Page 32 of Knight's Desire

“They have offices next door to the Shoppe. They helped me after the car chased me that night. Knight Security and Investigations. I met with the owner this morning, and the investigator working the case is someone I had met already. They’ve been kind and very professional, and if they think I’m being irrational about this, they’ve never acted that way.”

“Honey, maybe you should come home for a few days while they look into this. Better safe than sorry.”

“I have clients, Dad. Business has been really good, so I don’t want to lose that momentum. I promise that if there is any imminent danger, I’ll come home. I’ll also give you updates as often as I get them. Please don’t worry. I don’t think I could take that on top of everything else.”

Her plea was met with silence, and she checked her phone to make sure the call hadn’t been disconnected. She held her breath as she waited for her father’s reply.

“I can’t promise not to worry. You’re my daughter, so I’m entitled to worry. But I’ll trust you to know what’s best, and if you think working with this security firm is what’s best, then I’ll stand by your decision. But maybe you should tell your brothers and sister. One of them could come for a visit, so you won’t have to deal with this alone.”

Truman was right. Her two brothers and sister would drop everything to be there for her, but she couldn’t ask them to do that when she wasn’t sure what she was up against or how long it would take to resolve. Henry had his own wife and two small children to be there for, and Adam was a busy attorney devoted to his career. Her sister Ella taught kindergarten students, so breaking away during the school year wasn’t an easy task.

Hope brushed away the fresh tears that started to fall. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Dad. I promise I’ll call them if this gets to be too much, but I do believe using this security firm is the right move. They know what they’re doing. You’ll see that when you look them up.”

“I’m going to hold you to that promise, and just to save you from having to retell the story, I’ll take care of calling your brothers and sister and filling them in.”

She smiled. “So once they coordinate with each other, I can expect a call from one of them to check in on me and then report back to the others. I appreciate their effort to not bombard me with concerned phone calls, but could you at least wait until tomorrow to call them? I think I’m too exhausted tonight to answer their questions.”

“If that’s what you want, honey, that’s what I’ll do. And as far as what’s going on with you and Parker, I can’t tell you the right thing to do. Only you know what you feel. But I can tell you that when I fell in love with your mother, I wanted to spend time with her more than anything else in my life. I made time for her no matter how busy I was because my life wasn’t as happy as when I was with her.”

Her eyes slid closed as she understood what her father said — and didn’t say. She felt her melancholy sink deeper into her psyche as she realized what she needed to do.

“Thanks, Dad. You always know just what I need to hear. I love you. I miss you and Mom so much.”

“You are overdue for a visit, and with everything you have going on, you really should consider it. And that’s the last time I’ll bring that up.”

She chuckled. “You have no idea how tempting a trip home sounds right now, but I can’t.”

“Soon then, and I’ll have Bert’s wife make some tomato gravy especially for you.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart. Call me any time, day or night, if you need anything. Keep me posted on what’s going on.”

“I will. Bye, Dad. Kiss Mom for me.”

“I always do. Bye, sweetheart.”

Once the call ended, she dropped her phone to her desk and buried her face in her hands. She had no idea how long she stayed that way, but she jumped when she heard the firm knock on her office door. She immediately sat up taller in her chair, smoothed her rumpled hair and clothes and wiped away the moisture from her face as she granted entry to the person on the other side. She blinked in surprise to realize that Brick was the one who strolled through the door and not Kayla.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I…What’s wrong?”

She looked away as she stood, embarrassed at what she must look like to the handsome bodyguard. Here he was, all professional and unruffled, and she was hiding in her office, a complete mess.

“I’m fine. Really. I just have a phone call I need to make, and I’m not looking forward to it. If you need anything, I’m sure Kayla can help you.”

She could feel his eyes on her, his stare probing.

“Kayla has left for the day. She closed up the Shoppe for you. She didn’t want to disturb you, but she said to tell you to call or text her if you needed anything. I had someone escort her home. I know no one has harassed her, but we wanted to make sure she was safe since she is a Shoppe employee.”

“Oh, um, well, thank you for that. I hate that she’s even touched by what’s going on, so I appreciate you including her in the security plan.” She moved over to her design table and organized her color pencils just to have something to do. “So what can I do for you, Mr. Coffey?”

“It’s Brick, and I want to know what has you upset.”

She stopped messing with her already orderly design table and drew in a shaky breath. She turned around on the ball of her foot, pasting what she hoped was a bright smile on her face, and froze when her gaze collided with a chiseled, muscled chest. Her tears dissipated along with all the moisture in her mouth. She never heard him move, so she had no idea he stood right behind her. His scent invaded her senses, and her body temperature seemed to rise a couple of degrees from being so close.

“Oh, um, I, uh, I mean, well, it’s nothing,” she stammered, trying to get a handle on her body’s rogue reaction to him. Sure, he was hot, but she was only a moment ago in tears over being harassed and having to end things with her boyfriend. She should not be having this reaction to a stranger.

She felt calloused fingers lightly grip her chin and raise it until she stared into bright eyes of brilliant blue framed by dark lashes she coveted. His eyes searched hers — for what she wasn’t sure — but they held her transfixed. She wondered just how much he could see staring at her like this.

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