knees felt weak. "It'd be good between us," he said.

She didn't doubt that for a moment. If he could make her wet with just a kiss, what would it be like if she let him touch her even more intimately? He was kissing her neck now. Oh god, he made it so difficult for her to think when he was doing that. But what if she disappointed him? What if she really was no good in bed? Will had to have more experience than she did. What if he found her lacking in comparison to the other women he'd been with? What if she was hit with a flood of bad memories and froze up and ruined everything?

What if she fell in love with him and ended up with a broken heart? She felt as if she were halfway there already. Maybe for him this would be a fling. But she wasn't sure she was strong enough for that.

"Let me take you to bed, Lily," he whispered. "Let me show you how good we can be together. All you have to do is say yes." His hands slid to her bottom, pulling her more firmly against him, making her body feel liquid with desire. A sensible part of her said that she should say no. Sleeping with him could only complicate things. But another part of her wanted this memory to take with her. To keep her warm at night years from now when she was in a cold bed alone.

"What about...um...protection?" she asked, knowing she needed to be responsible about this. She'd been on the pill before, but she'd stopped taking it since she'd left, not expecting to want to have sex with anyone for a while. If ever again.

"Don't worry, I have condoms," he said, then kissed her neck with a gentle bite followed by a soft swirl of his tongue against her skin that made her gasp.

Was it so wrong for her to want to experience what it could be like to be with a man that she was sure would be a skillful and generous lover? "Okay," she managed to say.

He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Is that a yes?"

She nodded, dropping her gaze while she felt a blush rising on her face. "Yes."

"Thank god," he said, his voice rough, before he picked her up off the floor, making her shriek with surprise and grab on to his neck as he carried her to his bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind them, then lowered her to her feet, her body sliding against his in a delicious glide that made every bit of her stand up and take notice.

Being here in his bedroom made it all more real somehow. That she was really going to do this. They were really going to do this.

He'd left his lamp burning. She knew by now he had a bad habit of not turning off the lights when he left a room, but now she was grateful for it. Maybe being able to see his face would keep her from having any flashbacks.

"You're shaking," he said.

She wanted to deny it, but couldn't.

"You don't have to be afraid, Lily," he told her. "I promise I won't hurt you. If you want me to stop anytime, all you have to do is say so."

"Can—can we leave the light on?" she asked.

"If you like."

"Kiss me, Will."

He was only too happy to comply, kissing her again as if they had all the time in the world. As if he wasn't eager to just get to the main event, but instead wanted to enjoy every step along the way. He kissed her until she had stopped shaking and was making soft moans of pleasure, only breaking the contact when he pulled her shirt over her head.

She wished she had on some pretty undergarments. Something lacy that would make the most of what little cleavage she had, instead of her old utilitarian bra that had seen better days. But he didn't seem to mind, if the bulge behind his fly was any indication.

"Hey, what happened here?" he asked as he lightly traced the edge of the bruises on her right side. Her injury was better, no longer a sharp pain, just a little sore if she put too much pressure on it, and had faded to a sickly greenish-yellow. She could claim it had happened in the car accident, but she didn't want to lie to him.

"It doesn't matter."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but she distracted him by sliding her hands under the hem of his shirt and pulling it upwards. He helped her remove it, and at last she was able to touch his warm bare skin, feeling the play of muscle beneath it. Was beautiful the wrong word to describe a man? Because he was.

He pulled her close and kissed her again before lifting her and carrying her to the bed and laying her down. His hand slid beneath her back and released the closure of her bra. He removed the garment and tossed it aside. His carpenter's hands were rough, but his touch was gentle as he ran his hand over her, cupping her breast, rubbing his thumb across her nipple, making it tighten into a hard bud.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Amazingly, she did feel beautiful. He didn't seem to care that her breasts were small. Or that she was a little too thin from years of stress and little appetite. He lowered his head and took her nipple in his mouth and she gasped and arched up towards him as he sucked and teased her with his tongue. He switched to her other breast, making her moan, before he stopped and kissed her mouth again.

She felt him unfastening the snap of her jeans, lowering the zipper. "Lift up a bit," he urged as he began working the pants down her hips. She obeyed, and he slid the garment down her legs, then threw it aside, followed by her socks and panties. She felt a rush of shyness at being completely naked before him for the first time.

"So beautiful," he repeated before sliding his hand up her leg to cup her intimately, stroking her at last. "So wet," he added, sounding pleased, his voice husky.

"Oh!" she gasped, her body lifting towards his touch.

"I want to make you come first," he said, his voice rough with passion, the words arousing her even further.

She could hardly form any coherent thoughts, let alone words. "Don't stop. So good," she breathed as she pressed herself more firmly against his hand.

And then he was kissing his way down her belly, settling himself between her thighs. This was something no one had ever done for her. It had been demanded of her but never returned. Oh god. She felt as nervous as a virgin. She wanted it so badly she might be embarrassed if she wasn't half out of her mind with need. He kissed his way up her inner thigh before stopping. "Okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she managed to say, ready to beg if she had to. But then his mouth was on her, hot and wet and wonderful. "Oh my god. Oh my god," she moaned as she arched against him, her hands clutching the bedding.

He pleasured her with deft movements of his lips and tongue, making a wonderful tension build deep inside her. She felt him slide a finger inside of her and almost screamed as he added another, pumping them slowly in and out. Before she knew it her orgasm was upon her. She cried out his name as she came, bucking against his mouth.

He was relentless, sending her over the edge again and again with skillful strokes of his tongue and fingers until she finally begged for mercy. His touch gentled, slowed, as he eased her back down from climax before stopping, pressing a kiss against her belly as he pulled his fingers out of her again.

She felt limp and boneless as she watched him finish undressing. He grabbed a condom from the nightstand but stopped before opening it. "Still sure?" he asked.

Her heart flipped over that he was willing to stop now, even though he hadn't found release yet. "Yes."

"Thank god," he said, just like he had earlier in the kitchen, before tearing open the packet and putting the condom on. He knelt between her thighs, pushing them wider with his own. Suddenly she was flooded with flashbacks. Of Trevor pounding into her while she was still dry, not caring that he was hurting her, only seeking his own climax. Of him holding her down and forcing himself inside of her while she cried and begged for him to stop.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she heard Will ask as he went still above her.

"What do you mean?" she replied, trying to sound calm.

"I mean you've gone stiff as a board," he said. "I told you we can stop."

"No. Don't stop." She couldn't fail at this. Not now. "I want to. It's just—" She broke off, not wanting to talk about the ugliness of her past.

"Bad memories?"

She bit her lip and nodded, feeling the sting of tears. "I'm sorry. I want to. I swear I do. Maybe you should just do it and get it over with."

"God no," he said, looking horrified at the suggestion. "I've got a better idea." He rolled away to lie on his back next to her. "What if I just lie here and let you have your way with me?" he asked. "You be in control. I won't do anything unless you tell me to."

"You would do that?"

He smiled gently at her. "Of course."

He was going to make her fall all the way in love with him if he continued like this. The idea of being in charge was intriguing and exciting all at once. Maybe she could do this, she thought as she straddled him. "Kiss me," she said before leaning down and taking his mouth with hers.

He obeyed, kissing her back but not touching her otherwise, his hands lying palm-up on the pillow on either side of his head. She felt her panic slowly subsiding as desire built in her again. She broke the kiss and reached down between them to guide him as she slowly took him inside of her.

His eyes slid shut and he hissed in a breath through clenched teeth. His hands closed into fists, but he otherwise remained motionless as she eased herself all the way down on him. She felt a surge of sensual power, knowing that he wanted to embrace her, but was willing to hold back because she hadn't asked him to touch her. There was no pain, only a pleasurable ache and a wonderful sense of being filled by him. She rested her hands on his shoulders as she slowly lifted herself and then lowered experimentally. It felt so good that she did it again. And again. He made a guttural sound of pleasure.

"Okay?" she asked, just like he had before.

"You're killing me," he ground out, obviously using all his self-control to hold still. He groaned as she moved again, grinding her hips more forcefully against him this time. "But I'll die happy."

