Page 44 of Montana Heat

“I am very thankful. For you guys, too.” Her tone was completely sincere, but her face said she still didn’t understand why everyone was doing this for her.

“That’s how things work in a small town, City,” I whispered in her ear. “We look out for each other.”

“I talked to Charlie some more,” Daniel said. “They’ll be investigating the theft of your mother’s phone. Without it, there’s not a lot that can be done. The stalker is trying to scare you.”

Kenzie rubbed her forehead. “Well, it’s working.”

“They’ve got protection on them now, Kenzie,” Lucas said softly. “And you’ve got protection here. It’s going to be okay.”

“Would you like to stay here tonight?” Daniel offered. “I’d hate for you to go back to an empty apartment and think about this all night.”

Lena grinned. “We can make a slumber party out of it.” The other ladies added their agreement.

“Thank you, but no. I’ll be okay.” Kenzie smiled sweetly. “I’m just glad my parents are safe.”

After more reassurances from everyone, we headed out. Kenzie was quiet next to me, exhaustion damn near pouring off her. As we pulled into town, I couldn’t seem to stop the words that came out of my mouth.

“Stay with me tonight.”

“What?”

“I know you didn’t want to stay at Resting Warrior. Theymeant well with their offer, but I’m sure you didn’t want to be around a group of people you don’t know very well.”

Shit. Not that she knew me much better.

She didn’t immediately reply or react. At the next light, I darted a quick glance in her direction. I found her staring right at me with a pensive look on her face.

“I just don’t want you back at your apartment feeling alone and scared. Don’t want to give your stalker that satisfaction, even if they don’t know it.”

She still didn’t respond.

“Forget it. It’s fine. I’m not trying to make things awkward.”

I was about to turn toward her apartment complex when she touched my arm. “Yes, please. I’d like to stay with you.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jensen

I pulled up in front of my apartment, hoping I hadn’t left my place a mess. I hadn’t been planning on any company. I wasn’t overly messy by nature—not always having a room of my own as I was growing up had kept me from tending to be too cluttered.

“This is me.”

“Hmm.” She scanned the space and nodded.

“What?”

She shook her head, still looking around.

“No. You’ve got something on your mind.” Was she worried it wasn’t safe enough here? “This is probably not quite as secure as your building since you have a lobby and interior apartment door, but I’ve never once had a problem here.”

“I’m not worried about safety. I was just noticing the trees and flowers along the path and the fact that these buildings have a stone facade. Both add value.”

My lips twitched as I led her up to my unit. “You can’t turn the real estate part of you off, huh?”

“No,” she admitted with a shrug. “It’s impossible.”

“Everywhere you go, you see it through a Realtor lens?”

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