Page 45 of Legacy of Lies
Chapter 11
After a cold and cramped night in his truck watching Sara’s house, Garrison’s mood sucked. Even if she didn’t want to go with him, he couldn’t leave her by herself. So he’d stayed and watched her house.
He’d arrived back home in the morning to see Zach off to school and then buried himself in hours of the never-ending ranch work.
Didn’t matter if he brought the herd down, put out the hay, or repaired the barn. His mood stayed black, and nothing distracted him from thoughts of Sara.
Maybe he didn’t have the gift of reading emotions like Shelby, but he sure as hell could tell when a situation felt wrong. And he didn’t need a psychic ability to figure out that something was off with Sara. Whatever happened last night had resulted in her getting hurt, damn it. He wasn’t Superman, but if he had to spend more chilly nights in his truck to keep her safe, he’d do it.
She intrigued him. He craved more of ... everything about Sara. Which was probably the exact opposite of what that woman needed right now, and the exact opposite of what he needed in his complicated life these days.
Like a human punching bag, he would go back over there again, where she would probably reject him again. But he had to ensure her safety, especially if Hank’s retaliation against her had anything to do with Garrison. He still wanted to see if she had noticed anything different about Zach as well. She’d become his spy in the classroom, because Garrison and his siblings couldn’t objectively assess his son. Great.
He cleaned up and, right as the sun set, pulled up in front of Sara’s house.
On this quiet street, one block off Main, all the houses appeared similar. Small single-story structures and a few wood and brick two-story homes. Stepping onto her wood porch, he rang the doorbell.
A light step preceded the porch light turning on. His heart jumped when she opened the door.
Although she’d piled her hair on top of her head, some escaped tendrils framed her frowning face. Jeans clung to her curves, and a sweatshirt couldn’t hide the swell of her full breasts. The entire adorable, sexy package made him hungry, and not for food.
But when she glanced down the street with a frown on her face, suddenly dropping in didn’t seem like such a good idea, like a bad rerun of last night. Maybe she had plans. Who was the pushy guy now?
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Um, hi.”
Great opening line there, Romeo.
“Hi. What are you doing here, Garrison?” She bit her lip; ah, how his tongue would glide over that light indentation, tracing the curve.
“After last night, I was worried about you.” So not smooth. “How’s your foot?”
“Well, my foot’s fine, and I’m fine ...” The pulse jumped at the base of her throat, and a flush climbed her smooth, honey-colored skin. Her socked toes curled on the hardwood floor.
Shit. He didn’t need to use his ability. He knew.
She was lying.
A woman lied to him again. His gut clenched. At what point would he learn his lesson?
He stumbled back a step. “Look, this was a bad idea, my coming over here. I’m clearly intruding, and I should go.”
Reaching an arm toward him, then dropping it, she blurted out, “No, it’s not you.”
“It’s not you, it’s me? Is that the line?” He shoved his hand through his hair.
Her dark brows shot up.
Yeah, he’d dumped all of his resentment right at her feet. He didn’t give a shit if that wasn’t fair. “Fine. I’m sorry I enjoyed our kiss the other day. I thought we had something good starting there, but I must have imagined it. And I thought you could use help last night since someone threatened you. Wrong again. So, dumbass me, I’m here because I wanted to make sure you were all right after last night.”
Tears sparkled in her deep brown eyes. Damn it, if her chin didn’t quiver. He had no defense against womanly emotional stuff.
“No, I can’t ... because of my ... it’s not your fault. Seriously. You have no idea.” Her knuckles whitened on the edge of the door.
“Then what?” he gritted out.
With another jerk of her head to look up and down the street, she stepped into the house and held the door open. Her shoulders sagged. “I give up. Come in.”
“Don’t act so happy about asking me in.” He ignored her flinch. Instead, it was the fear etched on her face in the living room light that drove a spike into his chest. No more of this guessing game. “Are you talking about what happened last night? Something’s wrong here, Sara.”
