Page 15 of Snow Drift

I send her into the bathroom with a pair of my pajama bottoms and a super soft t-shirt. She returns with everything rolled up and awkwardly draped on her small frame. "I don't care if it looks dumb, this is comfy as hell."

I'm already sitting in bed, wearing nothing but pajama pants. Her eyes widen when she takes in my chest. "I knew you were big, but…" I open my arms and she snuggles in beside me, our backs resting against the plush fabric headboard.

"So… Tonight is all about whatever you want, beautiful." Sweeping her hair away from her throat, I kiss along the side of her neck. "I can stick to my side or we can just snuggle. Whatever you want."

"Even if you're never going to see me again?"

I nod, tightening my arm around her. "Okay, I won't lie. That would completely suck. I think it's pretty obvious that I want to be with you long-term. But if that's not in the cards, then we're going to have to make do."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we'll figure it out. Maybe you never want to see me again, which, again, would suck – but I would respect your wishes on that. But maybe sometimes you can tell me where you're working, and I can drop by for a weekend. I don't know. It's a big ol' world with a lot of possibilities, right?"

Kallie stares at me for a solid minute. Her bottom lip begins to tremble, her palm caressing my face. Then it drops to my shoulder and she pushes me away slightly, turning to face me head on.

"I grew up in California. My mother was an actress. Fern Scott – used to do a whole bunch of trashy horror movies?"

I nod slightly. "I think I've heard that name, actually."

Kallie smiles. "Blonde, enormous boobs, long legs." She shrugs. "I got the legs, and about half of the boobs, which is plenty."

Resisting the urge to reach out and touch her, I simply drop my eyes for a moment, nodding appreciatively. "I agree with you."

Kallie smiles for a second before growing serious again. "Everyone knew where she lived. It was a charming little house, not far from Laurel Canyon, where a lot of studio people buy homes. Even when she retired from acting and got into production, she still lived there, and everyone knew it."

A cold feeling ripples through my stomach. This story isn't going anywhere good.

"And then a fan of her movies started crossing the line, and turned from a fan into a stalker."

"What happened?" My voice feels as heavy and cold as the snowdrifts outside.

"He started hanging around the house, expecting to just walk in and have coffee with her. She sent him away over and over. He was offended. Turned belligerent. Angry. He said he had the right to spend time with her, since he'd seen all her movies, blah blah blah."

Sitting back a bit more, I take her hands in mine. "Go on."

Her lovely blue eyes are completely neutral. "I was in my last year of high school when he started followingmearound, assuming that I'd lead him to Mom. We'd had a new fence installed by then."

"That must have been hard."

"Terrifying. This guy knew where we were every second of every day. He popped up at her yoga class, at my graduation. He got bolder and bolder."

Her eyes drop, staring at our entwined fingers. "He waited until I was out at the movies one evening with my girlfriends. By then he had cased the new gate lock and he was able to pick it within seconds. Kicked in the back door while Mom was making her bedtime tea. But he didn't know that Mom had a panic button app on her phone set up with our neighbor two doors down, who was a police officer."

Swallowing hard, I remain silent.

"The creep had a knife. Slashed off a hank of her hair as a 'souvenir that she owed him'. He threatened a lot more, but our neighbor burst through the door and had him up against the wall before anything else could happen."

"Thank God," I mutter. "So, she's okay?"

"Unharmed, but terrified. Scarred emotionally." Kallie's head shakes. "She finally gave up the house she loved, and moved. Now she lives in a soulless high security condo building – panic buttons, cameras, card access that can't be picked or cut, the whole deal. She works from home as a coordinator for a few movie producers."

"Kallie, I'm so sorry." Squeezing her fingers gently, I nod. "I get it now why you can't have the same routine for any length of time."

She hesitates before meeting my eyes. "Moore, you're the only person I've ever told this to."

I'm dying to yank her to my chest and hold her tight. Instead, I slowly open my arms. "Is this a good time for a hug?"

She nods with a hint of a smile as she curls up against me. My hands press against her back, holding her delicate body against me.

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