Page 28 of July 27

A loud rumble filled the air. Her spine stiffened. It wasn't her heart making that vibration. A motorcycle was near. Pushing to her feet, she rocked to her toes, eager to share her achievement with Ruger.

She spotted him as he rounded the corner and headed toward the cottage. Unable to stand still, she bounced, waiting for him. Every second made her more excited.

She jumped off the porch as he turned the motorcycle onto the driveway. She arrived at his Harley before he could get off the bike. Throwing herself into his arms, she squeezed his neck in excitement.

"I did it." She pulled back, looking him in the face. "I went outside, and nothing happened. Oh, my God, my heart is pounding." She picked up his hand and placed his palm on the middle of her chest. "Feel it."

She laughed uncontrollably at the way his lips parted. Throwing herself around him, she almost toppled them both off the Harley.

"Kickstand, Rach." Ruger shifted, toed the stand, and then picked her up and set her sideways on his lap. "How long have you been trying to go outside?"

"All week." She played with the ends of his hair. "But I only now opened the door."

"You've been crying." His rough voice rolled through her as his hand dried her cheeks.

"I'm okay." She inhaled deeply, still reeling from what she'd done.

He smoothed her hair back from her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I depend on you too much already. I didn't want you to think I'm more helpless than—"

"Stop." He framed her face with his hands. "I was there. I know what you lived through. What you survived. Don't talk as if it was a fucking walk in the park. It was hell."

"I'm still scared to leave you," she whispered.

"One day, you'll be glad to get rid of me." He set her back on the ground. "Hungry?"

To her surprise, she was starving. "I am."

"Want breakfast for dinner?"

She took his helmet from him and carried it to the house as she walked beside him. "Sure, but I'll make it."

He glanced at her but kept his opinion to himself. Now that she'd walked outside alone and conquered one of her fears, she felt like doing more around the house. Usually, Ruger brought food home or made something in the evenings, and then they'd eat together. She had never made him a meal before.

She'd cooked since she was a little girl and had often made meals for her dad before he passed away and then later for Shady. But they never sat at the table together. Only families on television and those who wanted to share parts of their day would sit at a table and eat a meal the mother or father made.

Until living with Ruger, she had never shared a meal. He always sat with her, and though they might not talk about their day, it was nice to have him want to spend that time with her.

They had no waffle maker, so she used the Bisquick mix to make pancakes in one skillet and got the eggs out to put in the other pan.

"Over easy?" she asked, knowing that was how he usually had his eggs.

He grunted behind her. She smiled to herself.

For the next twenty minutes, she made enough food for both of them. He always had two to three times the food she consumed, but that was expected. He was much bigger. However, she was regaining her lost weight since moving to the cottage.

She cut her pancake up into small bites, keeping the syrup from running into her eggs on the plate. Ruger was the opposite. He stacked a pile of pancakes in the middle of his plate and ran each bite of an egg through the extra syrup puddling around the edges of his plate.

Her meal forgotten, she watched Ruger lift the fork to his mouth. His lips separated, surrounding the prongs, and he dragged the speared pancakes off the utensil. She licked her bottom lip, seeing the syrup cling to his lip.

Ruger slammed his hand down on the table. She shrieked, startled out of her fantasy.

"Wh-what did you do that for." She pressed her hand to her racing heart. "You scared me."

"Stop looking at me that way." He picked up his plate.

The legs of the chair screeched against the wooden floor. She watched him walk away from the table.

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