She felt a huff of laughter escape her lips. She had never thought of laughter and lovemaking as going together, yet with him, it felt right.

He chuckled too, a sound which quickly became another groan as she moved against him again. "God Lily, you feel so good."

So did he, she thought, finding a rhythm that pleased her. She had not thought she could come again so soon, but already she felt the tension building in her anew. She slid her hands along his arms and interlaced her fingers with his. When his grip tightened on hers, it was not frightening, because she was certain that he would never hold her against her wishes. She knew he must long to move with her but was holding back, keeping his promise to not do anything unless she asked him for it. Her heart ached at this gift he was giving her. Her breathing grew ragged, and the movements of her hips became more insistent against his until at last she gasped out, "Move. Please!"

With a growl, he arched up to meet her, sending her over the edge into heaven again. She cried out as her orgasm ripped through her even more powerfully than before. She heard him moan her name as he bucked and writhed beneath her with the force of his own release. Their movements slowly came to a stop until she collapsed on his chest, gasping for breath.

Oh my god. She'd had no idea it could be like that. No wonder her friends had been so enthusiastic about it. She felt too tired to move, but used the last of her strength to roll off him.

They lay there panting for a few moments before Will braced himself up on an elbow and kissed her softly. "Be right back," he said, before getting up to dispose of the condom.

He pulled her into his arms when he got back into the bed, and it just felt natural to curl up against him, her head resting on his shoulder, his hand covering hers where it rested on his chest. As if it was where she belonged.

"I should go," she mumbled. "Before Abby gets home."

"Later," he said. "Stay for a few minutes."

Lily felt like she should protest, but she was too tired and warm and comfortable. She would leave soon, she told herself. She would stay just a little while longer.

***

When Lily awoke, hours had passed. She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that it was nearly morning. She'd only meant to doze for a few minutes, but instead had spent almost the whole night in Will's bed. She couldn't remember sleeping so well in years, if ever. It must be the comfort of his big warm body curled up against hers. Even now, he was wrapped around her, his chest against her back, one of his arms beneath her pillow, his other one around her waist, his face buried against her neck as he slept, his breathing deep and even. She felt the beginnings of a morning erection against her bottom and felt an answering stir of arousal, but she squelched it, knowing there wasn't time to indulge. She had to get back to her room before Abby caught them. If Lily was quiet enough, she should be able to sneak past the girl's room and into her own.

She gently grasped his wrist and lifted his arm from around her waist, carefully easing out of his embrace. He made a sound of protest in his sleep, but didn't awaken. Sometime during the night he must have turned the light off, so she dressed mostly by feel in the dark, then tiptoed out of the room, shutting the door as quietly as possible behind her.

She turned to walk back to her room and was met with the sight of Abby coming out of hers on the way to the bathroom. The girl went still when she caught sight of Lily.

Oh crap.

"Abby! Um...I was just—just..." What could she say? That she was cleaning Will's room at five in the morning while he was still asleep? While wearing the same clothes she'd had on last night?

"Doing the walk of shame?" Abby said caustically.

"I..."

"I'm seventeen, not seven," Abby continued, crossing her arms over her chest. "Obviously you had sex with my brother last night."

Lily felt as if her face was on fire with embarrassment at being caught out, but she refused to be ashamed. They'd done nothing wrong, after all. "Does that bother you?"

Abby looked at her for several long moments, her expression unreadable. Lily felt like squirming under the girl's steady gaze.

"Just don't hurt him," Abby said at last. "I know you're leaving, and he's had his heart broken before. I don't want to see it happen again."

"I won't," Lily said. Will had spoken of them having a fling. He'd said nothing about falling in love with her. She was more worried about her own heart. After last night, she couldn't deny she had feelings for him that went beyond simple lust.

"See that you don't," Abby replied, before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

# Chapter Six

Breakfast was a nervous affair for Lily. Any second she expected Abby to say something snarky about Lily and Will hooking up last night. But like every other morning, Abby seemed too interested in her phone as she checked her social media, and texted back and forth with someone (or three), to bother making conversation with either Will or Lily.

All Lily could think about was last night. Of Will's big hands on her skin, or his head between her legs, making her come. Of having him beneath her while she took him to ecstasy. At one point he caught her eye and winked, and she knew he was thinking about it too. When she blushed, she felt as if her entire body was turning red, not just her face and neck. She darted a glance over at Abby and lightly kicked Will's shin under the table, mouthing, 'Stop it!' at him. Okay, so the teen knew about them. But Lily doubted Abby wanted to see it. Will just gave her a cheeky grin that made her blush intensify before he went back to eating.

Lily bolted down her eggs and toast as quickly as she could, then took her dishes to the sink. Washing them would give her something to do as well as get her away from Will and the desire to leap across the table and into his lap.

It seemed like an age before Abby left to catch the school bus.

"Have a good day," Lily called after her.

Abby called back a thanks as she left.

A few moments later Lily heard Will walking up behind her. His arms slid around her waist and he nuzzled the side of her neck, inhaling deeply. "Mm. I've been dying to do this all morning," he said.

Lily turned in his arms to face him. "If you were waiting until Abby left, there's not much point. She already knows."

"What? How?"

"She caught me sneaking out of your room early this morning."

He was silent for a moment while he absorbed that. "Did she seem angry or weirded out?"

"She just told me not to hurt you."

"I see."

Lily took in a deep breath, let it out with a sigh. "Am I going to hurt you when I leave?"

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pulling back to look her in the eyes again. "Like I told you last night, you don't have to leave when your car is fixed. You could stay. We could see where this goes."

Oh, how she wished that she could. "Will, you hardly even know me." You don't even know my real name, she thought. Although maybe that wasn't true. Legally, she might still be Amanda, but that name no longer seemed to fit anymore. The longer she went as Lily, the more that identity seemed to be the real her.

"I know you scream when you come," he said with a wicked grin.

"Will!" she exclaimed, embarrassed. "Can't you think about anything but sex for a few minutes?"

"I don't know, it was pretty damned good sex."

Well, she couldn't argue with that. It had been the best sex of her life.

He continued. "I know you're funny, and kind, and brave—" he cut off when she made a sarcastic sound. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Act like it's ridiculous when I called you brave."

She shrugged. "I'm not brave, Will. Believe me. I feel like I'm scared of my own shadow. Sometimes I jump so hard when the phone rings, I hurt my back."

He didn't look disgusted by that, only saddened. "Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you do what you need to do in spite of the fact that you're scared."

She wasn't sure if she believed him.

"I know you're on the run from something. If you tell me what it is, maybe I can help."

"For all you know, maybe I'm on the run from the law and you shouldn't get mixed up with me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"

She let out a soft laugh. "No."

"So what's the problem?"

"My last relationship. It was bad. He was—abusive." The last word was hard to get out. She'd fought the label for years, not wanting to admit just how bad things were. Thinking that if she just tried harder, Trevor would stop being so angry with her all the time. Stop yelling at her. Stop hitting her.

Stop raping her. That had been another difficult word for her to admit, even just in her own mind. That somewhere along the way, their sex life had ceased to be consensual. Even when there were times that she hadn't actively fought him or said no, but had simply lay there and endured, waiting for it to be over, it had always been under the threat of violence. That if she didn't give him what he wanted, then he'd take it anyway.

Will's eyes looked sad and kind as he said, "I already guessed as much."

"My ex—he's dangerous. I can't put you in danger, too."

"And I don't get a say in this?"

She dropped her gaze to his shirtfront. "I'm sorry, Will. This isn't easy for me."

He sighed. "Okay. I hear you. You're determined to leave. I won't stop you if that's what you really want. But why not just enjoy the time we have left together?"

"Won't that make it more difficult when I have to leave?"

"Maybe. But I think I'd regret it if we didn't at least try. You never know, maybe I'll change your mind."

She knew she couldn't allow that to happen, but it was so tempting. He was right, she would regret not living out this fling until she had to go. While last night had been amazing, it wasn't enough. She wasn't sure a lifetime would be enough, but she couldn't get greedy. These next few weeks would have to do. Regardless of what he hoped for, her staying long term wasn't an option.

