Page 47 of The Love Shack

Around the corner, nearer to the door he’d entered, she turned to face him and whispered, “I don’t want to wake Betty.”

Her nap hadn’t done her hair any favors. She wore not a speck of makeup.

And she was still beautiful.

Slowly, in case she objected, he removed the hat from her head and set it on the counter. With his fingertips, he smoothed some of the wayward, pink-tipped locks that had escaped her updo.

Berkley didn’t move. Her smile slipped away and her eyes widened a little. Blue eyes, full of questions.

It seemed the most natural thing in the world to drift his hand down until he cupped her cheek. Damn, her skin was soft.

And too warm.

Frowning a little, he put the backs of his fingers to her forehead. “I think you have a fever.”

Confusion stole the dazed expression from her face, then she blinked several times and stepped back so quickly she bumped into the counter. With a wince, she rubbed her back. “I’m probably warm from sleeping. I never nap, except Betty was insistent, and we were talking, and then... I dunno.”

“You’re running on empty.” Never would he tell her the job was too much for her. Berkley would know that better than him, but he was glad Betty had organized extra help. Instead, he nodded and said, “I should know, because it happened to me once.”

“What did?”

“The weather, the job, lack of sleep—it all caught up to me. We were clearing destruction from tornados in Texas.” Tension crept into his neck, just remembering. “All around us, people had lost entire homes. Some had lost family. A school was leveled.”

Hero stepped up to him, bumping him with his head. When Lawson looked down at the dog, he realized Hero was looking out for him again. He didn’t require a rescue, but sometimes it seemed that Hero needed to offer his services anyway.

The dog would have been a godsend on some of his trips.

So many people wounded, emotionally and physically hurt. In utter despair. Alone. In one way, it had reminded him of the place he’d escaped. Not a disaster zone, but devastated all the same.

Berkley stepped closer and put a small hand to his chest.

Talk about a touch centering someone. She brought his focus back to the present in an instant. Covering her hand with his own, he continued. “The heat was nearly unbearable, but seeing the people who searched the rubble was worse. Most of us worked sixteen hours straight. And even then, no one wanted to quit.” He curled his fingers around hers. “Swear, I didn’t even know I was sick until suddenly things were swirling around me, and two of the other guys caught me. It was like my legs just came out from under me.”

With a small sound, Berkley stepped even closer, her slim arms going around him in a tight hug, her cheek to his chest.

His heart thundered. Until this moment, she hadn’t been keen on touching, and now here she was, wrapped around him—to give him comfort.

She and Hero had a lot in common.

At first he was stiff, his arms held out to his sides, as he decided how to react. The very last thing he’d ever want to do was spook her, or take things too far too fast. But she held on, and his basic nature took over.

Gathering her closer, he pressed his mouth to the top of her head and murmured, “Hey, I was fine. Just a touch of heat exhaustion.” To distract her, he said, “You’re spooking the dog.”

Making a gruff sound, she tilted back to see his face. Smile gentle and gaze warm, she said, “There’s no such thing as atouchof it. Heat exhaustion is serious.”

How was it that even now, while under the weather and extra messy, she became more beautiful to him? “The guys dragged me inside and one of the women there tended me.”

Her brows hitched up. “Oh? How so?”

Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned that part. Trying to skim over it, he said, “You know, cool drink, cool cloth, stuff like that.”

“Uh-huh.” Stepping out of his embrace and crossing her arms, she asked, “So you’re standing there—”

“More like lying there. On the couch.” His mouth twitched. It was kind of fun, seeing this side of Berkley. “I guess the first thing with heat exhaustion is to elevate your legs. The guys seemed to know what to do. One of them stripped off my boots and socks.” His shirt, too, though he wouldn’t share that...at least not yet. “She got me the wet cloth and the drink.”

Tipping up her chin to eye him critically, she said, “So there you are, sweaty feet exposed, probably overflowing her couch—”

“Definitely overflowing, but it worked because my calves were on the arm of the couch, raised up some.”

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