Page 13 of Protective Assignment
Besides, he was starting to get hungry.
He was just about to start down the path to the main lodge again, when he spotted someone hurrying away, like they didn’t want to get caught.
He peered after the person’s retreating form for a moment, and then he realized who it was—River.All that hair was a dead giveaway.
“Hey, River!”he called after her.Had she been eavesdroppingon them?He couldn’t imagine they were saying anything that might have interested her, but he didn’t know for sure.And why was she trying to get away from him now that he had noticed her?It didn’t make sense.
He took off after her and caught her arm just before she vanished back down the path to the woods once more.She spun around at once, and landed a sharp jab on his jaw, sending him reeling back in surprise.
“Damn!”he exclaimed, rubbing his jaw.She stared up at him, her eyes wide, her face pale.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out.
He shook his head in disbelief.“Where did you learn to hit like that?”he asked.
She was so slight, almost fragile, it was hard to believe she could hit that hard.
“Street fighting,” she replied, and he couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.There was a lot about her that was hard to read, but he got the feeling that was by design.She didn’t want anyone getting too close, finding out too much about her.But she could only get away with that for so long before she would have to tell them at least something about her past and what she was running from, especially if she wanted to stay.Lawson wouldn’t have it any other way.It was his and Xavier’s responsibility to make sure this place was safe for their guests.If either of them thought she was a threat in any way, they’d surely ask her to leave.
She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, her eyes lowering to the ground.
Cade stared at her.He still didn’t know what was going on with this woman or how to get by her walls, but hewanted to help her if he could.If she’d just meet him halfway and open up some…
He decided to try again, “River, please tell me what’s going on with you.”
She shook her head and held herself tighter.“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” he replied gently, trying to keep his voice as patient as he could.“I know you’re going through something.It’s obvious.I just want to help you…”
He trailed off with a weighted sigh.He could immediately tell this approach was not working, again.
Stubborn woman.She obviously didn’t want anyone’s help.Or maybe she didn’t believe that anyone would want to help her.He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could say or do that would convince her to trust him, even a little.Well, he could be stubborn too and he was damn sure going to try to change her mind.
Cade watched her hug herself tighter and she still wouldn’t meet his eyes.He decided to try a more direct approach and hope that didn’t scare her off for good.“If you’re going to stay here, then you’re going to need to open up a little.Give us a little background on yourself.”
No matter what had happened to her, he was sure there were plenty of people out there who had been through the same.Nobody suffered in a way that was exclusive to them, he had learned that in his recovery.
She paused for a moment, going completely still.Cade could almost see the wheels turning in her brain, clearly trying to decide how much she should tell him.What she could trust him with.Cade tensed and held his breath in anticipation.Then something seemed to shift inside of her.He saw it when her eyes lifted to his.It was like she finally realized that she couldn’t keep all of her secrets hidden.
She let out a resigned breath.“I was going to have to get married to someone I didn’t want to marry.It wasn’t a good situation,” she replied, not making eye contact again.“So, I left.”
And just like that, Cade felt some of the barrier she held between them come down and his body somewhat relaxed at her confession.It wasn’t much, but it was a start, and right now he would take what little bit he could.
Chapter Eight
She stood there pushing the toe of her shoe around in the gravel and staring up at Cade, wondering if she had just made a huge mistake in giving him even that much information.
Maybe she should have told him it was none of his business, but how long was that going to work before they asked her to leave?How long was she going to be able to keep the truth hidden?
Besides, she knew they were taking a big risk by letting a stranger whom he’d picked up on the side of the road stay at the lodge.They had to protect themselves and their guests from whatever trouble someone like her could bring to their door.
Better to give Cade a little than have him go looking for it himself and dig up the reality of what she had left behind.They all knew something was going on with her, and her appearance when she arrived spoke volumes on its own.
“You were going to marry someone?”he asked.He looked a little confused, and she couldn’t blame him.After all she had been through, sometimes she still had a hard time believing any of it was actually real.It seemed like it had come from a different reality, a reality she neverwanted to be anywhere near again as long as she lived.But she knew she wasn’t going to be able to hold that reality at a distance much longer.She had been through a whole hell of a lot, and at some point, she was going to have to admit it to herself.And deal with it before the past caught up with her.
“Yeah,” she replied, kicking at a bit of dirt on the ground to distract herself from the conversation.
“Seems like you’ve gone to great lengths to get away from this person,” he observed.“You said you came from Florida, right?”
