Page 145 of For the Birds

“A relationship. A commitment.”

I tried to rein in my imagination . . . and my expectations. “Sex?”

“Was last night about sex?” he asked, but he wasn’t angry. “I was scared shitless. Part of me wants to run from this, hard and fast, but I also see the possibilities . . . I want you in my life, Rose. Both in my bed andout.”

“You said I was in danger if I’m linked toyou.”

“Dermot’s takin’ over for Reynolds, and now that Merv’s gone, there’s no direct threat. Not from organized crime, anyway.”

“You’re sayin’ people could know we’re together and I wouldn’t be in danger?”

“At least for the moment. For the first time in a long while, real peace is on the horizon. Not that it made a difference before. We weren’t together, and you were linked to me anyway. You were still in danger.” He searched my face. “I’m ready to stop fighting this. But your life is a different story. You have a helluva lot more to lose than I do. That’s why I don’t want you givin’ me an answer yet. I want you to think about it. If we’re together, I don’t want you havin’ any regrets.”

I wanted to tell him that I didn’t need time. I knew what I wanted, but we still had the same issues we’d had yesterday morning. Or at least most of them. Some of them were too big to ignore. “Okay.”

“Two weeks,” he said. “I want you to take two weeks to mull it over. If we do this, I’m allin.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You told me you didn’t do girlfriends.”

“I have no trouble admitting I’m an idiot.”

I grinned. “Well, that’s a step in the right direction.”

* * *

Once again,I didn’t have any clothes, so I wore another of James’ T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants, but no matter how tight I pulled the string, it wasn’t tight enough.

James insisted it didn’t matter since he was taking me straight to the farmhouse.

“I haven’t asked about Neely Kate,” I said. I knew Jed must have let her know I was safe. But what did she know about last night? I asked asmuch.

“Parts of what happened. The man at the gas station where we think Merv picked you up was shot. Jed got the text you sent and went to the fertilizer plant. He quickly realized no one was there and called Neely Kate lookin’ for you. Jed took off for the warehouse—thanks to the directions you gave me yesterday morning. And Neely Kate and Witt heard about the gas station shooting and went to see if you’d been involved since it was so close to the junkyard. Once they heard that the man had seen a brunette in a blue dress wrestling a big guy in a dark sedan, they’d figured out it was you. Neely Kate called me, and I deduced it wasMerv.”

That explained my vision of Witt with the police cars. “Merv shot that poor man? Because of what I did?” I asked in dismay. “It’s my fault. I was shouting forhelp.”

“Merv’s aim was off. He barely nicked the guy. He’s gonna befine.”

But he was still hurt. Because of me. Not like poor Jeanne who wasdead.

A vise tightened around my chest.

“Jed and I weren’t sure what you wanted Neely Kate to know, so we decided to let you tell her yourself. She’s not mad. Just worried.”

“Does she know about Jeanne?”

“Witt found out and toldher.”

My heart broke even more. “I should have been there forher.”

He didn’t answer.

After he made me scrambled eggs and bacon for lunch, he took me back to the farmhouse. Then he surprised me by getting out of the car and walking me to thedoor.

Jed must have recovered my backpack, because James pulled my keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He placed them in my palm and closed my fingers around them. “If you need me for anything, call me. Even during the next two weeks. If your answer is no, I still want to be your friend. I don’t want to loseyou.”

Once upon a time, he’d told me he didn’t have friends either.

I gave him a sad smile. “Iwill.”

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