Page 5 of Dreaming of Us

I flushed with his praise.

Colton glanced at the clock and frowned. “I think that’s enough for today. If you remember anything else, don’t hesitate to call.” He fished a business card out of his pocket, flipped it over, and wrote something on the back. He held it out to me, and I reached out to grab it, but he held on. I lifted my eyes to look at him and saw him staring intently at me. “Any time. For any reason. Okay?”

I nodded, our gazes still connected, before he finally let go of the card and stood up. He turned to face my parents, who were still watching intently as if we were their favorite television show. Colton held out his hand, first to my dad and then to my mom, shaking each of their hands in turn. “Sir, Ma’am.”

He slipped the small notepad back into his pocket and turned to look at me one last time. His eyes swept over my entire body from my head to my feet, pausing briefly on my lips before looking me in the eyes. He grinned, making his dimples pop again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart.” Then, with a nod, he walked to the door, opened it, and then he was gone.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I let out a gusty breath and let my head drop back to the pillow behind me.

“Well, that was interesting,” my mom said in a singsong voice as she walked back over to my bedside and dropped into the chair Colton had been sitting in for almost an hour. I groaned at her words and covered my face with my hand. “If I’m not mistaken, there was a Colton you used to talk about all the time when you were younger.” She turned to look at my dad as I peeked at her through a crack in my fingers. “Wasn’t it Colton, honey?”

My dad grunted.

“He had a girlfriend back then, Mom. I’m sure they are probably married by now.” I swallowed as I let my hand drop to the bed beside me and turned to look at the window, seeing the lights outside turning on in the dusk. “The whole town knew how close they were back then, and everyone expected them to be married and pop out a million beautiful little babies.”

She hummed as she smoothed the blanket over my legs. I was fully dressed and ready to go. I couldn’t believe we were still waiting to be discharged. I just wanted to go home and wallow in self-pity.

“I’m not so sure. That didn’t seem like a man who was in love with another woman.” She paused and leaned in closer. “I also didn’t see a ring on his finger.”

My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t even thought about looking for a ring. But then I snapped my jaw shut. “Maybe they aren’t marriedyet. And Some men don’t wear rings at work.”

“Maybe,” she acknowledged. “And, maybe things have changed. It has been several years, after all.”

Yeah, maybe things have changed. But I doubted I would be that lucky.

Chapter Five

BRAYLIN

It was a hard fight, but I finally managed to get my parents to agree to let me go home. To my apartment. Alone. Mom, in particular, was worriedly wringing her hands as I dropped onto my couch with a heavy breath of relief.

After reassuring them twenty times that I would be okay and that I would call them immediately if I needed anything, they finally left with great reluctance. As soon as I locked the door behind them, I leaned against it and sighed.

It had been one of the longest and one of the most confusing days of my life. Somehow, the trauma of the bank robbery had been overshadowed by the attention Colton had paid me at the hospital. I looked down at the hand he’d held as he called me sweetheart and shivered, replaying the way the butterflies had swarmed inside me.

With a sigh, I kicked off my shoes and dragged myself off to bed. I had no idea what it all meant, and I was scared to death that he was just being kind to the frightened girl. I hated myself for reading too much into his words and actions, knowing that he had a long time girlfriend waiting for him at home.

I dropped into bed a few minutes later after turning off all the lights and stripping myself bare.

I was making myself a cup of coffee in my tiny apartment kitchen when I heard a knock at the door. I glared down at the small bit of coffee I sloshed over the rim of the cup when my hand jerked at the unexpected sound.

Figuring it was my parents coming to check on me, I unlocked the door and pulled it open without checking the peephole. When I saw who was standing on the other side, I froze solid with my mouth hanging open.

“Did you check before you opened the door?” Colton stood there, towering over me with a frown. My gaze drifted over him as if checking if he were really in front of me. He was dressed the same as he had been the day before. His uniform stretched over his broad chest and thick biceps. He was obviously on duty, or I supposed he could have been heading into work. But why was he at my doorstep? “Braylin, I don’t want you opening the door without checking first. It’s not safe.”

“Um,” I couldn’t think with him frowning down at me the way he was. I hadn’t even had my coffee yet. “I thought you were my parents.” I cleared my throat. “What are you doing here, Officer Hammond?” I straightened my back, proud of myself for not turning into a stuttering mess.

His frown only deepened further at my question. I contemplated just shutting the door in his face until he held out a bag that I hadn’t noticed he was carrying. “I brought you breakfast. I wanted to check on you and thought I could get you to sign your statement.”

I hesitantly reached out and took the bag from him, finally recognizing the smell of sausage and eggs. I peeked inside to see a wrapped breakfast sandwich from the local cafe. “Thank you. That was very kind of you.” I stepped aside so he could enter. I suddenly panicked and darted my eyes around, hoping that I hadn’t left anything embarrassing lying around, like a bra or panties. Then I let out a relieved breath silently when I remembered that I had tidied up yesterday before work.

“If you’d like, you can take a seat on the couch.” I waved toward the living room, which was two feet away as if he wouldn’t be able to figure out where the couch was, and I felt heat rush to my face. “I’m going to grab my coffee cup, if you don’t mind,” I mumbled and scurried the few feet into the kitchen area as he continued to glance around with curiosity clear on his handsome face.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as he sat down on my small two-seater sofa and relaxed. He looked so comfortable in my space while I was a bundle of nerves. I remembered that I had just woken up and jerked my head down to check what I was wearing. “Cheese and rice,” I muttered to myself when I thought of how I’d dropped into bed without a stitch of clothing on. Luckily, when I woke up, I threw on a pair of sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. But I wasn’t wearing a bra, and my nipples were standing out loud and proud against the worn cotton.

I picked up my coffee cup, and using both hands to hold it, I blocked the front of my chest from his view. I hoped. Desperately. I walked into the living room and sat gingerly next to him since it was the only other sitting space unless I wanted to drop to the floor. I figured that would have finished off any remaining dignity I had left, so next to him, it was.

When I sat, we were so close I could feel the heat from his thigh next to mine. Granted, he was so large that it would havebeen impossible for him to stay on his one little cushion. I took a sip of my coffee and hugged the cup close to my chest.

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