Capturing the Cavedweller's Heart Read online

  “Man of few words, isn’t he?” Jill lifted Hannah’s bags and led the way inside the house.

  Thor stood in the doorway and looked around. The floors were made of polished wood. The walls, painted a shade of green that made him think of the hated sagebrush, created a soothing atmosphere. Big windows let in afternoon light. Chairs, as he’d learned they were called, were covered in material that appeared soft.

  “What’s first on the agenda?” Jill asked as she left the bags by a set of steps and they continued through the big room down a hallway to another light-filled room. Thor had no idea what he was looking at, but there were machines, tall chairs, stone slabs on top of smooth wood stands that opened and shut, and music. He grinned as he recognized a song he’d heard on Hannah’s radio earlier.

  “You have a radio,” he said, reaching out to touch the stone surface in front of him. It gleamed in the light and was cool to his touch.

  “Marble,” Hannah said as she tickled the baby under her chin and made her giggle.

  “Marble,” Thor repeated, spreading out his fingers on the surface. He noticed Hannah and Jill staring at his hand before they gave each other a look.

  “Did you tell him what you have planned?” Jill asked as she took the baby from Hannah and set her in a chair that held her captive. The baby slapped her hands on the plastic square her mother fastened in front of her. Jill gave Rachel something she started gnawing on and set a cup with handles on the sides in front of her.

  “I did not.” Hannah glanced at him then looked at her sister. “I did get the stuff you said you’d need.”

  “Let’s go out on the back porch to do it.” Jill picked up Rachel’s chair and carried it outside while the baby gleefully laughed.

  “Come on, Thor. You can’t go around looking like a homeless man,” Hannah said, nudging him toward the door.

  He stepped outside and admired the view of green grass, blue sky, and the cattle grazing. “What are those white things?” he asked, pointing to white stakes that connected.

  “That’s a fence. It keeps the cattle where we want them,” Hannah said. She set a tall chair she’d carried outside on the porch and motioned him to take a seat. “It’s a stool,” she said then disappeared inside the house.

  The seat was not covered in cloth, but it had a back made of twisted metal for him to rest against. He settled onto it and watched the baby. She babbled something unintelligible and slapped the plastic surface again. It was good to keep an active little one contained where she was safe. He studied the contraption, wondering how he could make something similar for Ilee.

  Hannah and her sister returned with their hands full. Her sister had covered her hands with something bright yellow that made him think of the furry mittens he wore when winter snows blew cold around their clan.

  “Are you sure about this, Han?” Jill asked.

  Hannah nodded, although she bit her bottom lip and looked uncertain.

  Dread pooled in Thor’s stomach, making him question what the women planned to do to him. More sorcery or magic? Should he run while he still could? Surely, with the baby present, they wouldn’t do anything terrible.

  Thor jumped when Jill stuck her hands in his hair and began rubbing his scalp.

  Hannah placed a hand on his arm as he started to rise from the stool. “It’s okay, Thor. Jill’s a professional hairdresser. She’s just checking to make sure no bugs hitched a ride in your hair, then she’ll trim it for you.”

  “Bugs? I have no bugs, woman!” he bellowed with irritation. The baby dropped her cup and gave him a frightened look.

  Hannah’s eyebrows rose but she didn’t say anything. Thor remained silent as her sister examined his head.

  “He’s clean,” Jill said, sounding surprised.

  Hannah released a sigh of relief and took a step back. Before he could rise, Jill whipped a large cloth around him and fastened it at the back of his neck. The next thing he knew, pieces of his hair floated down to the floor. At home, when his hair became a bothersome nuisance, he’d hack it shorter with his knife. The same with his beard. But he’d just cut his hair and beard a few weeks ago.

  “What do you do?” he asked, his voice quiet but edged in annoyance.

  “You need a haircut and a shave,” Hannah said reassuringly. “Jill does this all the time, so sit back and relax. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

  “I doubt it, but do your worst.” Thor closed his eyes, steeling himself to endure whatever they did to him. Cutting his hair? What madness was this?

