Page 9 of Dusty and Dented
“Thinking about Panther and being miserable.”He sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed.“I know it hurts, but he wouldn’t want you to do this.”Dagger stood then picked up her hand and tugged her to the edge of the bed and to her feet.
“Do what?What are you doing?”She let him pull her around.It took everything she had not to climb back into bed and try to sleep more.She didn’t have what it took to fight him, not when it would be easier to go along with him until he got bored and left her alone.
“He wouldn’t want you to waste away while you want him to be here.He would want you to move on and live your life.”
“Just pretend he didn’t exist?Just go on being happy and living my life?”She didn’t bother to hide her horror at the idea of forgetting Travis.“I can’t do that.”
“I’m not telling you to.”Dagger’s hands on her shoulders turned her to face the bedroom door.“Let’s start with a shower,”
“Are you saying I stink?”She did her best to sound indignant as she asked a question she already knew the answer to.She’d showered the night before and even though it was late summer it wasn’t hot enough for her to have worked up a sweat, even buried under the blankets like she had been.At least not when all she’d been doing was crying.
“Not at all.I just know that a shower always makes me feel better, and I bet it will help you too.”He gave her a gentle shove to get her moving.“Hop in the shower.I’ll see about getting some food.What do you normally eat?”He was being nice about it, but she knew he’d seen the inside of her refrigerator.It was the only place he could have gotten the water he’d given her, unless he’d had some delivered, and she didn’t think that had happened.
“Whatever is handy,” she said.He couldn’t have looked in the freezer or he would have seen the stack of frozen meals in there.Between those and cereal, that was what she lived on, and right now she was out of milk ...or at least good milk.
Not that she cared.She hadn’t felt like eating for the last week.
“I’ll find us something.You allergic to anything?”he asked as he continued to herd her through the kitchen and down the short hall.
“Shellfish,” she replied.What would he do if she just stopped where she was and refused to go any further?
“Okay.Anything else you don’t eat?”
“Raw onions.”
“Just raw?You can have them cooked?”
Andy nodded and stopped in the doorway to the bathroom.“Yeah, I’m not allergic to them, I just don’t like the taste or texture of them raw.”She turned to face him.“You’ll still be here when I’m done, right?”She hated the way her voice shook, but she had to know.She couldn’t walk into the bathroom and shower if he was going to disappear on her.
Dagger gently trailed the back of one finger along the side of her face as he met her gaze.“I’ll be here when you get out.”
She stared up at him a moment longer before nodding once, stepping into the bathroom, and closing the door.
Chapter Eight
The way Andy’s voiceshook when she’d asked if he would be there when she finished in the shower tore at Dagger’s heart.And he’d thought that particular organ was dead and gone.