His hands rubbed over her back. "We're both adults here. Can't we just enjoy this for whatever it is and see where it goes?"

"You make it very hard for a gal to say no," she admitted.

"If you still decide to go, you can go. At least we'll have had this time together. But let's not spoil it with any more talk of you leaving, okay?"

"You're very convincing," she said. "Okay." She was only human, after all.

He smiled that lopsided grin of his. "Good. Then let's go to bed."

"Will! It's eight o'clock in the morning!"

"So? There's no law against it. And we have the house to ourselves. I can make you scream my name again, as loud as you want."

She dropped her forehead against his chest and groaned. She wasn't sure she could get used to his matter-of-fact attitude about sex. "God. Don't remind me. I'm so embarrassed."

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Lily. I wasn't complaining. I love that you're so passionate with me. It's very sexy."

She had never felt sexy before, but it was different with him. "Alright, alright," she said before heading towards his bedroom, then squealed when he playfully pinched her bottom.

***

Over the next few weeks, Will watched while Lily bloomed like the flower she was named after. She started to gain a little weight, her ribs and collarbones no longer so prominent. Her face became more rounded, losing the slightly gaunt look she'd had when he'd first met her. The dark circles under her eyes faded as she spent her nights in his arms. For the most part, she seemed to sleep well curled up against him. When he was letting her get any sleep, that was. Her bruises slowly disappeared, and the fear in her eyes showed up less often and went away more quickly. She began to open up to him bit by bit, sharing some of her more painful memories with him when they lay tangled together after making love. And while she still jumped at loud noises or sudden movements, it was balanced out by the fact that she smiled and laughed more. She fit so perfectly into his life it was like she'd been made for it. She was kind to his sister, appearing to have won Abby over. Not that he was surprised. Who could help but love Lily?

Will was pretty sure that he did. He was also sure that if he told her so, it could scare her off. After all, everything between them was so new. It would take time for her to learn that she could trust him. That the way he treated her wasn't just courting. He was in this for the long haul. There was still a part of her that was skittish. He knew he had to tread carefully to keep from frightening her. Whatever they had was still so fragile. It was like holding a butterfly in his hands. Too tight and he would destroy it.

So he did his best to show her how he felt without words. Letting her take the lead in bed, never asking for anything she wasn't ready to give. Showing her that she was safe with him. When she woke up with nightmares, he comforted her, the comfort soon turning to passion that had her riding them both to soul-deep completion.

He showed her all the best parts of Haven, hoping she'd fall in love with the place and want to stay for good. They went skating again, for walks in the park, to shop for his sister's Christmas present, to the theater to watch an amateur production of 'A Christmas Carol'. While she'd tried to stay in the background, she'd met enough of the townspeople that everywhere they went, people greeted her by name.

Christmas day arrived. He'd told Lily it wasn't necessary for her to buy them gifts, but she'd done so anyway, giving him some woodworking tools (the owner of the local hardware store had helped her to pick them out, she'd said), and Abby a homemade cookbook of favorite recipes, (so Abby wouldn't starve when she went off to college). Lily had nearly cried when she'd opened her gifts from him and Abby, a navy-blue winter parka, a set of mittens, and a pair of proper snow boots that were designed for a Canadian winter. While he hoped she'd never leave, if she was going to go, he wanted to know that she'd at least be warm.

They didn't speak of her leaving, even though it hung over their heads like an axe waiting to fall.

***

In the week after Christmas, her car repairs had been completed and she'd made the final payment. Lily knew she should feel relief to have her vehicle back, but instead, a part of her felt sick. She could leave now at any time. In the beginning, that had been all she'd wanted. To get away. Now she wanted any excuse to stay. Will didn't pressure her, only asked that she not leave without saying goodbye first. As if she could. The problem was, it was getting harder and harder to imagine saying goodbye at all.

She felt as if she belonged here in Haven. She had long since stopped believing in things like fate or signs from the universe, yet at the same time, a part of her felt like she was meant to be here. Maybe this town really could be a safe haven for her. There'd been no sign that Trevor had found her. And maybe staying in one place was safer than being on the road. He'd expect her to take off as far as she could get and hide in a big city, like she'd originally planned. Maybe he wouldn't even think of looking for her here. It would be like hiding in plain sight. He'd never expect her to stay this close.

Or maybe she was just rationalizing because she simply couldn't imagine leaving Will. Or Abby. Or any of this wonderful new life she'd made here.

Every day an inner voice told her that she should leave. And every day she made excuses to stay, until that voice grew less insistent and began to fade away altogether. Maybe she could stay. Maybe she could stay forever.

***

A week into the new year Lily and Will went skating again. They'd been a few times, and Lily was getting steadier with each visit. They were making a big circuit of the rink, hand-in-hand. Abby had come with them, but had soon joined a group of her friends, promising to be home by curfew.

"I think maybe I'm ready to fly solo this time," Lily said.

"Really? Alright, go for it. If you fall on your bum, I'll kiss it better," Will said.

She laughed as she let go of his hand before pushing off, skating a few strokes alone and making a wide turn until she was facing him again before gliding to a careful stop a few feet away. "Ta-da!" she cried, throwing her mittened hands in the air.

Will laughed.

Lily laughed, too, feeling playful and carefree. As if everything was right with the world. As if everything could stay this way always.

And then she saw Trevor sitting on one of the benches that surrounded the outdoor rink.

Oh my god.

He'd found her. Somehow. She didn't know how, but it didn't matter. He was here.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

This couldn't be happening. Not now, when she was so happy and everything seemed so perfect. Not now, when she was finally starting to feel safe.

Complete and utter panic turned her entire body ice-cold in an instant. All the blood drained out of her face. She felt her heart begin to pound painfully, as if it would come right out of her chest. She lost her balance and her feet went out from under her. Arms flailing, she fell flat on her back, knocking the breath out of her. She tried to inhale and was only able to make a strangled choking sound as her lungs refused to fill.

She heard Will call her name as he skated over to help her up. "Guess you're not ready to skate without a co-pilot yet. You okay?" he asked as he pulled her to a sitting position. "You fell pretty hard."

But Lily didn't answer. She barely heard him. She could hardly catch her breath enough to stay conscious, let alone speak. She frantically peered around his shoulder, searching for Trevor. She couldn't let him sneak up on her. How long had he been watching her? Lily's senses must have dulled. She hadn't even felt as if she were being watched or followed. This was what came of letting her guard down. She should have known better. She wasn't safe here. She wasn't safe anywhere.

She would never be safe again. She was a fool to have thought otherwise.

She gave a few more choked gasps, and then her lungs finally began to work again.

Will was pulling her to her feet, saying something, but she didn't absorb a word of it. And then she realized the man sitting on the bench wasn't Trevor after all. He had the same body build and close-cropped black hair, but it wasn't him.

It wasn't him.

She nearly fell down again with relief. Oh thank god. It wasn't Trevor. Only someone who looked like him. He hadn't found her.

Yet.

"Lily! Lily, what's wrong?" Will was holding her arms, and he shook her gently, bringing her attention back to him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

She nearly had. A ghost of her past. She looked past him again just to reassure herself that the man wasn't Trevor.

Will followed her gaze and turned his head to look at the people behind him. "Did you see him?" he asked, sounding fierce and protective, before looking at her again. She shook her head, unable to get any words out as she stared at the front of his jacket as if it held the secrets to the universe.

"You're sure?"

She nodded jerkily.

"Then what's wrong? You're white as a sheet." His gloved hands gently chafed her upper arms. She shivered and he cursed. "You're shaking. Do you want me to take you home?"

Home. It sounded so good. If only it really were her home. But she'd been fooling herself. She couldn't stay here. She'd allowed herself to get too comfortable, too complacent. It wasn't Trevor this time. But what about the next time? She couldn't stay here and put Will and Abby in danger.

"Yes," Lily managed to say dully, still unable to meet his eyes. "Please take me home." Although it wouldn't be her home for much longer. She couldn't make excuses anymore. She had to leave. She knew that now. This had been nothing but a temporary reprieve. And now it was over.

She wanted to cry, except she felt too numb for tears.

