Page 12 of Passion Restored

And with that, he and his family were dismissed. Owen gave Liz a nod and lifted his chin toward Tessa before he turned back. Murphy gave him a strange look, but he shook his head. He didn’t know why Liz didn’t seem to like him much, and he couldn’t really deal with it right then. He needed to heal, needed to make sure this new job went smoothly, and he needed to get his head on straight after knowing someone had hit him with a freaking truck.

All indications pointed to it being intentional, and he still didn’t know why someone would do that. Nor did he have any answers. While he would have liked to think it was an accident, the police weren’t so optimistic. The forensics and the fact that Owen had been alone in the parking lot, standing under a street lamp, led the authorities to believe that someone had actually hit him on purpose.

And Owen had no idea why.

“We’re heading out,” Blake said as she pressed Rowan to her side. “You will call us if you need anything. And we will be back to check on you.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek, and Owen sighed. He felt like an ass because he needed his space, but he truly couldn’t stand being hemmed in anymore.

“I’m grateful that you guys helped me, that you were there for me,” Owen said after a moment. “Hell, I know I couldn’t have done anything on my own those first few days. So, thank you, okay? But I need to be me for a bit.”

Blake kissed his cheek once more and backed up, giving Rowan room to give him a gentle hug. “Be safe, Owen. You’re one of my favorite Gallaghers.”

“Hey!” Murphy called out. “I thought I was your favorite.”

Blake shook her head and pulled Rowan toward her car. “You’re a favorite to someone, I’m sure.”

Murphy pressed his hand over his heart and took a step back. “Ouch.” He nodded at Owen before saying, “Be good. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”

“Don’t work too hard!” Maya called out as she walked away with Murphy, a waving Noah in her arms.

Owen lifted his good arm and waved back before heading into the house, purposely not looking over at Liz and Tessa’s new home. He still couldn’t quite believe that they’d moved next door. He’d been sure he wouldn’t ever see the two of them again after leaving the bar, and having Liz as his nurse that night had been weird as hell. Now they lived in the next house over?

Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something.

Or maybe he just needed a nap.

His side aching, he made his way through the house and onto the couch. He hadn’t overdone it yet from just walking outside, but he knew if he weren’t careful, he’d end up hurting himself more and have to take more time off from the jobsite. That was the last thing he wanted to do, so he would just take the rest of the day to sit on the couch and work from his laptop. Using his brain wasn’t going to hurt anything else.

He hoped.

As soon as he settled into the couch with his laptop, tablet, and cell phone ready to go, someone knocked on the door. He closed his eyes and let out a curse, figuring it had to be one of his well-meaning family members. They couldn’t let him have ten minutes to himself, apparently. If he didn’t love them as much as he did, he might start to hate them.

“It’s open!” he called out, not in the mood to deal with getting up again.

There was a slight hesitation before the door slowly opened, and a blonde head peeked around the door.

“Do you just let anyone into your house?” Liz asked, a furrow between her brows.

Owen swallowed hard and tried to move things around to stand up. “Uh, sorry. I thought you were a Gallagher checking in on me.”

Liz shook her head and held out a hand as she moved fully into his living room. “Didn’t they just leave? Don’t get up. Please. I promise I won’t be long.” She strolled inside in that no-nonsense way of hers with a container of cookies in one hand.

He studied the way she moved, the way she stared at him as if she couldn’t quite make out exactly who or even what he was, and he found himself liking it. He was either really hard up for someone, or this woman truly intrigued him. He would go with the latter.

Owen shook himself out of his thoughts and set his laptop down on the coffee table, doing his best to avoid twisting too much. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold back the wince if he moved more than necessary.

“Hi,” he said after a moment, an awkward feeling setting in.

“Hi,” she said with a sigh and set down the container of cookies. “We had an extra box from when Tessa and I went a little crazy on junk food, and I—we—figured that you could use the sugar since you’ve been down for the count for a bit. I know cookies aren’t the best fuel for healing, but sometimes a little sugar goes a long way. And I know that they aren’t homemade or anything, but Tessa and I work long hours, and we’re lucky to even have these in the pantry.”

He looked down at the box and then back up at her. “I thought I was the one who was supposed to bring over cookies to the new neighbors.”

She shrugged. “Well, they’re feel-better cookies. As well as I’m-sorry-I-was-acting-like-a-bitch-to-you cookies.” She held up her chin at that point, and he snorted before wincing. Okay, so snorting wasn’t on his approved list of things to do when in pain.

“You’re not a bitch.”

“Didn’t say I was. I said I was sorry for acting like one.” She smiled as she said it, and he shook his head, annoyed with himself for liking her so much.

“You shouldn’t be sorry, then,” Owen put in. “Every time I’ve seen you, which seems to be a lot considering we don’t know each other, you’ve been in the middle of something when I barge in—this last time with most of my family members. So I can’t really blame you for not wanting me around. I’m encroaching.” And he wanted to encroach more.

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