Page 41 of Only Her (K2 Team)
“Going somewhere?” he said.
Her nose smashed into his chest. “You need to put on a shirt.”
“Ah, but I don’t think you mean that.” He put his thumbs under her chin and lifted her face. “Look. I shouldn’t have stormed out like that, and I’m sorry. It’s just that—”
“That you’re having nightmares you don’t know what to do with, and it’s getting to you.”
It was exactly that and more. He tapped her nose. “Inside with you, sneaky girl.”
“Can I ask you a question, a personal one?”
He took her keys and opened the side door, following her into the house. “Might not answer, but fire away, darlin’.”
“Okay, here it is.” She huffed a breath as she stopped in the middle of the kitchen and faced him. “Is there someone in your life you love? If so, you need to tell me now.”
That was one he could truthfully answer. “There’s not.”
“Good. I was a little worried about that.”
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Only a little?” The gold in her hazel eyes flared, and he gave in to the need to kiss her. When she sagged against him, he slipped an arm under her knees and picked her up.
“I guess I’m not going to work after all.”
“Guess not.”
“I was only going to spend an hour or two catching up on paperwork. Nothing physical.”
The woman couldn’t be trusted, and it was a good thing he’d been given a few days off so he could keep an eye on her. “You obviously need a keeper. Didn’t you listen to a word the doctor said? You rest until you see him again on Wednesday.”
He got her settled on the couch, swallowing a smile at her grumbling about not being an invalid. To keep her entertained, he played poker with her, which wasn’t easy when three cats thought the cards were things to play with. She didn’t ask again about his nightmare, but her question had him thinking. Had he seen something he shouldn’t have? It was maddening that he couldn’t remember, but he supposed that was why he was seeing a head doc, which reminded him that he hadn’t told Riley.
“I have an appointment this afternoon, and Maria Buchanan’s going to stay with you while I’m gone. I’ll stop by the store on the way back and pick up something for dinner.”
She scowled. “I can stay by myself for a while.”
“No, you can’t. You can’t be trusted. Have you forgotten already I caught you trying to sneak out? Besides, I understand you and Maria are friends. How’d that come about?”
“Maria’s cool. I met her when she brought in her cat, and we hit it off. If I have to be babysat, I’d choose her.”
“What am I? Chopped liver?”
“Oh, no! I didn’t mean...” She tilted her head and eyed him when he cracked a grin. “You were teasing me.”
“I was.” And wasn’t that interesting? He wasn’t the teasing sort, but Riley brought out a side of him he hadn’t known existed. He stacked the cards and set them on the coffee table.
“I’ve waited for you to feel better to talk about this. Have you given any thought to who might want to hurt you?”
“Maybe someone planned to mug me but something scared them off before they could grab my purse.”
“Would that be the same person who tried to run you over?” Why was she being so stubborn about accepting someone was targeting her?
“I lived most of my life in fear, Cody. I thought once I was on my own, I would be safe. If what you believe is true, then I need time to process it all because it means I’ll never really be safe.” Her eyes misted, and she turned her face away, hiding her tears. “It means there’ll always be monsters under the bed, and I don’t want that to be true.”
The woman was breaking his heart. “C’mere.” He wrapped his arms around her, where he wished he could always keep her, safe from the monsters.
“Just give it some thought, okay? See if any names pop into your head.” He heard a car pull up. “Maria’s here. Give me a kiss before I go.”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
