Page 52 of Fight For Her
I moved a sandbag aside and held the door open for Shawn, but before he made it inside, I was sure to call him an asshole one more time for good measure.
Chapter 26
Kendahl
MiaandIspenta few more hours finding anything and everything that we could salvage for the wedding. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with what we came up with. After seeing Ginger’s decorating sense, my bar was set pretty low.
I fished the spare key I got from Bethany out of my bag and made a ridiculous amount of noise unlocking the door. Part of me expected Coby to be there doing who knew what, and I didn’t need to catch him off guard.Like he caught me last night.
My cheeks heated at the thought of his eyes on me. I hadn’t come that hard in years. The euphoria was short lived though as panic ran through my body when I came back to earth. I didn’t know how to react or what to do about what transpired between us. A line had been crossed, and I was still unpacking how I felt about that. Still, I wished I’d done more than pull the covers over myself. The way I let his praise penetrate my skin and sink into the deepest recesses of my soul.
Good girl.His husky voice was so commanding like every word he said was thought out with care. He sounded nothing like the man who never took anything seriously. Even when we were dating, he never let that part of him out. I wanted more.
I used a washcloth to wipe some of the grime and dust from my body. I wished I could take a long, hot shower instead. But I had no idea what the hot water situation would be without power and didn’t want to use it up. Dirty hippie mode would have to do. Wrapped in a towel, I brushed out my tangled hair, tied it away from my face, and swiped on some fresh eyeliner and mascara. I dug through the remainder of my packed clothing and opted to wear a cute off-the-shoulder black top with some distressed jean shorts. Even if I felt grimy, there was no reason I couldn’t dress cute. Rose from Titanic knew that even with the ship going down and people dying, she still rocked her dress and curls.Damnit, Rose. There was room for Jack on the door. I will die on that hill.
The lobby was chaos by the time evening rolled around. Subconsciously, I scouted the room for Coby and found him near the desk. He had two children literally running circles around him. He looked disheveled in a wrinkled T-shirt and gym shorts with his dark hair sticking up on end like he’d gone through a wind tunnel. I held back a giggle at seeing him in such a state.
About fifteen people including children, mingled around the comfortable lobby space. These must be some of the local families who had to take shelter here. Every couch was taken and board games and coloring books were scattered across coffee tables. One solitary lamp cast a glow in the darkening space while a few small battery-powered lanterns sat waiting to be used. Someone had set up trays and bowls of food along the coffee bar table. It looked like a crudité platter, a few cheese trays, and some bowls of chips. A niggle of guilt tugged at me that while I was relaxing in my room, the others were busy working down here.
I felt a familiar tingle and looked up. Coby’s wide eyes were cast in my direction. The children had decided to climb his legs like tree trunks and were hanging onto them giggling like small maniacs. He mouthed, help me. With a barely suppressed giggle, I went to rescue him.
“How did you end up on babysitting duty?” I asked, bending down to say hello to the little guy attached to Coby’s leg.
“No idea.” He laughed. “One look at me and these little ones decided I was the perfect jungle gym.”
They weren’t wrong. I let my gaze rest on his tall, lean frame. He did have an extremely climbable body.Kendahl, focus. There were children present. “Let’s see if I can distract them,” I said to Coby before focusing my attention on the little boy. “Hi there, little guy. What’s your name?”
Big brown eyes met mine. “Henry,” he said, the ‘ry’ in his name sounding like ‘we’. He had to be no more than three years old.
“And you?” I gestured to the little girl on Coby’s other leg. She looked a bit older, maybe five or six, and she had the same brown eyes and squishy face as Henry.
“Isabella. I’m six, and that’s my little brother. He forgot his favorite dinosaur toy at home. Mom said we can’t get it.” Isabella spoke with the eloquence of a grown adult. What a precocious little thing. I wondered where their parents were.
“I’m so sorry, sweetie. Mom’s right. It’s safer here for the night.” I looked around to see if I spotted anyone looking even mildly concerned to be missing a couple of kids, but everyone around seemed preoccupied.
“What should we do with them?” Coby asked, running a hand through his crazy hair.
I had no idea. I wasn’t really one of those naturally maternal women. As an only child who raised her adult mother, taking care of kids was never something I wanted to do. The closest I got was Alex, Mia’s ten-year-old nephew, and that’s only been recently since Olivia moved them to Florida.
“Let’s try and get them preoccupied. They must be nervous. I mean think about how you’d feel in a dark scary storm away from home.” His face fell, and I realized what I’d said. Insert foot into mouth. I didn’t want him to think I was mocking his fears. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re right. They’re probably nervous.” He reached down and pried Isabella off his leg and lifted her into his arms. She instantly rubbed his beard and giggled. I took his cue and picked Henry up. His adorable little face peered into mine, and I felt him relax into my arms. He yawned and put his head on my shoulder.
I inhaled his sweet scent, cookies and apple juice. “Come on, little guy, let’s go find your parents.” Rubbing his back, I turned to Coby. Isabella was also resting her head on his shoulder. My heart flipped, and I nearly let an explicit word slip out of my lips. Him holding a child made me suddenly one hundred times more attracted to him. That image of Coby and I standing under an archway on the beach crawled its way back to the forefront of my mind especially the way he smiled at me and his dimples were on full display as the waves rolled behind me.
I stopped short and Coby almost crashed into me. “Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “I don’t know where I’m going. Want to lead the way?”
He hoisted Isabella up an inch and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go check the kitchen.”
“Good plan.” I stepped aside to let him walk in front of me, trying to shake away the image I’d conjured out of thin air.
I knew the inn must have been built as a large vacation home ages ago, but I hadn’t thought about the fact that there was a kitchen down here. We’d had all our meals next door, so the thought never crossed my mind. We passed a family of three who were gathered around a small table playing Uno and an elderly couple munching on some cheese and crackers chatting quietly. Rain and wind battered the boarded-up windows, which made overhearing their conversations difficult.
Down a long hallway lined with a few closed doors, we finally made it to the kitchen. Just in time too because my arm was going numb. The dead weight of a toddler was no joke. As we pushed through the door, I heard Mia’s unmistakable laugh and Shawn’s gruff voice muttering something. The kitchen had been turned into a sandwich-making factory. Ginger and Tim stood around the stove fussing with a package while Mia, Shawn, and another young couple slapped fillings between slices of bread in an assembly line.
Isabella lifted her head from Coby’s shoulder. “Mommy! Daddy!” The couple lifted their heads in unison to take in the scene before them. Mia and Shawn also looked at us with confused grins.
“Bella, oh my goodness. You were supposed to be playing with Mrs. Lancaster.” The woman said as she dropped the sandwich she had been making. Both parents shuffled over to us, apologizing profusely. The children were supposed to have been looked after by their neighbor, so that the parents could help with dinner, but apparently, the children were a handful for the elderly Mrs. Lancaster.
