Page 32 of Rescued by the Single Dad

She paused on the steps and winced when she put too much pressure on her left foot. “I went up on the hillside with the kids. They assured me it was private and nobody could see me.”

He nodded absentmindedly, but his focus seemed to be on her feet. “You’re limping.”

She smiled and shook her head to dismiss his concern. “I just overdid it. I’m tired. I think I’m going to lie down for a bit.”

She took another step up, but the exhaustion of last night, muscle aches and her cut-up feet all combined together into a disaster-storm and she fell.

“Fuck,” Clint grunted, lunging for her. “You okay?”

She was on her hands and knees on the top of the porch in front of the door. Embarrassment created a hot froth in her belly. “Yeah, I just ... I’m fine.”

“The fuck you are,” he grumbled, bending down and scooping her up like he had last night. He opened the front door and carried her across the threshold. “You’re doing too much too soon. You nearly died last night, and your feet and legs are all cut up.” He glanced at her bandaged knees and shins, since she was still in his shorts and tank top. “Take it easy.”

She wrapped an arm around his neck and forced a small smile. “I’m not used to being so helpless.”

“I’m sure you’re not. But these are extenuating circumstances. You want to lie down upstairs?”

“If it’s not too much trouble?”

He merely grunted, but he took off upstairs.

“Didn’t get you anything at the store.”

She stared at him in surprise. “Y-you know I can pay you back, right?”

“Not about the money,” he said with a grumble. “It’s the eyes. The gossipy islanders. Place is too small. They were all watching me in the women’s clothing section.”

She nodded in understanding. “And that could lead to people coming snooping around.”

“Yeah. I’ll give you my phone and you can order whatever you need. So if you’re cool just wearing my stuff for another couple of days? I have spare toothbrushes—new—and deodorant.”

It wasn’t ideal, but she would deal. She was just grateful for his generosity. She really wanted to wear some underwear soon, though. She’d washed and rinsed out her thong last night, and put it on this morning after her shower since it had dried overnight, but she usually preferred briefs. And some moisturizer for her face would be lovely. All that time in the saltwater really dried out her skin.

He opened the bedroom door beside his room to reveal a guest room with a queen-size bed, a dresser and a nightstand. Just like his room, it was sparse, but clean. A framed print of the Puget Sound hung over the bed, but otherwise, there was no artwork.

He gently set her down on the bed, then fished his phone out of his pocket. His fingers flew across the screen for twenty seconds before he handed it to her. “Order what you need. Just throw it all in the cart. It’ll be here in two days.”

Brooke swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat and nodded, taking his phone from him. “Thank you.”

“Just set my phone on the nightstand when you’re done. I’ll come grab it in a bit.” Then he turned to go.

“Clint,” she called after him, resisting the urge to actually reach for him, too.

He spun back around. “Yeah?”

The man got better and better looking the more time she spent with him. And he’d been handsome the first time she saw him. But it was the intense look in his eyes, and that roguish single dimple that had her belly flipping and her chest and cheeks getting warm. “Thank you ... for everything.”

His smile stayed small. “Of course. Just let me know if you need anything else.”

She nodded. “I will.”

He turned to go again. Reluctance settled like a led balloon in her gut. She didn’t want him to leave. As tired as she was, she didn’t want to be in the room alone.

She liked being with the kids. It kept her mind off her problems. So did being with Clint. She could focus on the flecks of white in his eyes, rather than the fact that someone out there wanted her dead. She could speculate what the tattoo that peeked out from beneath his collar was, and what kind of a kisser he was with those full lips.

She brought up his phone, which thankfully, remained unlocked. She only ordered the necessities. Some shirts, pants, socks, pajamas, two bras, some underwear, deodorant, moisturizer and a pair of slip-on shoes.

Clint didn’t tell her to complete the purchase, and it got harder and harder to keep her eyes open, so she set his phone down on the nightstand, rolled over onto her side, and pulled the blanket draped at the foot of the bed over her body. She was asleep in seconds.

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