“Same as usual,” he said. “No big shakes. How are you? You settling in okay?”
“Yes, I am, thanks.” She swept her hair back from her face. “Can I get you a drink? Some water, or hot tea?”
“No, thanks, I have water in the truck,” he said. “Just gonna take out the trash, then check your wood supply.”
“I haven’t lit a fire yet,” she said. “I’ve been out as much as in. Maybe tonight. But hey, I went by the yoga center. You were right, what a difference! It’s so much bigger!”
He nodded, his breath forming as white puffs against the cold air.
“I saw Sami-Jo, she was glad you sent me,” Tess continued.
At that, he grinned. “Cool. She’s a sweet lady.”
“She really is.” Tess leaned her hip against the door frame. “I’m going to have a one-on-one with a trainer, Susan, who’ll come up here to the house for that, and I’ll go there to take classes twice a week with Carrie. Do you know either of them? You seem to be like the town mayor.”
For a split second, she caught a strange look in his light green eyes . . . like he’d been caught at something, maybe? But he merely said, “Yeah, I know Carrie. Susan’s new, I guess. Good luck with all that.”
Something about that quick, odd look intrigued Tess, and she wanted to keep him talking. “Thanks. I take yoga classes at home, but I’m upping it here with the extra personal session. I feel so good after I’ve done it. You ever done any yoga?”
“Me?” He laughed, making the creases by his eyes crinkle appealingly. “Hell no. But I hear people who do it love it.”
“I guess you get enough of a workout just doing your job day to day,” Tess said.
“Some days I do.” He adjusted his hat a little, pushing strands of his long blond hair away from his eyes. “I still hit the gym a few times a week for weights and some cardio. Yoga, that’s just not my thing. But kudos to you for doing it. Any physical activity is good.”
“Agreed.” She had a fleeting vision of him lifting weights in the gym, his biceps straining and sweat dripping down his neck . . . It was a delicious thought. “I want to hit the slopes next week, but I also love long walks. In fact, I went hiking myself this morning before I went into town. I’ll do that two or three times a week, I think.”
“Wait, you went up the mountain? By yourself?”
“Yessss,” she said. She stepped back and held out her arms to give him a full view of her. “And as you can see, I made it back just fine. This city girl can take care of herself.”
“Well. We’ve covered that before.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and something in his eyes shuttered. The change in his demeanor surprised her. He’d gone from teasing to something dark so quickly. It made the joking smile slide off her face.
He cleared his throat and said, “I’d better get to work. Just wanted to get it done before sunset, and I’ve got about”—he glanced up at the sky, shades of deep blue with hints of pink in the wispy clouds—“maybe half an hour of decent light left.”
She simply nodded. “I won’t keep you, then. Thank you, Logan.”
“Yup. Glad to hear you’re settling in fine. Talk to you soon.” He turned away and went down the steps. “Have a good night,” he called over his shoulder before heading around the side of the house.
“You too,” she called back before closing the door. He used to be friendlier to her, and it ate at her . . . She wished she knew if she’d said or done something to offend him.
Bubbles came scampering to her, yipping and wagging her tail. Tess crouched to pet her and cooed, “Are you hungry, little miss? Do I need to feed you now?”
Bubbles barked and wiggled in response.
“Okay, Bubs. C’mon, let’s feed you.” Tess walked through to the kitchen, her mind preoccupied with thoughts about the ruggedly gorgeous blond man out in her backyard. The more she learned about him, it seemed, the more there was to learn. She was definitely intrigued enough to find out. He interested her, it was that simple. Logan Carter was more complicated and layered than he seemed. She’d seen flashes of gruff or guarded moments, enough to suspect that his easygoing, self-assured outside was hiding something darker and more compelling inside. Somehow, over her time there, maybe she could get him to tell her his story.