Page 40 of Beyond the Stroke

“Okay,” he replies, settling in beside me.

With Rory lying beside me, rubbing gentle circles against my back, I Iet all the stress and worry and disappointment flow from my eyes until there’s nothing left. We don’t speak again. The sound of his rhythmic breathing and his warm palm on my back finally lulls me to sleep.

ten

. . .

SUMMER

A noise outside startles me awake.

After years of living in my van, I’m careful to sit up slowly so I don’t bang my head on the ceiling.

I slept so hard it takes me a moment for my brain to catch up. Then it all comes crashing back. The break in. Edgar missing. Rory was here.

Rory.

The space next to me is empty, but I know he was here. His scent still lingers on the pillow. I roll onto it, eyes fluttering closed as I breathe him in.

A man has never seen the inside of this van, let alone slept in it.

Last night, Rory saw a lot he wasn’t supposed to. Like me crying, for example. A snotty, emotional mess. That is reason enough to keep my distance.

I mentally comb through my long to-do list.

Walk the dogs, take Edgar to his vet appointment, work at the café...and figure out what to do about my van’s broken lock.Also, it might be worth walking the area to look for my missing paints in case the intruders had dumped them somewhere.

Clank.

There’s that sound again.

Tossing Rory’s pillow aside, I climb down from the loft and throw on a sweatshirt before I look out the window to see a man sitting in a metal camping chair facing my van. There’s no vehicle or sign of Rory, but it doesn’t matter, I can handle this myself.

I glance around the van for Edgar but he’s nowhere to be found.Again.

How does one tiny pug cause so much chaos?

“What are you doing?” I call.

The man shoots out of the chair, the sudden movement causing the creaky metal to fold in on itself and collapse, falling to the ground.

“Hi there, Miss. I’m Walter.”

“Walter who?”

“Walter Mathis. I’m here to fix the lock on your van.”

“Rory called you?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, but he told me to let you sleep. Not to start working until you were up. And to keep watch in the meantime.”

I sigh. Of course, Rory didn’t leave me here sleeping without protection. He’d been adamant to not leave me last night and now, even in the light of day, he hired the locksmith to be my bodyguard. I want to be annoyed but that seems to be the issue I’m having with Rory…he’s impossible to be mad at.

And I liked having him here last night. But I’m also aware I can’t let it happen again.

Things are getting too comfortable, too fast.

Like how good it felt falling asleep in his arms.

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