as the walls of the little cabin closed in on her. The emotions were too immense to be contained and if she didn’t get out, she would explode.
Outside, she turned the opposite direction of the lodge, and instead, marched along the trail that led toward Levi’s cabin. She’d never been this far before. The twin grooved tire tracks didn’t end at his place, but veered off, up into the woods, and she didn’t hesitate to follow them.
By the time she came across a small clearing that was clearly where Levi cut and chopped a lot of the lodge’s wood supply, she was one hundred percent officially pissed off .
There was a large ax propped up against a wide, flat stump. It looked like a sledge hammer with one end tapered to a sharpened point. Nearby lay a pile of larger chunks of wood that needed splitting. She walked over and grabbed the ax handle. It was heavy, but she didn’t care as she lifted it and swung it at the stump.
It missed by a couple inches and the weight of it threw her off balance. The side of the steel head banged into her ankle. She gasped as pain radiated up her leg, bringing instant tears.
“Mallory!”
She jumped about a foot, then spun around to see Levi striding up the trail toward her. Shit . She couldn’t deal with him right now. Didn’t want him to see her cry. Besides, the way he made her feel only added to her current frustrations.
“Go away,” she called out.
Adjusting her hands on the wooden handle, she turned back to the stump and swung again. This time she hit it, but the weight had rotated the handle in her hand mid-swing. Instead of the sharpened edge hitting the wood, the flat side of the ax bounced off the stump.
The force jarred her arms and shoulders, making her grit her teeth at the sting.
A moment later, Levi was beside her, his large hand reaching for the handle when she would’ve raised it again.
“Stop.”
She shook her head. “I said leave me alone.”
“No.” His tone brooked no argument. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
Despite the fact her ankle still throbbed where the steel had hit, she ground out, “I’m fine.”
He pulled on the handle, but she grabbed and hung on with both hands. Right now, it was about the only thing keeping her grounded. His hands snugged up against hers as they faced off with the ax held horizontally between them. The warmth of his skin registered through the seething emotions whirling inside her.
“I talked to Mark,” he said quietly, concern and understanding clear in his eyes.
“Good for you,” she snapped.
His gaze narrowed. A small part of her felt bad for taking her anger out on him. The rest of her was humiliated to know that he knew she was the reason for Holden’s withdrawal of support for the veterans.
She needed to hit something. Hard.
Holding his gaze without backing down, she silently dared him to take the ax away by force. He could do it easily, and she actually wanted him to force the physical confrontation.
Instead, he gave a brief nod. “Okay. You want to work off some steam, I get it. I don’t want to have to rush you to the emergency room, so let me show you the right way to do it and it’s all yours.”
“Fine.” She shoved the handle toward him and let go at the same time.
Arms crossed over her chest, all her weight on one leg, she waited. He transferred the ax to one hand and let it swing down alongside his leg. Then he walked over for a hunk of wood and returned to set it on the stump, cut side up. Once he moved into position, he glanced back to where she stood.
“Hands like this, then swing back, and around, and bring it down so the sharp edge hits the wood in the center.”
In one fluid motion, he did exactly as he described and split the piece of wood clean in half. Facing her, he asked, “Got it?”
“Yeah. I got it.”
His eyebrow arched at her sarcasm, but she didn’t care. It felt good to not care for once. To not pretend like she was okay with the raw deal life had
Outside, she turned the opposite direction of the lodge, and instead, marched along the trail that led toward Levi’s cabin. She’d never been this far before. The twin grooved tire tracks didn’t end at his place, but veered off, up into the woods, and she didn’t hesitate to follow them.
By the time she came across a small clearing that was clearly where Levi cut and chopped a lot of the lodge’s wood supply, she was one hundred percent officially pissed off .
There was a large ax propped up against a wide, flat stump. It looked like a sledge hammer with one end tapered to a sharpened point. Nearby lay a pile of larger chunks of wood that needed splitting. She walked over and grabbed the ax handle. It was heavy, but she didn’t care as she lifted it and swung it at the stump.
It missed by a couple inches and the weight of it threw her off balance. The side of the steel head banged into her ankle. She gasped as pain radiated up her leg, bringing instant tears.
“Mallory!”
She jumped about a foot, then spun around to see Levi striding up the trail toward her. Shit . She couldn’t deal with him right now. Didn’t want him to see her cry. Besides, the way he made her feel only added to her current frustrations.
“Go away,” she called out.
Adjusting her hands on the wooden handle, she turned back to the stump and swung again. This time she hit it, but the weight had rotated the handle in her hand mid-swing. Instead of the sharpened edge hitting the wood, the flat side of the ax bounced off the stump.
The force jarred her arms and shoulders, making her grit her teeth at the sting.
A moment later, Levi was beside her, his large hand reaching for the handle when she would’ve raised it again.
“Stop.”
She shook her head. “I said leave me alone.”
“No.” His tone brooked no argument. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
Despite the fact her ankle still throbbed where the steel had hit, she ground out, “I’m fine.”
He pulled on the handle, but she grabbed and hung on with both hands. Right now, it was about the only thing keeping her grounded. His hands snugged up against hers as they faced off with the ax held horizontally between them. The warmth of his skin registered through the seething emotions whirling inside her.
“I talked to Mark,” he said quietly, concern and understanding clear in his eyes.
“Good for you,” she snapped.
His gaze narrowed. A small part of her felt bad for taking her anger out on him. The rest of her was humiliated to know that he knew she was the reason for Holden’s withdrawal of support for the veterans.
She needed to hit something. Hard.
Holding his gaze without backing down, she silently dared him to take the ax away by force. He could do it easily, and she actually wanted him to force the physical confrontation.
Instead, he gave a brief nod. “Okay. You want to work off some steam, I get it. I don’t want to have to rush you to the emergency room, so let me show you the right way to do it and it’s all yours.”
“Fine.” She shoved the handle toward him and let go at the same time.
Arms crossed over her chest, all her weight on one leg, she waited. He transferred the ax to one hand and let it swing down alongside his leg. Then he walked over for a hunk of wood and returned to set it on the stump, cut side up. Once he moved into position, he glanced back to where she stood.
“Hands like this, then swing back, and around, and bring it down so the sharp edge hits the wood in the center.”
In one fluid motion, he did exactly as he described and split the piece of wood clean in half. Facing her, he asked, “Got it?”
“Yeah. I got it.”
His eyebrow arched at her sarcasm, but she didn’t care. It felt good to not care for once. To not pretend like she was okay with the raw deal life had
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