  As Jill worked, Hannah talked to the baby.

  Thor must have dozed because the next thing he remembered was the feel of something cold and hard gliding across his chin. He would have jerked, but hands held his face steady.

  “Careful, Thor. This will only take a moment to finish, but you must hold still.”

  He opened his eyes, but the two women leaned so close over him, he squeezed them shut, disturbed by Hannah’s proximity.

  “Relax,” Hannah said, rubbing his temples with her thumbs.

  Thor found the slight pressure hypnotic as tension drained out of his body and left him languid.

  Jill scraped over his cheeks, chin, and neck with a piece of metal while Hannah continued rubbing his temples. When they finished, he heard Hannah draw in a sharp breath.

  “Holy smokes,” Jill said in a tone that held shock.

  Thor raised his eyelids and stared at the sisters. The two women glared at him with eyes that looked like they were about to pop right out of their heads. What had they done to him?

  Chapter Six

  “Oh, my gracious,” Hannah muttered, wondering what she and her sister had done. She’d lost her ever-loving mind, of that she had no doubt.

  First, she’d dragged a delusional man who thought he lived in 10,000 BC along with her for the weekend. For all she knew, he could be a homeless bum just looking for a free ride. Only he seemed too intelligent, too particular, to be homeless or a bum.

  The smart and prudent thing to do would have been to leave him at the hospital or the sheriff’s office. Yet something she couldn’t explain prevented her from doing that.

  She’d bought him clothes and took him to the library and then to get a few necessities. He’d seemed much more interested in the store itself than anything she’d purchased.

  It was bad enough she’d been sucked into his scheme, but she’d brought him home with her. When she called to talk to Jill about it, her sister had assured her it was fine. Both Jill and Jason were good judges of character, and Hannah really wanted their take on if this guy was playing a game or really did think he was from the past.

  The insult he’d exhibited when they’d mentioned bugs in his hair was definitely not contrived. Jill’s stipulation was that if he was staying at her house he had to be bug-free. Hannah readily agreed. Honestly, she’d worried about having to delouse her Jeep. Relief flooded over her when Jill said his hair was lice-free.

  He did seem surprisingly clean for someone who supposedly lived in an age when bathing and cleanliness weren’t a consideration, which made her question his story again. Everything he said and did went in the “fake” or “believable” column she’d mentally started from the moment she’d met him.

  Right now, the scales were tipping toward believable, but only because he’d looked at Rachel with such a soft glow in his gorgeous eyes, it had nearly melted her in a puddle right on the porch.

  Now that Jill had trimmed his hair and removed his bushy beard, Hannah decided it had been a mistake to clean him up. It would have been easier to think of him as a homeless bum than an incredibly attractive man.

  “You are in trouble,” Jill said in a singsong voice. She laughed and stepped back, examining her handiwork.

  Thor had been moderately attractive before, even with the mop of hair and beard that went every direction. Now, with his brown hair cut in a short, neat style that curled just slightly on the ends and a very masculine jawline on display, he was undeniabl
y handsome. Her gaze latched onto the merest hint of a cleft in his chin.

  “Who would have thought?” Jill said, grinning broadly as she elbowed Hannah. “No wonder you insisted on bringing him home with you.”

  Hannah scowled at her sister. “I did not… It wasn’t… I had no…” She snapped her mouth shut and watched as Thor ran a hand over his smooth jaw then reached up to feel his hair, or lack thereof. Surprise and shock registered on his face.

  “What have you done?” He glanced down at the pile of hair Jill quickly swept into a dustpan.

  “You look great, Thor. Hannah will show you.” Jill tipped her head toward the house then whipped off the sheet she’d fastened around his neck and stepped back.

  “Yes, show me,” Thor said, rising to his feet and giving Hannah a hard glare.

  She opened the kitchen door and walked inside then led him down the hall to the bathroom. After turning on a light, she stepped back. “See for yourself.”

  “See? See what?” he asked, working the light switch up and down and watching the overhead light go off and on.

