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“Listen,” I said from where I leaned against the kitchen counter, running a hand along the rough stubble along my jaw. “We need to figure out next steps for you. Was Darla armed when you shot her?”

“Armed?” she scoffed. “How would she be armed?”

“People sneak guns into state parks all the time—”

“Oh,” Alta said with a cringe. “Sorry, Darla is… wasn’t a person.”

I felt my brows shoot up my forehead. “Then whatwasDarla?”

Nervously she picked at a seam on the pillow. “A deer.”

“A deer?”

“Darla.”

“Darla was a deer?”

“Yes,” she said with a cringe.

“You named a deer Darla.”

Alta’s shoulders rose and fell. “It fit her. Darla the deer.”

The randomness of our conversation and her utter goodness pulled a wide smile up my cheeks. “Got it. Darla was a deer, and you had to shoot her.”

Those hazel eyes rolled to the ceiling. “Yes. She was wounded. It was the only humane thing to do. Stop looking at me like that,” she grumbled. “I name all the animals, okay?”

Grabbing a stool, I shifted along the top to get comfortable, then waved a hand for her to continue. Her pointed huff in exasperation made my already broad smile grow.

“Okay, so it varies. The first letter of the animal's type has to match the first letter of the made-up name.” One look and she knew I wasn’t following. “Examples. Molly the moose, Chippy the chipmunk, Hailey the hawk, Oscar the otter. You get the picture. They all have names because they’re personal to me. I take their safety seriously, more seriously than the park visitors.”

Of course she did. This woman was beyond anyone I’d ever known with her pure, genuine heart. Staring at her tucked on the couch, far out of my reach, realization smacked me across the face. I would ruin her. The darkness inside her I’d felt when we first met was merely a shade of gray compared to my dark abyss of a soul.

At her widemouthed yawn, I stood and gave a pointed glance to my watch. “It’s late. I should go. You good?”

Her head bobbed up and down, but sadness still lurked behind her eyes. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks again for staying with me.” She looked down to Benny, who’d trotted over to say goodbye. “It’s nice to have someone to talk to who responds.”

“Stop by tomorrow morning. Peters and I want to go over a few things about the case.”

“Sure.” The soft pitter-patter of her bare feet against the wood floor trailed me to the door. “You don’t… do you want to stay?”

Turning from the door, I faced her. “An hour ago, you were a sobbing lump on your front porch. You need time to decompress and sleep. If I stay, Lady, you wouldn’t get either.”

For the first time tonight, the corners of her lips twitched upward in an almost smile. “And you said you couldn’t be gentle. You thinking of me first says otherwise.”

Before she could blink, my hand tangled in her long damp hair as I shoved her back against the door. Curling my fingers into a fist forced her neck to arch. “Patient, Lady. I’m a patient man. Knowing when to strike, waiting for the perfect moment is control, not gentle.” Her body quivered as I bit down on her long, lean neck.

As quickly as I’d pinned her against the door, I released her and moved aside to open the door. With one last perusing look, I smirked at the tiny indentions in her skin. “Lock the door behind me.”

Halfway back to the cabin, still smiling, it hit me.

Those few minutes alone with her, listening to her random ramblings… for the first time in my life, I was happy.

15

Alta

A wet,rough tongue tickled my exposed toes, urging me awake. Squinting one eye open, I glanced to the still-dark window. With a groan of misery, I tucked my foot back under the blanket and rolled over on the couch, putting my back to the panting dog. No idea where he got his ‘I love mornings’ trait, but I’d love to smack the person who trained him to get up every morning at the butt crack of dawn.