Page 33 of Guarded Secrets
“That’s still bullshit.”
“You have a charming way with words.”
Goddammit. He tipped his head back briefly to stare at the night sky, his jaw clamped shut to keep the string of profanity from spewing from his mouth.
She thought he didn’t like her. The irony wasn’t lost on him.
He was looking out for her in more ways than protecting her from physical danger. By keeping his hands off her he was saving her from heartache and misery.
If he was a lucky enough bastard to find she could love him, it wouldn’t last because he’d destroy that love.
What Sawyer and Walker had that made them good husbands? He didn’t have it.
He’d been a husband, been a father, and fucked up so badly he’d destroyed two lives. The gut-wrenching failures he’d left in his wakewere huge red-letter evidence he posed an innate threat to any woman willing to risk a relationship with him.
He couldn’t explain any of that to her, and it didn’t matter. Nothing would stop him from continuing to watch after her as he’d been doing. She’d just have to deal.
They crossed the parking lot to her car. “How was the pie?”
“Gone.”
“Right.”
He sighed. “It was good, princess. Really good.” Best pie he’d ever tasted.
She raised a brow. “You called me Keeley earlier.”
“I’ve called you Keeley lots of times.”
She shook her head. “Not before tonight. For some reason you think I’m snooty and snobby.”
“What the hell? I don’t think that.”
“A princess is snooty and snobby. You might have said my name when talking to someone else, but I don’t remember you ever actually calling me by my name. Until tonight.”
“Don’t read anything into it.”
He thought he heard her mumble “heaven forbid” before he took the keys dangling from her fingers to unlock her car before handing them back. “Get in. Don’t leave until I’m behind you in the Bronco. I’m following you home.”
He didn’t miss the eyeroll as she slid into her seat and shut the door. The window rolled down. “Didn’t you hear a word I said? You don’t have to look out for me anymore.”
“I heard. Now you hear me. I’m not only following you home, I’m waiting until you get in your house, and then I’m testing the fucking door to make sure it’s locked.”
She opened her mouth to reply. Owen braced his arms on the door frame and leaned into her space. His was coming off too intense, but he couldn’t help it.
“You’ve had your tires slashed. Your dad saw someone outside your house in the middle of the night, and tonight a punk kid, whomyou knew, pulled a knife on you. Something is going on,Keeley, and until we figure out what that is, and all threats associated with you have been neutralized, I’m not standing down. Deal with it.”
***
Keeley parked her CRV on Main Street and spotted Delaney across the street. She waited for a break in traffic to cross. A few shop owners had planted clay pots with pansies of deep purple, blue, and yellow, an optimistic decision since spring still hadn’t fully sprung. But today was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly, so maybe the warmer weather would stick around this time. One of her favorite views, the still-snowy peak of Payback Mountain, gleamed against the deep blue sky.
She joined Delaney and they meandered along the wooden boardwalk past an eclectic mix of shops. The boardwalk was a relic from the town’s early gold mining days. The city maintained them as well as the historic buildings to preserve the old-timey atmosphere.
Keeley needed a distraction. Images from the night before kept buzzing around her head: the knife gleaming in Fernando’s hand, Owen looking like the wrath of God as he’d taken down her attacker in a flying tackle, and the feeling of his warm skin against her lips when she’d kissed his cheek.
Then there was the realization nothing had really changed between her and Owen. While she worried she had hearts in her eyes whenever she looked at him, he still saw her as an obligation.
How was she going to kill her crush with Owen throwing himself into danger to protect her?