  Hannah grabbed his hand to stop him then gave him a push into the bathroom and pointed to the mirror.

  Thor’s mouth fell open in astonishment, but he quickly snapped it shut. He leaned forward, touched the mirror, and looked at himself then at her.

  “What is this magic?”

  “Not magic. It’s a mirror. A type of glass,” Hannah said then had to answer ten questions about mirrors and how they are made.

  “I look like someone from your clan,” he said, rubbing his hand over his short hair then across his jaw again. “Do all men look like this?”

  “Only in my dreams,” Hannah mumbled then cleared her throat. “Not exactly.”

  She turned on the faucet, drawing his attention from the mirror to the miracle of indoor plumbing.

  “You can wash your hands. This is soap,” she said, showing him how to wash. “And there’s the toilet, if you need to, you know…”

  One of his eyebrows arched upward. “I do not know.”

  Hannah’s cheeks burned with heat. There was no way in this world or any other that she was going to show him how to use the toilet. She backed into the hallway and hollered, “When will Jason be back?”

  “He just pulled up,” Jill yelled in response.

  “Come on,” Hannah said, taking a fluffy white towel and drying Thor’s hands after she turned off the water. “My brother-in-law is home.”

  “Tell me again, what is a brother-in-law?” he asked as he followed her back to the kitchen.

  “He is married to my sister. He is like Lusk… Isn’t that your sister’s mate’s name? He’d be the same to me as Lusk is to you.”

  Thor nodded in understanding as Jason opened the back door and stepped inside with his arms full of grocery bags.

  “Hey, there. How are my best girls?” Jason asked, kissing Jill on the cheek then Rachel on her nose after he set the bags on the counter. He gave Hannah a hug then held out a hand to Thor. “Jill said you were bringing a friend, Hannah. He’s someone you met at work, is that right?”

  “You could say that,” Hannah said, motioning for Thor to shake Jason’s hand. Thor took it and gave it a shake then released it.

  “You have a good dwelling,” Thor said, giving Jason a look of admiration.

  “Thanks,” Jason said, tossing Hannah a strange look. Apparently Jill hadn’t told him the guest Hannah was bringing was a crazy man who thought he was from the Stone Age. If she pretended Thor was really a caveman, she would guess him to be from the end of the Paleolithic period. Regardless, it didn’t mean he’d be a pleasant houseguest.

  Jason took Thor’s presence in stride. He winked at Hannah, picked up Rachel out of her high chair, and kissed Jill again. “Ready for me to heat up the grill?”

  “Yes. The steaks are seasoned, and the rest of the food is ready. We’ll just need to heat up the rolls you brought home and make a green salad.” Jill turned to Hannah. “Why don’t you take Thor for a walk while we make dinner?”

  Hannah wanted to refuse, but Thor was already moving out the door behind Jason. Her mouth dangled open when Jason handed Rachel to Thor while he lit the grill.

  To his credit, Thor held the baby as though she was the most fragile, precious thing in the world. And the sight of her beloved niece in the man’s big, wide hands made Hannah’s heart morph into warm syrup.

  That single action by Jason gave her all the reassurance she needed that Thor wasn’t dangerous. Jason would never have given him the baby to hold if he didn’t think he was safe or trustworthy.

  Hannah snagged a little cotton hat from a peg by the door and hurried outside. After tying it over Rachel’s curls, she took her niece from Thor.

  “We’ll take Rachel with us so you and Jill can cook faster. I’m starving,” Hannah said, grinning at Jason. “Someone ate half my lunch.”

  Thor shrugged innocently and followed her down the steps.

  “Be back in half an hour,” Jason called after them.

  Thor kept step with Hannah as she strolled out of the yard and made her way to the barn. She stood at the door a moment and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkened interior.

  “What is this building?” he asked as they moved inside.

  “A barn. It’s kind of like a house for animals. Jason keeps his favorites in here,” Hannah said as they walked up to a stall, and a beautiful sorrel horse stuck her nose out.

