Page 85 of Break My Fall

“I think it’s good for him to see what he’s up against if he hurts you.” Mo took a bite of his cookie and spoke around it. “Oh, wait. He already did that.”

Bronwyn pinched her lips together but didn’t come to Meredith’s aid.

“We’ve discussed it. That matter is between us.”

“No, it isn’t. He hurt you. You’re my sister. That makes it my business.”

“Told you.” Bronwyn’s murmur was just loud enough for Meredith and Mo to hear. Which was good, because Gray was almost to the door, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“Would you shut up?” Meredith spoke to both of them, then went to open the door. “Hi!”

Gray extended the flowers to her.

“These are gorgeous.” She took them. “Let me set them in a vase and then we can go. Come on in, if you dare. My bodyguards are here.”

TWENTY-THREE

Gray entered Meredith’s home and acknowledged Bronwyn first. He’d seen her BMW, so her presence was no surprise. “Bronwyn.”

“Chief Ward.” She didn’t get up. And she didn’t use his name, even though he’d used hers. Did this mean she didn’t approve? He had no idea, so he focused on Mo next.

“Mo.”

“Ward.”

Ooh. Last name only. Mo definitely didn’t approve.

“Behave. Both of you.” Meredith rolled her eyes and pulled a vase from the top of her fridge, filled it with water, and settled the flowers inside. “I’ll take care of them when I get home.” She grabbed her purse from the counter. “Ready?”

Gray looked from Meredith to Bronwyn to Mo, then back to Meredith. She didn’t look at her brother or her friend. “They know their way out.”

“Then yes, let’s go.” Gray opened the door, but Meredith went to Bronwyn first. She placed a gentle kiss on her hair and gave her a side squeeze. Then she went to Mo and repeated the process. But when she stepped back, Mo grabbed her hand and held on. Something unspoken passed between them. Then he released herand, once her back was turned, glared at Gray until his view was blocked by Meredith’s back.

Gray didn’t speak until they were out of hearing range of her house. “Are you going to leave them alone?” he asked as he took her hand and rested it in the crook of his arm.

Her Machiavellian laughter had him seeing a whole new side of this woman who’d fascinated him from the start. “They deserve it for being nosy. Bronwyn claimed she was coming to help me and to run interference if needed. She’s not opposed to us dating. What she really wanted was to have a front-row seat to Mo’s reaction.”

“Because Moisopposed?”

“No...” She drew out the word like she was tasting it for truth. “I don’t think he’s opposed to you. I think Mo is less willing for me to take risks. And in his mind, you’re a big one.”

“And in yours?” Gray opened the door of his Explorer and stood back as she settled herself into the seat.

“Despite what people think about me, I happen to think taking risks is what makes life beautiful.” She gave him a cheeky grin.

He closed her door and jogged to the driver’s side. It was close the door or kiss her, and it was too soon for kissing. And way too soon for kissing with an audience, which they definitely had. He could feel two sets of eyes tracking his every move all the way down the driveway.

The ride back to his place was smooth and uneventful. She told him about a patient who’d brought her his first lost tooth and asked if she was friends with the tooth fairy. He told her about the Statons’ cows getting loose again, and how it had taken two hours of his afternoon to get everyone back where they belonged. “If I smell like cow patties, you’ll know why. I did shower. But some smells...”

“They linger.” She grinned at him. “Remind me to tell youabout the time we got in a fight in the pasture and rolled through a few recent cow piles.”

“You can’t say something like that and leave me hanging. What happened?”

Meredith tried to tell him twice, but her laughter was too much and it took her several miles to calm down enough to speak. When she did, her words were punctuated with fits of giggles. “It was epic. Cal tells it best, so you should get him to give you his version. It was such a big deal that Cassie remembers, and she was only four at the time.”

She blinked eyes that were brimming with laughter-induced tears. “We walked up to the front door of Papa and Granny’s house covered in poop, smelling like, well, poop. We refused to answer questions about how we came to be that way.”

Meredith ran a finger under her eye. “Granny made us strip and use the outdoor shower before she let us inside to use the indoor showers. The outdoor shower is freezing. She didn’t care. She told me there’d better not be any poop left in my hair when I walked back in her house.”

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