***

Lily hadn't said a word on the drive back, although he'd tried to get her to tell him what was wrong. Instead she'd stared at the dashboard and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. He'd had to put her seat belt on for her, she'd been so out of it. It was like she wasn't even there anymore.

Will had seen her frightened before, but never like this. It was like she'd withdrawn so far inside of herself that she'd disappeared.

It was scaring the crap out of him.

He turned the heater up all the way, in case she was cold, but she didn't even shiver anymore. Didn't respond. Barely even blinked. She could almost be a mannequin, she was so still.

She'd said that she hadn't seen him, her ex, at the rink. Yet what else could have caused this kind of reaction?

Will drove home as fast as he safely could. He only hoped that he hadn't broken any traffic laws on the way. If he could get her home, reassure her that she was safe with him, maybe she'd come out of this state of what he could only guess was shock. If he could get her to tell him what was wrong, they could face it together, whatever it was.

When he pulled into the driveway and threw the truck into park, she was already unbuckling her seat belt and getting down without waiting for him to help. She walked as if on autopilot up the steps before unlocking the door. By the time he had locked up the truck and got inside the house, she had already shed her coat and mittens and boots. She stood motionless, her expression still frighteningly vacant.

He closed the door behind him and then gently took her by the shoulders. "Lily, please. Tell me what's wrong."

She wouldn't even look at him. She stared through him as if he wasn't even there.

"Lily," he said. "You're scaring me."

She seemed to snap out of it all at once, going from motionless to a blur as she threw herself at him, pulling his hat from his head, winding her arms around his neck, kissing him with a desperation that scared him almost as much as her unnatural quiet had earlier. Normally he was more than happy to kiss her back, to lose himself in their mutual need, but this was different. Yes, they'd worked through moments of fear before, but nothing like this. While they'd had passion, it had always been tempered with tenderness, not the despair he felt coming from her now. It took a great effort for him to break their kiss. "Lily, please. Not like this. Tell me what's got you so upset," he implored.

"Please, Will," she said. "Let's go to bed. I need you."

He felt as if he should insist that she tell him what was wrong first, but he could deny her nothing, especially when she so obviously needed it. Maybe after they'd made love she'd be willing to open up to him.

He hadn't even finished closing the bedroom door behind them when she was on him again, pulling frantically at his clothes. They undressed each other quickly before she led him over to the bed and pushed him down on it onto his back. She was on him a moment later, kissing him desperately again. They touched each other with shaking hands, knowing by this time exactly what to do to have them both at fever pitch. She kissed her way down his chest. As her kisses moved down his belly, he realized what she intended.

She'd never done that for him before. She'd admitted to him that she'd been forced to perform that act in the past, and so he hadn't asked. It was something he was willing to live without if it meant he could be with her.

"Lily," he gasped. "You don't have to—oh god." His words ended on a groan as she took him in her mouth and proceeded to drive him out of his mind. He could barely breathe as the feel of her lips surrounding him and her tongue swirling over him nearly made him forget his own name. She made love to him with her mouth for long moments before he ground out, "Lily, please. You have to stop, or I won't last."

She did, giving his belly a kiss before she grabbed a condom from the nightstand and sheathed him. But when he expected her to straddle him and take him inside of her, she surprised him by lying down on her back next to him instead, her voice husky as she said, "Come here."

This was something else they hadn't done. He hadn't wanted to trigger bad memories by making her feel trapped by the weight of his body on top of hers, and so they'd avoided this position before. "You want me to—?"

"Please. I need you inside of me. Now."

His heart squeezed at her bravery. If she wanted to use him to exorcise her demons, then he was willing to do as she asked. He carefully bore his weight on his forearms to keep from crushing her as he positioned himself between her thighs and joined their bodies in one long, slow thrust.

She cried out, her eyes wet with tears. He went still immediately. "Did I hurt you?" he asked. He'd never forgive himself if he had.

She shook her head. "Don't stop, Will," she whispered as she clung to him. "Make love to me like it's the last time."

Her words caused an actual physical ache in his chest. With every fibre of his being, he hoped she didn't mean that. But if this really was going to be the last time, then he wasn't going to waste it in a mad rush to climax. He was going to savor every moment of it. Of her.

He began moving, loving her in long, slow, deep strokes that had them both gasping. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she wrapped her legs around his pumping hips, clutching him close to her as if she never wanted to let him go. If only he could make this last forever. He wanted to commit every single detail to memory, in case he never got another chance to make love to her. From every beloved feature on her beautiful face, to the scent of her, a mixture of soap and shampoo and female arousal and something else intoxicating that was uniquely her, to the sounds of pleasure she made as he drove her inexorably to the peak, to the feel of her arching up to meet his thrusts, taking him deep, so deep, as if they were no longer two, but one. As if beyond the merging of bodies, their souls were meeting, touching, intertwining. As if he could bind her to him forever.

I love you, he told her wordlessly with every stroke of his body into hers. Please don't leave me.

As much as he wished it would never end, such intensity couldn't last forever. All too soon she was crying out his name, her nails scoring down his back, her body bucking beneath his as she came apart in his arms. He was helpless to hold back any longer. Her name was on his lips as he climaxed, his thrusts growing jerky as he shook with release.

It took all the strength he had not to collapse on top of her afterwards, but he didn't want to make her feel trapped. Reluctantly he withdrew from her and disposed of the condom before lying on his side next to her and pulling her into his arms again. She burrowed herself into his chest as if she wished she could climb inside of him. He slid a knee in between her legs and she wrapped one around his hip as if she couldn't get close enough.

"Now will you please tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head spasmodically as she began to sob as if her heart were breaking. As he was sure his own was. This was killing him. His throat felt thick with unshed tears. Her every cry, every shuddering breath, tore at him like a knife. Will had never felt so helpless in his life, not even when he was eighteen and his parents had died. All he could do was hold Lily as she cried herself out, murmuring useless words of comfort. It felt like forever before her sobs finally slowed and her breathing began to even out as she slid into an exhausted sleep, going limp in his embrace. Maybe when she awoke, she'd feel calm enough to talk to him, he thought, fighting to stay awake until that happened. He didn't want to sleep, didn't want to miss a moment of her. Didn't want to give her a chance to run away from him.

But he was so tired. Their wild lovemaking had sapped his strength. Though he fought it, he lost the battle and he too, slept.

# Chapter Seven

Will's arms were empty when he woke. He reached toward her side of the bed and found it still warm. He opened his eyes to see Lily sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling her shirt on over her head.

"Hey," he said, his voice still scratchy with sleep. They hadn't slept apart since the first night they'd made love, and it wasn't morning yet. "Where are you going?"

She pushed her arms through the sleeves of her shirt and tugged the hem into place before she looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a small, sad smile. "I have to go pack," she said, before getting up and walking out of his bedroom.

"Pack? Wait just a damned minute!" He leapt out of bed, but was prevented from following her right away by having to pull on his pants first and trying not to get anything important caught in his zipper as he struggled to do it up.

She was already halfway down the hall when he caught up with her, his hand closing on her upper arm. In his panic, his grip was rougher than he intended.

She ripped herself away from him with a cry, putting her back to the wall as she slid down into a ball on the floor and covered her head with her arms.

"Oh god, Lily," he said, feeling like he'd been punched in the gut as she cowered away from him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He knelt down next to her, wanting to pull her into his arms, but not knowing if that would make things worse. "You have to know that I would never hurt you."

She lowered her arms and hugged her knees to her chest. "I know," she said in a small voice. "I didn't mean to do that. It was just a reflex."

But it showed him just what he was up against. Even after these weeks together, her first instinct was still fear. All it took was one wrong word, one wrong movement, one wrong touch, and she was cringing and hiding from him like a wounded animal. She had been hurt so badly and for so long, maybe she would never be able to fully trust him.

"You said it wasn't him that you saw at the rink tonight. So why are you leaving?" he asked.

"It wasn't him," she said. "But next time it could be." She shook her head, staring into space. "I've been fooling myself thinking I could stay here. Sooner or later, he'll find me. I need to go. I need to keep moving. I can't stay anywhere for too long."

