Axes & O’s

11. Nathan

Chapter 11

Nathan

I swallow a bit of bacon, the rich meat exploding on my taste buds. Fox may look like he’d never be caught in the kitchen, but this is the best-cooked bacon I’ve ever had. Not that I’d tell him that, and I won’t be telling him the cinnamon roll is good, either. I think they’re just the pre-made kind, but they’re still fucking delicious. And the food and coffee is just what I needed to feel even more like myself, especially after sleeping for so long.

“Tell us about yourself, Nathan.”

My eyes lift to Morgan’s. There’s an easy smile on her face as she takes another cinnamon roll from the pan.

I wipe my hands and mouth with a napkin after I finish my food, leaning back in the chair. Fox’s eyes are on me again. I don’t have to look to know, because I swear my body can sense he’s observing me, as if I’m prey. It’s unnerving, but I’m oddly starting to get used to it. Maybe even kind of like it.

“There’s nothing much to tell,” I say honestly. I could go into the details about my life, but it’s not exactly exciting. They seem to lead way more exciting lives than I do. I mean, how many real-life lumberjacks—jills—does a person meet?

“I’m sure there’s plenty,” she volleys back. “Like how you ended up in a snowbank near our property line.”

I stare down at my empty plate, feeling hot. I shouldn’t be embarrassed, but I am, especially after seeing how small the cut was on my head. I think I passed out more from the shock of it all.

“He had the wrong chains on his tires.”

My head snaps to Fox. “I didn’t.”

“You did.”

I clench my jaw. “Are you an authority on tire chains?”

“I live and work in the mountains.”

His answer is simple and straightforward, like all his verbalizations have been so far. Like a mountain troll of sorts, though not ugly, not at all…

I stop that thought in its tracks and scowl. “The man at the shop said—”

“Your chains were not meant for your car. You should sue the guy who put them on.”

My hands, now on my thighs, dig into my skin. “You’re sure?”

Fox nods, running his inked fingers over his neatly trimmed beard. In the light of day, I can see the letters M I N E clearly tattooed on his index, middle, ring, and pinky finger. Flashes of that hand wrapped around Morgan’s throat, those letters clearer in my mind’s eye now, sends the blood from my brain downward.

I take a sip of my coffee to try to stop myself from imagining more but nearly choke on it when Fox raises a dark blond eyebrow at me. As if he knows what I just pictured.

I cough, setting the mug down as I try to regain my bearings.

“Nathan, are you okay?” Morgan asks.

“Fine.” I cough several more times. “Wrong pipe.”

Morgan gets up and grabs a glass of water, handing it to me from across the table before sitting back down again. I accept it gratefully, downing half the glass before placing it on the table. I keep my eyes off Fox as I thank Morgan.

“It’s not your fault about the chains, Nathan. It could’ve happened to anyone,” she says. “I’ve had things like that happen to me before.”

I don’t have to look at Fox to know she’s lying to try to make me feel better. I appreciate her efforts, but I don’t want her sympathy. “What’s done is done,” I say, taking another sip of water.

“On the bright side, at least they broke near us.”

Part of me wants to ask her why that’s a bright side, but I know she’s right. Without them, I would have most likely frozen to death unless another miracle had happened. My sister would be without a brother, my niece without an uncle, and my mom without a son. I’d have left this world with my last thoughts being that something was missing in my life…or maybe missing inside me.

“Fox passed out in the snow once.”

Interest pulls my focus to a growling Fox. I know Morgan isn’t lying this time because he wouldn’t be reacting this way if it wasn’t true.

“Morgan,” his deep voice warns.

A mischievous glint appears in her eyes, and my interest piques further. “Oh, come on, baby. Lighten up. Let me make our guest feel better.”

I should say it’s fine, that I don’t need her to help me feel better, but I want this man of few words to seem a little more average and fallible than he appears.

Fox isn’t looking at me—his eyes are fierce and locked on Morgan. With another silent conversation between them, one that looks practiced from probably years of knowing each other, he dips his chin. The harshness of his features, however, clues me in that he’s getting something he wants out of it.

Morgan’s eyes turn back to mine. “When we first started our business, there was a learning curve. There were a lot of sleepless nights, long hours, and physical work. Fox got sick and didn’t tell me he wasn’t feeling well. One morning, I accidentally sliced the tip of my pinky finger off, and he passed out, right there in the snow, when he saw all the blood.”

“That’s not how it happened,” he protests.

Morgan huffs a laugh. “If you say so. ”

“I was delirious, and with the way you came screaming at me, I thought your hand was gone.”

