Page 14 of Pick Yourself Up
Gray shook Jolie’s hand and he let his gaze turn to where it wanted to go. To Amber. Her smile was strained and worried.
He smiled as Ford introduced them, but her worry nagged him. He wondered if she’d downplayed the incident at the hotel. As he reached forward to shake her hand, he decided to go with a subtle opening. “Hi, Amber. Nice to see you again.”
The worry in her face didn’t dissipate, so he continued. “Amber and I met briefly when she worked at The Sidderlight Hotel in Chicago. One client I worked with stayed there.”
There was a hell of a lot more to the story, but it wasn’t his to tell. He only hoped she’d shared it. The relief filling her eyes told him differently.
Her smile was a bit wobbly. “Nice to see you again.”
When neither Jolie nor Ford reacted with anything more than a smile with a hint of curiosity, Gray figured she hadn’t glossed over the incident. She’d told them absolutely nothing at all.
“Santa’s here!”
Knox’s shout came from nearer the farmhouse and had Jolie and Ford turning that way. Gray kept his gaze locked on Amber’s, waiting for her cue.
She shook her head slightly, letting him know his guess was correct. She hadn’t told her family about the trauma she’d experienced.
How had she got through that without support? How had she fooled her family?
He couldn’t stop his eyebrows from shooting up, but he nodded to let her know he understood and wouldn’t tell her secret.
Then Knox and his Thea arrived. He learned Amber had arrived on the farm only minutes before. She’d surprised her family with her appearance. More hugs and introductions followed, including to the two dogs.
The Australian shepherd’s name was Hemsworth, which made Gray laugh.
The German shepherd belonging to Amber was Boomer.
And Boomer was highly trained. Amber repeated the words ‘Friend’ and ‘Free’ several times. Overseas, Gray had worked with multiple K-9 officers and recognized the commands.
Amber may not have told her family about the attack, but she’d taken steps to protect herself. He’d bet Boomer was a hell of a deterrent to anyone who wanted to mess with her.
The group laughed and chatted as they moved to grab luggage from his and Amber’s cars and then moved to the farmhouse.
Upstairs, he and Amber were told to choose a room, but not before checking out the attached bathrooms. The pastel colors from the seventies made him laugh. Blue, yellow, green, and pink. Who the hell chose pink fixtures to put in a bathroom?
With Jolie sharing a room with Ford, and Knox with Thea, there were still plenty of choices. The room belonging to the great-uncle who’d left them the farm wasn’t an option, as the family hadn’t faced cleaning it out yet.
They said they’d been too busy, but he suspected it was more than that. He’d have to learn the entire story one day.
Jolie grinned at them. “Don’t choose the pink bathroom. We’re hoping it’s the only one available when we finally get Burke here.”
He laughed. “Boss Man will love that.” He’d worked with all the Malssum men overseas, and Burke was a leader in every sense of the word. The man wore responsibility like a cloak, and his men would follow his lead straight into hell, knowing Burke would have a plan to lead them right back out.
Two of the rooms required new windows, which narrowed the choices. He chose the one across from Amber, hoping to add another layer of protection and comfort for her.
He’d have chosen it even if it had pink fixtures, but he was happier with the blue.
As he settled his clothes into drawers and the closet, his mind wandered to Amber. Boomer had followed her into the farmhouse, ears and eyes alert to his new surroundings. As a working dog, he would need to know every corner of his new home.
Hoping to grab a few minutes alone with Amber, he hurried through setting up his room, but her door was closed, and she didn’t answer his knock. The doors were decades old and had wimpy locks with no deadbolts. He wondered if he should suggest it or if that would raise suspicions Amber didn’t want anyone to have.
As it was, despite the heavy wood of the doors, anyone could break into the bedrooms in seconds.
At least the dog would alert Amber and Gray to any danger. He doubted anyone would get through Boomer, but he wanted her to feel as safe as possible. He hoped his presence across the hall would have that effect.
Not that she’d told him she didn’t feel safe. The woman had barely said a word as the group had moved from the driveway to the upstairs.
Somehow, some way, Gray was going to draw her out. Find out how he could help.