That sounded like hell. To never be able to settle in one place. To never make friends, for fear of putting them in danger. To always be looking over one's shoulder for a maniac.

"Lily, I love you." He'd been afraid to say it before. Afraid of scaring her off, but now he had nothing left to lose. "And I know that you love me. You don't need to say it for me to know that you do. You can't leave."

She looked at him at last, reached out and cupped his cheek. "Don't you get it, Will? It's because I love you that I have to leave."

Fuck. She'd finally told him that she loved him, and it was only to say goodbye.

"He told me that if he ever caught me with another man, he'd kill us both. And I know he meant it."

"We can face this together," Will said, desperate to convince her to stay. "We'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I'll have a security system installed. We'll get a dog. I'll buy you a stun gun. Hell, I'll hire you a bodyguard if I have to."

"You don't understand. I can't do it. I can't put your life in danger."

"It's my life. I'll put it at risk if I damned well please."

She blinked away tears, her thumb lightly stroking his cheek. "But that's just it, Will. It's not just your life. What about Abby?"

He had no answer. He hadn't even thought of that.

"You see?" Lily said gently. "Maybe I can ask you to take that risk, but I can't ask that of her. I have no right to."

Everything he'd ever wanted was slipping away. He couldn't let it happen. "She's going away to college soon. She'll be safe there," he said, grasping at straws. "Maybe we could move. I can sell furniture anywhere. We could sell the house, move across the country—"

"I can't let you do that for me. Your life is here. This is the house that you grew up in. And it's Abby's home, too. It's not fair to her."

Not a damned thing about this was fair. How could one person have the power to rob them of so much?

"Lily, please," he begged. "There has to be a way we can make this work."

She gave a deep sigh of regret and resignation. "There isn't any other way. If there were, believe me, I'd do it." She brushed his hair back from his brow and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry, Will. But you have to let me go." Then she stood up and walked into her room. The sound of the door closing behind her felt like the death knell of his dreams.

***

Lily pulled one of her suitcases out of the closet and tossed it on the bed, then began haphazardly cramming clothes into it, not caring that they would all end up wrinkled. She had to leave as soon as possible. Before she weakened and changed her mind. No matter how badly she wanted to stay, she had to do the right thing. She had to stay strong for the people she loved.

She thought that she'd cried out all her tears in Will's arms earlier, but they threatened again. She sat down on the bed and covered her face with her hands, feeling the sobs coming. This was even worse than when she'd made her escape back in November. It had been hard enough leaving Jane, but leaving Will and Abby was tearing her heart out. A part of her wished she'd never met them, because she knew that her leaving was going to hurt them too. But at the same time, she knew that one day she would be glad for these memories. When they didn't sting quite so much.

She should have known better than to get involved with them. She spoiled everything she touched. When would she ever learn?

There was a knock at her door.

Damnit. If Will was going to try again to convince her to stay, she wasn't sure she'd be strong enough to leave. Even though she knew she had to. "Who is it?" she asked after she'd taken a few deep breaths to try to steady herself.

"It's Abby."

Lily hadn't even realized Abby was home. And they'd been arguing right outside of the girl's room. Lily quickly wiped her tears away, gulping down the sobs, even though she knew it was useless. Her eyes were still swollen from her crying jag earlier. There was no way she could hide it. She took another deep breath, then called, "Come in."

"So you really are leaving," Abby said when she'd stepped into the room, revealing that she must have been asleep earlier. She was dressed in pajamas and her hair was a mess. She looked younger than her seventeen years.

Lily nodded. "I'm afraid I have to go."

The teenager leaned back against the bedroom door. "You said you wouldn't hurt him."

"I'm sorry, Abby. I didn't mean to, I swear." Will had said he'd wanted to make the most of the time they had. He'd spoken of having a fling, as if he could be casual about this. But there was nothing casual about what they had. She hadn't tried to make him fall in love with her. It had just happened. Just like how she felt about him. She hadn't wanted to fall in love, but she hadn't been able to stop it.

She expected Abby to be furious, but instead the girl just looked sad.

"I can't let you do this. You're leaving because of me. I can't let him lose everything again because of me."

"You weren't supposed to hear any of that," Lily said. "None of this is your fault." Then the rest of Abby's words registered and Lily asked, "What do you mean, again?"

Abby crossed the room, pushed the half-filled suitcase out of the way, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I told you before how Will could have gone pro in hockey."

"Yes, but—" Lily didn't understand what that had to do with her leaving.

"Right. I'll have to start from the beginning." Abby took a moment to collect her words. "Before our parents died, Will was getting ready to head off to college on a hockey scholarship. He was with his high school girlfriend back then. Her name was Samantha. They'd been dating since the seventh grade. She was going to the same college with him. Everyone expected them to get married in a few years. They were really in love.

"Then our parents died," Abby continued. "Drunk driver hit them head-on. We didn't have anybody. Our grandparents were all dead, and we had no aunts and uncles. There wasn't anyone to take me in, and I would have gone into foster care, except Will fought to become my guardian. He was only eighteen, and a lot of people thought it was too much for him to handle, but he proved them all wrong. He gave up everything. College, the scholarship, everything. He gave up his dream of getting into the NHL because he had to raise me." She came to a stop and swiped at her eyes before continuing. "Instead he stayed in Haven and took over our father's business. I mean, he likes what he does, but he wanted to be an athlete first, maybe settle down and take over the business later. But he never got the chance.

"The worst part was Samantha. She said she didn't want to stick around and raise a kid. She told Will it was her or me. And he picked me."

Just when Lily thought she couldn't love him more, she learned something new.

"I was only seven, but I know he was devastated. But he never complained. Never blamed me."

"But you blamed yourself," Lily said softly.

Abby swiped at her eyes again, the tears flowing faster now. "Of course I did! If it hadn't been for me, he would have had everything. Instead he had to give it all up. Because of me." The last word came out in a squeak as her voice broke.

"Oh honey," Lily shifted closer and took the girl into her arms. Abby stiffened before accepting the embrace and dissolving into sobs. Her attitude towards Lily when she'd first arrived made so much more sense now. No wonder Abby was so protective of her older brother.

Lily smoothed a hand over Abby's hair. "It wasn't your fault."

"I kn-know that. On some level. Will's always said so. But I can't help feeling guilty. And now you're leaving to protect me. Can't you see? It's like it's happening all over again! I can't let that happen! I won't!"

"Abby, you don't know what you're saying. My ex-boyfriend, he's..." Lily paused, searching for the right words. "He's mentally unstable. He's dangerously obsessed with me. If he finds me, you could end up hurt, or worse." Lily couldn't even bring herself to say the word "dead". It was too horrible to contemplate.

Abby pulled back, sniffling. "I'm willing to take that chance. Please, Lily. I need to do this for Will. He's given me so much, he deserves to be with the woman he loves. You've made him so happy since you came to live with us. Please don't go. I can't bear the thought of him being all alone when I go to college in the fall."

Did Lily dare take the chance? Was she wrong to leave, to make this decision for all three of them, when both Abby and Will were asking her to stay? "I don't know if I can."

"You said you wouldn't hurt him. The only way you can keep your word is if you stay."

What a tangle. If she left, she broke everybody's hearts. If she stayed, she risked everybody's lives. Abby said she was willing to take the chance, but did she really understand what she was saying? After all, teenagers generally thought they were immortal.

"I'll flush your car keys down the toilet if I have to," Abby said, showing a bit of her usual spirit.

Lily gave a startled laugh. "You would, too, wouldn't you, rascal?"

Abby laughed too. "Damned straight."

If Lily was damned either way, then why not reach for happiness? What was life without risk? It simply didn't exist. She knew that. She was as safe here as she was going to be anywhere. And for all she knew, if Trevor managed to trace her trail even after she'd gone, he'd find out that she'd been involved with Will and hurt him anyway. It wasn't as if their relationship was a secret. Everyone in town had known almost as soon as it had started. But she had to be sure Abby knew what she was getting into. "If you swear you understand the risk you're taking," Lily said.

"I do, I do, I swear!" Abby bounced up and down. "Does that mean you're staying? Please say yes."