She gives him a “really” look, and the two have a stare down that looks like a battle of wills. The interaction is amusing, and I’ll admit, it does make me feel better that I’m not alone in my panic-induced fainting.

“Anyway, maybe men just need to be less squeamish.”

“I’m not squeamish,” Fox argues.

“I know, baby. But you were that morning.”

Fox grunts and gets up from the table to take his plate to the kitchen sink. I don’t know if he’s truly upset or just embarrassed, but I find joy in it regardless.

Morgan grins at me, and I can’t help but grin back. Even if last night was weird, Morgan is really starting to grow on me.

“Have you always wanted to be a lumber…person?” I ask.

She laughs at my question. “We like to use the term logger . And no, though I’ve always been into environmental science, specifically forestry, which I have a degree in. I also got into axe throwing—among other things—for stress relief while Fox was in Afghanistan. Then after he left the military, we moved to Starlight Haven for some peace and quiet. That led us to take over the lumber company, and here we are. That’s the short version, at least.”

My brain absorbs everything she’s saying. Fox having been in Afghanistan makes sense for his personality, the way he seems to slyly watch and protect, his hard exterior. The way he barks orders. How he reacted to being called squeamish…it all makes sense. The logging still seems like a stretch, but that was more Morgan’s dream, I’m guessing.

“You have an interesting life.”

Fox returns to take Morgan’s plate and then mine. He doesn’t look at me when he does, still lost in his thoughts.

“I suppose. It’s hard work, but we both enjoy it,” Morgan says .

“I noticed.” I sit up straighter when the words are out of my mouth, not having meant to say them out loud.

“You did?”

“At least for you,” I say. “I woke up to you chopping wood. It was impressive.”

She shrugs. “If you can’t chop wood, you probably shouldn’t do what we do. Or live in a cabin in the woods.”

That makes me chuckle. “Fair. But it was still impressive. You’re strong and precise.”

Morgan’s hazel pools shine at my praise. Once again, I get lost in the colors of them, and my heart speeds up so quickly, I wouldn’t be able to stop it even if I tried. God, she really is stunning.

The clearing of a throat snaps me from the moment, and my eyes dart to Fox. Instead of finding a man who should be jealous at the way I’m staring at his wife, I swear I see his cheek twitch as if he wants to smile, but I can’t tell for sure.

“It’s snowing hard again,” Fox says, sitting back down in his chair.

Both Morgan and I look out of the living room window. Fuck, he’s right. Disappointment burrows in my chest, confirming once more that I’m probably going to miss Christmas with my family. The fresh white powder also makes me wonder what we’re going to do all day. Play cards? Watch movies?

While the tension between the three of us has lessened, it’s still there. For a moment, I had considered asking Morgan if she would teach me how to chop wood, but that’s not happening with another wave of the storm moving in.

A heavy pause falls between the three of us before Morgan taps her nails on the table, drawing our attention to her. “I have an idea.” She smiles at Fox then back at me, an excited gleam in her eye. “Let’s go in the sauna.”

Heat creeps up the back of my neck as the picture of Morgan—and Fox—naked under a towel flashes in my mind. I’ll also be naked under a towel with them, a married couple. Isn’t that weird?

“It’ll be good for you, Nathan. Help ease the sore muscles,” she says.

Then it occurs to me. “Wait—you have a sauna?”

She nods. “In the garage. I got it for Fox and—I got it for Fox as a gift to get through the winters almost two years back now.”

For a moment, I wonder who else she got it for, but then she stands, and I can’t help but appraise her curvy body, my mind again picturing sitting next to her in the sauna.

“You’re welcome to join,” she adds. “If not, we have cards or books in the office if you’re a reader. Sorry there’s not more to do. The downsides of the generator and no internet.”

I glance at Fox—I should’ve figured he wasn’t going to say anything—then to Morgan. Fuck it. When in a cabin in the woods, right? Plus, this is a far cry from anything I would’ve agreed to in the past. Maybe I need to do something different for once. I have been saying something is missing…

“Okay.”

Morgan’s smile widens. Fox stands to join her, his eyes showing no emotion, so I’m left to wonder if he’s happy about my choice or not.

“We’ll meet you back out here in fifteen minutes,” Morgan says. “I put fresh towels under the sink in the guest bathroom. You can use one of those.”

“Thanks.”

She nods. “See you in a bit.”

The couple walks away from me to their bedroom, and I stay at the kitchen table for a moment. I blow out a long breath as I attempt to figure out if I’ve been taken over by body snatchers. That’s the only way I would have agreed to this crazy idea. Right?