  Thor jumped back, but Rachel squealed and leaned forward, waving her hands and excitedly jabbering. Hannah took one of the baby’s hands and helped her pet the horse. She knew Thor watched their every move.

  “You said you ride horses. Is it hard?” he asked, looking as though he wanted to touch the horse but was uncertain if he should.

  “It takes a little skill, but you could learn,” she said, wondering why she’d just offered to teach him.

  The beginnings of a smile broke into a full-fledged grin as he reached out and stroked the neck of the horse. “She would make a fine feast for my people.”

  Hannah turned to glare at him and caught the teasing gleam in his eye. Apparently, the cavedweller had a sense of humor.

  “If you tell Jason that, you won’t get any dinner. This horse is worth more than my vehicle.”

  Thor’s face registered surprise at her statement as she moved on to the next stall.

  They’d just stepped back outside when two of the ranch dogs raced over, whining and whimpering for attention. Rachel giggled and lurched forward, almost propelling herself right out of Hannah’s arms at the sight of the dogs.

  Thor reached out to catch her, but Hannah managed to keep a grip on the baby.

  “She is a lively one,” Thor said with a chuckle before he stared at the Border collies. “What are these small beasts?”

  “Dogs, and they are pets, like the horses, which means they are not food. In fact, if any harm befell Lassie and Lucky, my sister would grieve like a family member had been killed.” Hannah knelt down and pet the dogs then helped Rachel run her little fingers across their soft fur. “You can pet them if you like. They won’t bite.”

  Thor hunkered down beside her and slowly held out his hand. The dogs sniffed it, then Lucky licked his fingers. Thor smiled and ran his fingers through the dog’s fur. “They are soft. Maybe they’d make good, warm boots for winter.”

  She caught the teasing glint in his eyes and scowled at him. “Don’t get any funny ideas, buster. I’m telling you, Jill would shoot you dead if you did anything to her fur babies.”

  Thor gave her a slightly confused look but continued petting the dogs until Hannah’s phone rang.

  He watched as she took it from her pocket and read the message on the screen. “Jill said dinner is ready. Let’s head back to the house.”

  “How did you hear her out here?” he asked, looking toward the house.

  Hannah smiled and handed the phone to him. “This is a cell phone. You can communicate on it t
o anyone in the world. You can talk to them or text them or even video chat.”

  His baffled expression made her grin. “I’ll explain it later. For now, let’s wash up and eat.”

  Jill took Rachel and placed her in her high chair when they returned to the house. Hannah asked Jason if he’d show Thor the bathroom and explain the toilet.

  Her brother-in-law gave her such a deer-in-the-headlights look, she and Jill both started to laugh. With an elaborate sigh, Jason grumbled something she couldn’t hear then told Thor to follow him inside.

  “Did you explain what’s going on to Jason?” Hannah asked as she washed up in the kitchen then filled glasses with ice and sweet tea.

  “I tried. He’s having a hard time wrapping his head around the whole thing. He doesn’t think Thor is dangerous, just a little odd.” Jill grinned. “But he sure is a hunky thing. Who knew what was lurking beneath all that hair.”

  Hannah felt overheated just thinking about how good Thor looked. Obviously, she needed to get a social life if a loony caveman had her thinking romantic thoughts.

  “Are you sure you both are okay with him being here all weekend? I don’t want you to be worried or uncomfortable.” Hannah set two glasses on the table and glanced at her sister.

  “I agree with Jason. I don’t think he’s dangerous. Maybe he got a bump on his head and really does think he’s from a different time. He doesn’t seem angry or intent on doing anyone harm. I’m not worried about him going nutso on us. Did you say you bought him some clothes?”

  “I stopped at the thrift store and got what he’s wearing. I also bought him a change of clothes when I stopped to get the lice shampoo and other stuff.” Hannah grinned at Jill. “I can’t tell you how glad I am he didn’t need it.”

  “Me, too.” Jill shuddered then finished setting food on the table with Hannah’s help.

  Jason came back to the kitchen, shaking his head. “Do you know your friend is going commando?”