All you have to do is say yes. Will had said that to Lily just before the first time they'd made love. Even now, her body still hummed with the memory of what it felt like to be in his arms. How could she give that up? Never feel his touch again? Never again hear him say that he loved her? It would kill her as surely as any physical danger.

Hoping she wasn't making a huge mistake, Lily said yes.

***

Lily stared at the half-packed suitcase after Abby went back to her room. The teen had left only after she had squealed and hugged Lily and thanked her. And then brought more tears to Lily's eyes by telling her she was so glad to finally have a sister.

What a roller-coaster ride tonight had been. Had it only been a few hours ago when Lily had thought that she'd seen Trevor at the rink? It felt like lifetimes had passed since then. From happiness to devastation to hope.

Would Will still want her after all this?

Only one way to find out.

She entered Will's bedroom without knocking to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. Lily felt sick for having hurt him, no matter how unintentional or well-meaning it had been. He didn't even look up. Had he not heard her, or was he ignoring her? She could hardly blame him if he were.

She shut the door behind her. "Still sure you want me to stick around?" she asked. Had she hurt him too badly? A part of her wasn't even sure why he'd want her at all. The part of her that still felt as if she'd deserved all that she'd endured.

"Don't say that if you don't mean it."

"I do mean it. Did you mean it when you said you were willing to take a chance on me?"

He looked up at her at last. "I don't say things I don't mean." His expression was wary, as if he wanted to hope, but was afraid to.

"I know I've got a lot of baggage," she said. "My emotions are hard to handle. I can be difficult to live with. I scare easily."

"I already know all that, Lily. I've seen it."

"I don't know if I'll ever get over it completely." Why was she trying to give him reasons to send her away? Maybe because she still didn't fully believe that she deserved his love.

"It's worth it to be with you."

"And there's my ex. He could still find us. Being with me is taking a risk."

"I already told you. I'm willing to accept all that."

"I have to live off the grid. I can't get a passport, or a credit card, or a job that won't pay me in cash. I can't ever go travelling out of the country with you, or file a joint tax return, or...or anything like that."

At first he looked as if he didn't understand why she was bringing this up, and then comprehension dawned. "You're saying you can't ever marry me."

"Even if I want to. Someday." There was silence for a moment before she added, "My name isn't really Lily. It's Amanda."

"Would you rather I called you that?"

She shook her head. "No. It doesn't feel right anymore."

"You'll always be Lily to me," he said. "And it doesn't matter if you can never marry me. We don't need a piece of paper."

He was right about that much. All they needed was each other. "Are you still sure you want me to stay?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that?" he asked, looking a little exasperated. "You can go by any name you want. You can keep dying your hair—"

"How did you know that I—" she broke off when he raised an eyebrow at her, then felt her face turn crimson when she realized just how he knew. "Oh." Right. The man had had his head between her legs more than once, after all.

"I don't care about any of that," he continued. "I just want you."

"Then I'm staying."

He got up and crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe. "Please don't ever scare me like that again," he said, his voice rough.

She hugged him back, and then his hold loosened.

"I'm sorry, I'm crushing you."

"It's okay. I love you."

"And I love you," he said. "God, I love you so much." He kissed her long and deep. Only when they were both breathless did he stop, his forehead resting against hers. "What changed your mind?"

"Abby did."

"How?"

"Apparently she overheard us earlier in the hallway. She said she couldn't bear it if you got your heart broken again because of her."

He looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"She told me about Samantha. And your college scholarship."

"Oh. That. I've told her over and over not to blame herself. No one forced me to make the choices I did."

No, no one had forced him. But given the kind of person he was, could he have actually made any other choice? Lily didn't think so.

"I'm not still hung up on my ex either, if that worries you," he said. "Should I be hurt that Abby was able to convince you to stay when I wasn't?"

"Does it really matter? We're together now."

"That's true." He kissed her again, a kiss of renewal and commitment. "Let me make love to you," he said when they came up for air. "Like it's the first time."

"Yes, please," she said, just before he picked her up and carried her back to the bed.

This time their lovemaking was slow and tender, a reunion, and a promise for the future, no longer tinged with the fear that they were going to lose one another.

Mindful that they weren't in the house alone, she kept herself from screaming his name when he took her to climax, and instead breathed out, "I love you," at last free to say it.

# Chapter Eight

Lily sang along with the radio as she drove home from the supermarket. In the last two weeks, things had settled into a nice routine. As he'd promised, Will had made their home a safe fortress with a new security system complete with exterior cameras and motion-activated lights. He said he didn't care if the neighbours thought he'd suddenly gotten paranoid. He and Lily had talked about possibly getting a guard dog in the future.

Lily considered what she'd do when she got home. She supposed she should use the box of hair dye she'd picked up at the store. Her blonde roots were starting to show. It had been over six weeks since she'd first colored it. She needed a touch-up. Maybe one day she'd feel safe enough to go back to her natural color, but that hadn't happened yet.

She pulled into the driveway and reached up to press the button on the garage door opener attached to the visor. The door didn't budge. She pressed it again. Still nothing. Hm. Strange. Maybe the power was out? Or it was a glitch. The wiring for the garage was older, and they'd had problems before. Since she couldn't pull into the garage, she put the car into park and switched it off.

This meant a few trips through the blowing cold to carry the groceries in. Of course she'd made the choice to wear a mini-dress and leggings instead of pants today, she mused dryly. She was going to be frozen by the time she was finished. Her winter parka only came to her waist and would provide no protection for her lower half. Oh well, Will was home in his workshop. Maybe she could convince him to take a break and help warm her up, Lily thought with a smile.

The wind blew cold air and snow up her skirt as she grabbed two of the grocery bags and hurried over to the side door.

"Hello Amanda," came a low, menacing voice from behind her.

Oh shit. No one in town except for Will knew her old name. There could be only one person calling her that. Besides, she'd know that voice anywhere. She still heard it in her nightmares. There was no mistaking it, Trevor had found her for real this time. Lily froze as still as a statue, the only thing moving her clothes as the cold winter wind tugged at them. Her bottle of pepper spray was in her purse. Which she'd left behind in the car. An oversight that might prove fatal.

She heard the snow crunch as he came up behind her. She wondered how long he'd been waiting for her. How long he'd been watching her. She felt something hard jab into her back.

"I've got a gun. You're going to do whatever I tell you to."

The grocery bags fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers. Distantly she was aware of the sound of eggs breaking as they hit the ground. She'd planned to make quiche tonight. How could she do that with no eggs?

Strange, the random thoughts one had when one was in danger. Who cared about eggs at a time like this?

Get him talking, a voice inside of her said. Maybe you can find a way out of this. "How did you find me?"

"Did you forget that I'm a private investigator, Amanda?"

Of course she hadn't. But she'd been so careful not to leave any kind of trail. No credit cards, no contact with people from her old life. She'd dropped all her social media when she'd disappeared even though she'd hated having to do it, hated the fact that she knew there were people who would worry about her disappearance.

Trevor laughed, the sound making her stomach twist into knots. "You weren't careful enough," he said, as if he'd read her mind. "You ended up in the background of a picture that made it onto this town's Facebook page. From there it was child's play. I never knew you liked skating."

Ugh. Who would have thought she'd be caught out by something so simple?

"Now unlock the door, Amanda."

That name made her feel nauseated. It wasn't who she was anymore. When she'd thought of herself by that name, she'd been a victim. She was Lily now, a survivor. Even though she'd weathered a few storms, she was still standing.

But for how much longer? She remembered that she hadn't bothered to enable the security system when she'd left, since Will was home. She'd figured she'd do it after she got back with the groceries.

Oh god, Will. Trevor was going to kill him. That's why he wanted to get into the house. She couldn't let that happen, even if she didn't survive this. At least Abby was away with friends on a shopping trip in Edmonton. She was safe.

"Look Trevor, you've found me. We don't have to bring anyone else into this. I'll go with you, do whatever you want." Lily fought down a wave of queasiness at the thought of what that entailed, but she'd do it if it kept the people she loved alive.

Trevor jabbed the gun more firmly into her back. "Don't even think about it, Amanda. Do you really think you can protect him? That I'd let him fuck you and live? That I'd let him get away with having what's mine? I could shoot you right now if you don't open that door. It wouldn't matter. Your precious lover boy has to come out sometime."

