Page 10 of The Chance

“I’ll be fine. The sheriff and his wife live three blocks that way.”

“Yes, and the mayor and his are three blocks in the other direction. At least let me call George. If something happens, you can call my older brother. He can be here in three minutes.”

She hesitated again. “You don’t have to do that. I lived alone for several years, in downtown Houston, while Ayla was with a few different foster families.”

Foster families. Just how alone she and her sister were was starting to sink in fast. Well, not any longer. They had him.

“It’s the vandalism that concerns me.” He wasn’t going to pressure her, but… “Why don’t you let me at least take you to Gia’s?”

Blue eyes narrowed, perfect pink lips firmed. And he knew he’d ticked her off with that one. “I don’t need a babysitter, Dr. Hiller.”

He didn’t miss the indignation. “I know. But… I’d feel a hell of a lot better if I knew you weren’t sitting here alone, a prime target for any asshole out there.”

“What? Are you angling for an invite to stay?” She leveled a blunt look right at him. “And then you can make your way right into my bed? I’m not exactly naïve. And… you wouldn’t be the first man to try it, you know. I’ve been on my own a long, long time. I’ve heard just about every ploy there is.”

That he strongly believed. This was the kind of woman a man fantasized about. But probably not for just the reasons she thought. It was the heart that he found so attractive. He’d always had a thing for women who cared about others. “How about… the couch? I can camp on your couch. I even have a bag of clothes in my truck.”

“I’m sure you do.” She gave him another one of those prissy little looks that made him want to scoop her up and kiss the hell out of her. But if he did that—he’d probably be sent packing fast.

“Aubrey, if you don’t let me stay… I may camp out in your driveway all night long. I just want to make certain you are safetonight. You had a bad night, let me… just be here. Help me feel like at least I’m doing something to make what happened right. We can watch a movie. And I’ll sit at the opposite end of the couch, like the good boy my mama raised me to be. If I misbehave, you can sic Genesis and Giavonna and Greerandour mama on me. I promise.”

He meant every word. Every instinct he possessed was flaring, telling him to stay close. He couldn’t explain it, but at heart, like every male in his family, Guthrie had a primitive side. The animal part of him was real. He’d probably inherited it from his father, honestly. That man was a bit on the overprotective side, too.

His instincts were on alert, telling him his woman might just be in trouble. Of course he wanted to stay close.

He was hardwired that way.

A Hiller protected the ones who mattered most.

9

She hesitatedto invite him in. Aubrey knew he was well aware of it. But, she had never had a man in her home before. Not once. She had only ever had Genny and Gia and Greer in her house when Ayla hadn’t been there. The mayor’s wife had stopped by once, dropping off Ayla’s bag when she’d left it at Genny’s mother’s house one day, too. Ronnie Hiller had stayed for coffee for a few minutes.

The mayor was Genny’s older brother George. George looked a lot like the Hiller brother staring at her right now. So…at least she was keeping it all in the family. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Anytime. I’m going to walk you inside. Make sure you’re okay. Wheedle my way into staying, that kind of thing. Where are our wicked baby sisters at tonight?”

“They are spending the night with Hala. It’s her first night in her new apartment. I think a bottle of wine and a lot of chocolate and some Hunter Louis Clark and Slater Davis movies were on the agenda. Ayla has an incredibly ridiculous crush on Royal Davis, and I suspect he’ll be in those movies, too.” And her sister had been beyond excited. Sometimes, Ayla was both an ancient soul…and…an excited kid.

She was uniquely Ayla, without a filter or pretense at all. Aubrey hoped her sister always kept that joy in life. Her sister, more than most, had reasons to do the exact opposite.

“Why don’t you pack a bag, and come home with me? Not to my apartment, you wicked perv. But…to Genesis at the ranch. She’s supposed to be home after her shift…She should just be getting there, actually.”

Aubrey bit her bottom lip, hoping he wouldn’t see through her expression.

“What?”

No such luck, apparently.

Aubrey couldn’t lie—and this wasn’t something he wouldn’t hear the next day. Gossip was already going around at the hospital. “She was the nurse who was kicked tonight in the ED. Chad took her home with him. Supposedly to take care of her. But I don’t think he was taking her home. At least, not to her home.”

She had the feeling the last thing Chad was going to do was let Genny go home anytime soon. Not with the way he had been looking at her.

“Was she hurt?”

There was that overprotective big brother thing he had going on. It was probably one of his most redeeming qualities. This man loved his family—and fussed over them when he could.

“I think it scared her more than anything. And it cracked her ribs. He was a pretty big guy. But Chad was there to stop anything from escalating. We both went down hard.” And she would have the bruises in the morning to prove it.

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