Page 79 of Always Be True: Tino
Chapter 21
Tino walked around to Natalie’s side of the car and opened the door for her. While he didn’t mind performing the small courtesy, it worried him when she hadn’t made any move to get out on her own. Clearly, the confrontation at the center had left her badly rattled, even if it surprised him that she had admitted she was scared at all. As much as he wanted to rant and rave about what had happened, he shoved his anger down deep inside. For now, she needed his protection, not his temper.
But, God, what if that asshole had gone after her with that pipe instead of Clarence? The old man clearly knew how to handle himself, but Natalie couldn’t have defended herself against that kind of attack. Hell, one blow could’ve killed her. It made him physically sick to know how close he’d come to losing her.
He offered her a helping hand when she finally tried to get out of the car. She made it on the second attempt and then nearly collapsed right there on the driveway. She might have hit the pavement if she hadn’t grabbed onto the car door for support. Tino muttered a favorite obscenity left over from his army days that he normally reserved for desperate times and scooped her up in his arms. After kicking the car door closed, he headed for the door to the annex.
Natalie struggled to get down. “I can walk.”
Right. A stiff wind would send her kiting across the backyard right now, but he couldn’t risk an argument that might draw his mother’s attention. If that happened, Natalie would end up sleeping in Ricky’s old room next door. Tino had no intentions of sharing his twin bed with Natalie, but he needed her right where he could watch over her.
He set her down but kept a steadying hand on her arm while he unlocked the door. Once inside, he led her over to the couch. “Sit and get that ice pack back on your face while I pour a couple of stiff drinks. Play your cards right, and I’ll even let you have one of them.”
As jokes went, it was pretty poor fare. Even so, Natalie made a valiant effort to smile. Her mouth twitched a bit more when he handed her a small dollop of bourbon in a plastic cup from the kid’s menu at a fast-food restaurant. He held up his matching one as he started pacing the floor, far too keyed up to sit down.
“Sorry, but the cut crystal must all be in the dishwasher. Remind me to fire the maid in the morning.”
A frown replaced the smile as Natalie’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Is that a dig of some kind, Gianelli? Because if so, tread lightly. I’m in no mood for any of your reverse snobbery. Not tonight. In fact, not ever.”
Maybe he had been poking fun at the differences in their lifestyles a bit, but at least he was smart enough to deny it. “Write it off as a poor attempt to lighten the situation.”
“Yeah, right.” She held up her glass. “Give me another, barkeeper, and maybe I’ll even believe you.”
He poured them each another shot and then put the bottle away. “Knock that one back, Blondie, and we’ll go upstairs to get you settled in for the night.”
She sipped her drink without protest, which probably spoke to how badly shaken she was by everything that had happened. It wasn’t like her to take orders without a fuss. Finally, Natalie pushed herself up off the couch and walked over to the small kitchen. He drifted after her, unhappy about even that small distance between them. His head told him that she was safe here in his home; his heart couldn’t get past the fear of what might have happened to her if his arrival at the parking lot had been delayed even another five minutes.
Natalie washed and dried her empty glass, treating it with the same care she would have fine crystal. Then she held out her hand to take his and did the same to it. “I halfway expect you to rip into me any second now about what happened.”
Tino leaned a shoulder against the wall, pretending a calm he certainly didn’t feel. “I plan to, but not tonight.”
“Why?”
Because right now she looked so damn fragile, as if the slightest wrong touch would shatter her. If he told her that, they would be having the fight tonight. The woman prided herself on her independence and strength. Had no one ever pointed out how tiny she was? Again, he went for the convenient lie.
“I’m too tired to do justice to the lecture I have planned. Tomorrow will be soon enough, when I’ve caught my breath and my heart has recovered from seeing you and Clarence being attacked. Be warned: there will be hollering, more than a few choice obscenities, and maybe even some strategic tossing of precious objects.”
A little spark was back in her sad blue eyes. “Well, I’m glad I get to rest up for it. I’d hate to miss any important nuances because I’m too tired to appreciate the performance.”
“Okay, now that we’re agreed on that much, let’s head upstairs.”
He led the way, taking the steps two at a time to buy himself a little time to check the condition of his room. Luckily, years in the military had only reinforced the housekeeping lessons he’d learned from Marlene and Joe. He kicked a stray sock under the bed and turned back the covers. At least he’d changed the sheets only the day before.
When Natalie appeared in the doorway, she obviously wasn’t too tired to study the narrow confines of his room with great curiosity. He tried to see it through her eyes and wondered what she was thinking, not that he was about to ask. Instead, he pulled a clean T-shirt out of his chest of drawers along with a pair of his gym shorts and handed them to her.
“You can sleep in these. The shorts will be huge, but maybe you can cinch in the drawstring waist enough so they’ll stay up.”
That was unlikely considering the difference in his size and hers. The image of her sleeping in just his T-shirt with nothing on underneath it filled his mind. Damn, he wouldn’t go there. He couldn’t, not and keep his hands to himself.
Meanwhile, Natalie clutched the clothes as if he’d given her a priceless gift. “You shouldn’t give up your bedroom. I can sleep on the couch downstairs.”
Actually, he liked the idea of having Natalie tucked into his bed even if he wasn’t sharing it with her. “I don’t mind. I’ll be right next door in Jack’s old room.”
“But—” she started to protest.
“My room is more comfortable. My brother pretty much stripped his bare when he got married and moved out.”
“If you’re sure.”