Trevor was right, she knew. Even if she gave her life now, it wouldn't protect Will.

"You don't need to do this," she said, hating how pathetic her pleading voice sounded. She knew he wouldn't care even if she begged. He never had before.

"Shut up. Open the fucking door, Amanda."

There was nothing she could do but obey and hope he'd make a mistake. That she could get him to let his guard down, disarm him somehow. She fumbled in her pocket for her keys and they dropped into the snow. He swore, then reached down to get them himself, never removing the gun from her back. His body squashed hers against the door as he unlocked it and she had to swallow down the taste of bile at the bad memories the feel of him against her triggered. Maybe if she could just push the panic button on the panel for the security system, the one that would call the police.

But he was too fast for her. He grabbed her wrist as she reached out, twisting it painfully, making her swallow back a cry of discomfort. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her. "Don't even think about it, you bitch. Now move."

She did as he commanded. He let go of her wrist when it became clear she was going to comply with his commands. Lily stripped off her mittens and dropped them to the floor. While the thick coverings were good for keeping her hands warm, they would only hamper her in the next few crucial moments.

When they were in the kitchen, she tried again to placate him. Maybe if she could convince him that she'd go with him willingly, she could get him out of the house. Will would find her abandoned car and dropped groceries and realize something had happened. He'd call the police. At least the police here weren't best buddies with Trevor. Maybe she could still get out of this alive, or at the very least, die knowing that Will was safe. "Trevor, I know you're angry," she said. "I see now that it was a mistake to leave you. Let's just go. I'll come home with you and we can forget that this ever happened. We can pick up where we left off."

Trevor grabbed her around the middle, the gun against her temple now. His breath was hot and sickening against the back of her neck. "Do you think I'm stupid, Amanda?"

No, he wasn't stupid. He was unstable, but not stupid. That made him all the more dangerous. She heard Will's footsteps on the stairs. Oh god, he was going to be killed. It would be all her fault.

Lily sucked in a breath to scream out a warning, but Trevor clamped his hand over her mouth. She struggled, trying to pull it away, but he was too strong for her. Calling on all her fighting instincts, she kicked back at his shins, making him grunt in pain when the sole of her boot connected. She stomped on his foot, but while he made another sound of pain, his hold on her didn't loosen. She swung her elbow backwards, catching him in the gut, making his breath leave him in a whoosh, but still he held fast to her. Desperately, she bit his hand, and he cursed, his hold on her mouth growing slack just enough for her to scream as Will came into the room.

"Will, look out!"

A second later the gun was no longer against her temple, and was going off beside her head. She watched in horror as the bullet struck Will in the chest, his body jerking from the impact. Red bloomed across his shirt and he stared down at it in shock, his hands going to clutch the wound before he fell to the floor.

"No!" Lily screamed. "You killed him! You fucking bastard!" Rage gave her renewed strength and she managed to twist around in Trevor's hold, attacking him with all of her might, trying to claw his eyes out, trying to knee him in the groin. She didn't care that he had a gun, that any second, she was probably going to join Will on the floor with a bullet in her. If she was going to die, she would not do so meekly. She was going to go out swinging.

She saw stars as Trevor smacked her across the face with the butt of the gun. He hooked his foot around her ankle and she was falling back to land heavily on the floor.

Before her vision had had a chance to clear, he was on her, one of his hands around her neck. The other pushed up her skirt and began tearing at her leggings. She heard him curse as he struggled to pull the tight garment down her legs.

No. She couldn't endure this. Not again. She couldn't live through him raping her yet again, especially not after she'd known the joy of Will's lovemaking. Oh god, Will. Her wonderful, beloved Will who was lying on the floor dying or possibly even dead because of her. Please let him not be already dead.

Trevor's hand was tight on her throat. She was running out of air, her vision growing dark around the edges.

Wait. He had a hand on her throat, and the other one was busy trying to tear her clothes off. Where was the gun? Had he discarded it, thinking he didn't need it anymore? After all, he'd never needed a gun to subdue her before.

She looked wildly around for the weapon. There it was, lying next to them. She stopped trying to pull Trevor's hand away from her throat and instead reached out for the gun while he was still distracted with trying to rape her. The gun seemed so close, and yet so far. She strained for it, knowing this was her last chance. When he was done violating her, he was going to kill her, just like he'd always threatened he would.

At last her fingers connected with the gun and she managed to grasp it. With the last of her strength, she jammed it into his midsection and fired.

His body jerked, and he looked down at her with shock as his grip on her throat loosened. "You shot me," he said inanely, as if he couldn't believe she'd had the nerve to fight back. A trickle of blood came out of his mouth. Still not subdued, he tried to grab control of the gun. Instinctively, she fired a second time. His body jerked again, and then his face went slack and his last breath rattled out of his lungs as he collapsed on top of her.

She struggled out from under his limp body, tossing the weapon aside, yanking the waistband of her leggings back into place.

"Oh god, Will!" Please don't be dead.

Miraculously, he was still breathing, although she could see he was close to unconsciousness. "Hang on, Will!" she cried. "Just hang on. Don't you dare leave me!" She scrabbled for her cell phone and called 911, putting it on speakerphone so that her hands were free to administer first aid. As she yelled out the address and the need for an ambulance to the operator, she grabbed a couple of clean dishtowels and wadded them up, pressing them into the wound on Will's chest. There was a frightening amount of blood soaking his shirt and on the floor beneath him, and there was still more coming. "Stay with me, Will," she pleaded as she fought to keep him awake, fought to keep him from bleeding to death in front of her. "Stay with me. Help's coming." His eyelids fluttered as he struggled to keep from passing out. "Look at me! Don't you dare leave me!" She cried again. "I'll never forgive you if you do!" She'd never forgive herself. She'd known this was a risk of staying, and she'd stayed anyway. This was all her fault.

The 911 operator was still speaking, assuring them that help was on the way.

Lily glanced over at where Trevor's body lay, shuddering at the sight of the widening pool of blood around him, at the gory mess of his back where the bullets had passed through, leaving ragged exit wounds. While there was a relief that he would never be able to hurt her again, she still felt sick at having taken a life. She didn't even like killing spiders. The knowledge that she'd killed another human being, even in self-defense, made her feel the urge to vomit rise again within her, but she held it back. Will needed her right now. He was still conscious, but just barely. He looked as if he was trying to speak. "Don't talk right now, Will. There will be time for that later. I love you. Just hang on."

It seemed like an eternity before emergency services arrived, and then there was nothing for her to do but let them take over and hope that they were in time to save Will's life.

***

This waiting, while everything hung in the balance, was nothing short of torture. At first time had passed in a blur of action, one event after another, from the ride to the hospital, to being checked out by one of the doctors who had declared there was no sign of a concussion and had given her an ice pack for the bruise on her cheek, to being questioned by the police, to having to give them her clothes for evidence (she'd been supplied with some baggy grey sweats instead), to calling Abby to let her know what had happened. Lily felt limp from the aftermath of so much adrenaline. Now she was left to endure seemingly endless waiting while Will was in surgery. While she tried not to imagine the worst. If she'd been the praying kind, she would have done so, but she wasn't. All she could do was hope that he would make it through this. That the doctors would be able to save his life. It had been hours, and she still hadn't heard anything.

"Lily?"

She turned her head to find Abby walking into the waiting room. She must have headed straight for the hospital after Lily had called, but the city was hours away and the teen had only just arrived.

Lily got up and crossed the room to Abby and they threw their arms around one another, hugging tightly.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Abby asked.

"Not yet." No one knew anything, and if they had, Lily didn't think they would tell her. She wasn't considered next of kin, given that she and Will weren't married. "Oh god, Abby. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"But—"

Abby pulled back enough that their eyes met. "No. It's not your fault, any more than it is mine for convincing you to stay. Or Will's, for that matter," she said with a wisdom beyond her years.

Rationally, Lily knew that the fault was only Trevor's, but emotionally was another story. But before she could say another word, the doctor walked into the waiting room.

