After the Storm

“Carpets and drapery. It was a spin-off plant from the Dalton carpet factories, and an outlet store for carpet and drapery samples on the side, but the owner didn’t have very good business sense. He was the last descendant of the original settlers on the mountain, the last of the Dovers. He lived in a fancy house in Dalton, and only came here to check on things when it was absolutely necessary, but he just couldn’t get it together and he ran up a lot of debts trying to keep the factory running. Then things got pretty bad with the economy and they had to shut it down.

“He went bankrupt and now Dover Mountain doesn’t have any sort of employment opportunities. People have been forced to move closer to Dalton and Rome, some as far away as Atlanta, and some with no place to go, living off welfare. It’s really bad.”

“And yet, you came back here.”

Alisha stared down at the fire. She had her reasons for coming back here, but she wasn’t ready to explain them to him. Hoping to change the subject, she asked, “Why did you come here, Jared?”

His face went blank, his eyes downcast and evasive. He sat silent, his hands clasped for a full minute before he said, “I honestly don’t know.”

“Or you just don’t want to talk about it,” she replied.

“Maybe not.” He got up to stir the fire, his broad back effectively shutting her out.

Alisha watched him, acutely aware of how his masculine presence filled the tiny cabin. He was a stranger who’d shown up in a raging rainstorm. A stranger who now held a strong bond with her newborn son. And her.

A stranger who didn’t want to explain why he’d come here. He didn’t want to be a protector.