Love at Last (Last Frontier Lodge #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

that court case had on him was niggling in his brain. He had no memory of his parents fighting with the insurance company after his accident. He’d been a mere six years old when he’d been an unfortunate passenger in a car. He was riding in the back seat with a friend on the way to soccer practice. Another car plowed into them going through an intersection. Garrett had taken the brunt of the hit. Both of his legs were broken, along with many other injuries.
    His memories of the accident itself were vague. His memories of waking up scared in the hospital were tinged with pain and confusion. What was clear in his mind were the hours of physical therapy and wearing a leg brace to school. He had been teased and taunted. He never played soccer again. He’d recovered fully and regained all of his strength, but he couldn’t shake the odd fear about driving to practice. Instead, he’d thrown himself into studying and stumbled into the realization he was pretty damn good at academics. The driving force behind his desire to become a powerful lawyer was to never be the boy who couldn’t fight back when he was teased. He’d turned to pick up games of basketball and running to stay in shape.
    He couldn’t quite believe that memories he didn’t even know he had somehow affected him after he helped that insurance company fend off the lawsuit. As odd as it was, it made more sense than anything else. Garrett pushed away from the window and headed toward the kitchen. Delia had sauntered through his thoughts all day. He’d meant to tell her this morning that their kiss couldn’t go anywhere. He was smooth at that with women—making sure they knew the boundaries. He’d opened his mouth and his well-worn script had failed him completely. Instead, he’d gone and told her he’d meant to kiss her and wanted to kiss her again. Rather than worrying about correcting himself, he was half relieved. Now, all he wanted was to find her and tug her into his arms again.
    He pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen. Aromas of all varieties assailed him. The kitchen was bustling with activity. Garrett’s eyes found Delia immediately. She stood by one of the waitresses and carefully adjusted the plates on a tray before holding the door for the waitress. Her honey blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail high atop her head. Loose curls framed her face. Garrett took the moment to simply look at her. He couldn’t say what it was about her, but the sight of her knocked him right in the gut. He was accustomed to beautiful women and dated them in spades in Seattle. Delia was in her own category for him. She wore an apron over a wine red shirt. The apron hung so that her breasts curved above it, taut under her fitted t-shirt. His body responded instantly and she hadn’t even noticed he was there.
    He forced his eyes away from her. Now was most definitely not the time and place for him to get hard as a rock. The kitchen was filled with staff, all working toward the goal of keeping the food flowing into the busy lodge restaurant. He headed in the direction of the hot cider in the far corner. He opened the cabinet above to search out a mug when he felt Delia’s presence. Without turning, he knew she was there. His body tightened at the feel of her warmth and the soft hint of vanilla she carried. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hey there. Hope it’s okay I’m helping myself to some cider.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to think about his expression, but he had to force himself to keep his eyes firmly on her face and his expression bland.
    Delia held up a mug. “Thought you might need this,” she offered with a small smile. Her cheeks were flushed, and her blue eyes bright.
    “Just what I was looking for.” He turned and accepted the mug from her before helping himself to the cider. He took a fortifying gulp and closed his eyes. When he opened them, hers were on him. “Perfect. I could live off this stuff.”
    She smiled