Here was the moment of truth. The surgeon's expression was unreadable. Lily couldn't tell if it was good or bad news. "Well?" she asked, both afraid of and needing to hear what he had to say.

The doctor didn't even ask if they were Will Stone's family. It was a small enough town that everyone knew everyone. "He lost a lot of blood, and there was a fair amount of damage for us to fix. It was touch-and-go there for a while, but the bullet missed the vital organs. His shoulder took the brunt of the damage."

Why couldn't doctors ever just get straight to the point? They always had to give so many other details first. "But he's alive?" Lily asked.

"Yes. It'll take some time and physical therapy to get the full use of his arm back, but I expect him to make a full recovery."

Will was alive, he'd said. Full recovery, he'd said. Lily felt her knees grow weak with relief. Abby also went slack against her. It was hard to say who was holding whom upright.

"He regained consciousness a few minutes ago, which is a very good sign," the doctor continued.

"Can we see him?" Abby asked.

"I don't want you to tire him out, so only a few minutes. And it's for family only," he added.

"She's family," Abby said firmly, making Lily's heart catch.

"You go first," Lily said.

"You're sure?"

Lily nodded. She'd waited this long, she could wait a few more minutes to see him. When it was her turn, she felt a wave of tears rise when she saw him lying there in the hospital bed. Her big strong Will, looking so vulnerable. She'd been too numb to cry before, all those hours while he'd been in surgery. She'd been too afraid to cry, holding everything in until now.

His chest was swathed in bandages underneath the hospital gown, and he had monitors and IVs hooked up to him. He was pale from blood loss and pain.

But he was alive. That was all that mattered.

"Hey," he said weakly, giving her that crooked smile that she loved so much. The smile that she'd been so afraid she'd never see again.

Lily threw herself into the chair next to the bed, grasping his hand like a lifeline, pressing kisses to it in between words as she said, "Oh god, I'm so sorry, Will. I love you so much. I'm so sorry you got mixed up in all of this." She knew she was babbling, but she couldn't stop.

His hand closed around her fingers. Even in his weakened state, his grip was still strong and firm. Warm and alive. Thank goodness. She'd been so terrified she'd never feel it again.

"I'm going to be okay, Lily. Don't cry. It's alright."

The fact that even now, he was trying to comfort her when he was the one who'd been shot made her cry even harder. "I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry that he hurt you. It's my fault. Oh god." She laid her forehead against their joined hands. "It's my fault. I'm sorry. So sorry."

"Lily," she heard him say softly. "Lily, look at me."

She raised her head to meet his gaze, her eyes swimming with tears.

"This is not your fault. It was his. And he's gone now. It's over. We're safe."

"But if I'd just left, you would—"

"Good lord, woman," Will exclaimed, cutting her off. "I did not just take a bullet to the chest for you to talk about leaving me again."

That made her laugh through her tears. "I'm not going anywhere." With Trevor dead, the nightmare was finally over. They could focus on healing. Will's and hers. "Promise."

"You swear?"

She nodded as she reached up, gently brushing his hair back from his forehead. "I swear. Just try to get rid of me now." She could hear someone coming, probably to tell her that she had to leave him to rest, so she stood up and leaned over to kiss his brow, then dropped another soft kiss on his lips. "I love you," she told him softly, hugging it to her heart when he repeated the words back, before she reluctantly left to let him get some sleep.

# Epilogue

"Oh my goodness," Lily sighed as she kicked off her shoes and flopped down onto the couch beside Will. "I'm so glad that job is over. I'm completely wiped out." She reached up and ran her fingers through her now natural blonde hair. She'd ditched the brown as soon as it had grown out long enough for a haircut.

"It all went well, though?"

"Yes, absolutely. Everyone loved the food." In the last couple of years, Lily had made her dream of running her own catering business a reality. There was just enough work in Haven to keep her busy, but not too busy, she said. She had started out with selling the odd cake here and there for birthday parties, and had expanded enough that she could hire some high school students to do occasional work as servers when she had bigger events. "It was lovely, but I'm so glad to be done. My feet are killing me."

Will smiled. "Give 'em here."

She put her feet on his lap then gave a soft moan as he began massaging them. "Mm. That's nice. You're too good to me."

"So it was a nice reception?"

"It was lovely. The bride and groom looked so happy," Lily said with a dreamy smile. "I was a little nervous. This is the biggest wedding I've done so far, but it all went off without a hitch. I love weddings."

She looked so content. Since she'd no longer needed to hide, she'd legally changed her name to Lily Smith soon after the shooting, making her break with the past that much more official. He wondered, was she now ready to consider changing that to Lily Stone? If she would even want to take his name when they got married. Although he was getting ahead of himself. They weren't engaged yet.

They'd been taking this thing slower since the whirlwind that had marked the beginning of their relationship. Though he knew that she loved him, he'd also known that rushing her into a bigger commitment than she was ready for could potentially scare her off.

And at first, there hadn't been much time. All of their attention had been taken up on his recovery from being shot. It had taken him two weeks before he'd been able to leave the hospital, and several months of recovery and physical therapy before he had regained full use of his arm. Then they had been busy with getting Abby off to college, and then Lily had decided to take the plunge and try to make a go of catering.

So he'd been patient, just enjoying their time together. Two years of therapy for Lily had also worked wonders for her post-traumatic stress. Though she still had some reactions to triggers, they were more easily managed. They'd talked about the future, but the time had never seemed right for him to ask. Until now.

"Do you want one of your Christmas presents early?" he asked on impulse. This wasn't how he'd planned to do it. He probably should have waited until Christmas morning, like he'd originally intended. But the talk of weddings made him unable to wait any longer.

"I'm not going to say no to that," she said with another smile.

Will gave her feet one last squeeze before moving them off his lap so he could get up and retrieve one of the wrapped presents from under the tree. It was a box that was much larger than was necessary to hold the ring. He'd wanted it to be a surprise. He placed it in her lap and sat down next to her.

"Is it another carving?" she asked as she began to tear open the paper. Last Christmas he'd given her a carving that he'd made of a deer, as a memory of how they'd met. After all, if that deer had not run across the road and left her stranded, they would have driven right past each other.

"You'll have to open it and see."

Lily finished tearing off the wrapping and opened the box, then had to dig through a mass of tissue paper before she pulled out the small velvet-covered box holding the ring. She stared at it for a moment without opening it as she shoved aside the wrappings. "Is this what I think it is?" she whispered as she turned to look at him.

He took it from her and went through the whole production. Down on one knee, box opened to reveal the square-cut solitaire he'd spent hours picking out, and asked, "Will you marry me, Lily?"

She continued looking at him with surprise in those wide blue eyes that he loved so much. Now she was making him nervous. Was it still too soon? Or would she never be ready? Time seemed to stretch into an eternity.

Then those eyes filled with tears and she launched herself at him, shrieking, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" in his ear, pitching him flat on his back in her enthusiasm.

He grunted as she knocked the air out of him, then laughed. "You had me worried there for a minute."

She laughed too. "I love you," she said, then began kissing him, leaving him in no doubt as to the truth of those words.

# Author's Note

Dear reader, thank you for reading my book! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Lily and Will's story sprang to my mind almost fully formed in a matter of days, and then wouldn't let me get any sleep until I wrote it down.

If you enjoyed this book (or even if you didn't), please consider leaving a review where you purchased your copy and/or Goodreads. All reviews are helpful. Thanks!

The heroine of this book suffers from Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or C-PTSD, a form of post-traumatic stress disorder that is caused by long periods of exposure to repeated traumas, big and small. Any form of abuse (not just physical) can contribute to the development of C-PTSD. While at the time of this writing there is no known cure, there are many treatments that can help a sufferer to better identify their triggers and to manage the symptoms of flashbacks, shame, and inner criticism. For more information, this author recommends Pete Walker's book entitled, "Complex-PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving", ISBN 1492871842.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, remember that you are NOT to blame. Please call the local hotlines in your area.

Also, please check out my other book, "Renewal" (AISN B06XDX1X5V) which features a divorced couple who get a second chance at love. I am hard at work on my next book, I promise.

I love to hear from readers.

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