Take Care, Sara

careful to stay near the road and out of the woods. Part of her had wondered if the mysterious man would be there again. Part of her had been excited by the thought, especially when she’d thought of that smile of his.
    His back had been to her, broad and muscular through the long-sleeved red Henley shirt he’d worn; his faded jeans tight against his defined backside and legs. His physique had made her mouth go dry, especially watching his muscles clench and bunch as he worked. He had a chainsaw in his hands, the engine loud and grating to her eardrums as he’d cut fallen tree limbs in half.
    She walked past, eyes on him the whole time. Sara had known the exact moment he’d sensed her. The engine had abruptly cut off and a deep, raspy voice had called out, “Aren’t you worried about serial killers with chainsaw fetishes?”
    Her heartbeat had picked up as well as her breathing. Sara had spun around, blinking at the sight of him. His tall body had lounged against the back of a blue Dodge Ram, one elbow on the tailgate. His eyes had been hidden below the bill of a dirty white baseball cap, but she’d known they were watching her raptly. Sara had felt them on her, going up and down the length of her, searing in their intensity. He stripped away her clothes with that look, visualized himself and her naked together, writhing on a bed, or maybe against the wall, intertwined. She’d known it and it hadn’t bothered her one bit.
    “Wrong state,” she called back.
    He tipped his head back and laughed. “I think you’ve watched too many horror movies,” he drawled, removing his cap to wipe a hand across his forehead before tugging it back down in place. In that brief moment he’d been hatless; his electric blue eyes had zapped her, her body unconsciously jerking in response.
    “Maybe,” Sara had said, slowly moving toward him. She’d been scared. She’d been scared and it had had nothing to do with serial killers. Sara had been scared because she’d never been so instantly attracted to any man before.
    “So…Sara…Cunningham, is it?” She nodded. “Miss Cunningham, I do believe you are a thrill seeker.”
    “You think so?”
    “I do.” He straightened as she drew nearer, naturally looming over her at his height of somewhere around six feet tall. “Why else would you have shown up here a second time?”
    “I like the scenery?”
    His lips had formed into a slow smile and her stomach had dipped at the facial transformation from sharply angled features to rugged handsomeness. “Which scenery?”
    Oh boy, she thought, I’m in trouble.
    “I think I should take you out,” he said before she had a chance to form a reply.
    “Take me out where?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. She had been almost to him, close enough to know the top of her head might have reached his chest if she were to test it out.
    “How about a movie? What are you in the mood for? Some ’Texas Chainsaw Massacre’?”
    She laughed and he grinned and a date had been set.
    Sara shook her head, pushing the image away. Only he didn’t fade away. She inhaled raggedly, closing her eyes against the tall form walking toward her. It was a ghost, an illusion. It wasn’t real. He wasn’t really there.
    “Sara? What are you doing here?”
    She opened her eyes, her racing heart slowing. It was real. But it wasn’t him. Lincoln made his way to her, his features becoming more defined the closer he got. He had on jeans, boots, a red flannel jacket with the hood of a gray sweatshirt sticking out the back of it, and leather work gloves. He pulled his gloves off as he reached her, shoving them into the back pocket of his jeans.
    “I’m…” Her teeth chattered together, making it almost impossible to form words. She hadn’t realized it was so cold, lost as she’d been in her memories.
    “Shit, Sara, how long have you been standing out here?” Lincoln exclaimed as he moved closer, briskly rubbing her arms to bring some life back to them.
    “I don’t…know.”
    “Come here.” He enfolded her between his arms, his clean smell mixing with the scent of the wood burning stove from the house nestled back in the woods. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
    Sara couldn’t speak or move. It felt like a betrayal to him to have his brother’s arms around her. She wanted to pull away, but couldn’t gather the strength to. She felt safe, safer than she had since her world had been destroyed.
    “Come on. I’ll drive your car