Page 42 of Lone Star Country Protector
Blakely exhaled. “Thank you, by the way.”
He shot a confused look her way.
“First of all, you didn’t ask to be reassigned the minute you realized who you’d be protecting on this assignment,” she began. “I might not have acted like it at first, but I’m glad it’s you and not some stranger.”
“You’re welcome.” He probably shouldn’t be thanked for doing his job. Though, he appreciated the gesture.
“Secondly, you haven’t run off after everything,” she said. “I should have explained myself. I should have figured out your number and called or told you what I did for a living instead of taking off without an explanation.”
“About that,” he said, surprised she’d brought it up. “What happened there? Did you think I was such a jerk that I wouldn’t understand?”
“No, not that at all,” she quickly countered. “I panicked. Plain and simple. I have no excuse for my actions, and I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” he reassured her.
“And then I kissed you yesterday, which I had no place doing,” she continued.
“No, and it can’t happen again.” They’d been doomed from the beginning. She realized that before he did. And he’d nursed a bruised ego, but he’d moved past it all and had no intention of going down that road.
“I know.”
Why the hell did those words inch their way through the wall he’d constructed when it came to Blakely?
* * *
Blakely had noidea why she felt the need to explain her actions, except that Dalton deserved to know the truth. “It’s just that I’m broken, and I’m no good for anyone for the long haul. You know what I mean?”
Before he could respond, she added, “That fifteen-year-old who put this scar here was my boyfriend. I thought I loved him. And, yes, I know that what I felt was puppy love, first crush, but you know, it sure felt like the real thing to me then.”
“First love is powerful,” he said, taking it all in withouta hint of judgment in his expression. She loved that about him. He seemed to see the good in her.
“I haven’t… I don’t… I just don’t think relationships are right for everyone,” she said. “Take me, for instance. I’m completely happy alone. I have my sister and I have Chase.” If this divorce happened like she feared it might, she would be seeing a whole lot more of Bethany and Chase. As it was, Blakely wanted to bring her sister home from the hospital to live with her until she sorted out her marriage. “They are going to need me more than ever.”
Dalton nodded, but his grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“And I need to be there for them,” she said. “Plus, my job is my life, and I spend the rest of my waking hours reviewing cases.”
“You take care of everyone around you,” he said in an unreadable tone.
“It’s what I’ve always done,” she said. Being the oldest, even by a few minutes, she’d stepped in to be there for Bethany after they lost their parents, and she intended to be there for her sister now.
“One question,” Dalton said.
“Okay,” she said.
“Who takes care of you?”
The question was simple. So why did it kick up a dust storm of emotions that caused hot tears to well in her eyes? “I do.” Her voice cracked.
“As far as I can tell, you take care of everyone around you,” he said, his voice wrapping around her like a warm embrace. It threatened to shatter all the carefully constructed walls she’d built around her heart.
Could she afford to let someone in?
Heart racing faster than if she’d just sprinted across theparking lot, she wished she could. It was too much, too soon, too unknown.
“I think I’ve been doing a decent job of managing my life,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to—”
