Page 15 of Mine to Keep

He opened the boxes, and the aroma hit her nostrils like a rocket ship punching through the atmosphere.

Fried, crispy onions.

Greasy meat.

Melting cheese.

She scooted to the edge of the chair and went to stand but groaned instead.

“May I help you?” He held out his arms. “I can put her in the bassinet. You can trust me. I’m really good with babies.”

“I know. You saved her life.” Bryn handed her precious Zadie to Jamison. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

“You don’t.” Jamison lifted an onion ring and plopped it into his mouth.

She followed suit. It had to be the best thing she’d eaten in months.

“I guess I feel a little responsible for you and Zadie, considering what happened. I only want to make sure you’re both okay. That’s all. So, yes. I can back off once you’re tucked safe and sound in your home.” He picked up a pickle and waved it in the air.

Jamison was like no one Bryn knew back in her old circles. Her late husband and his family wouldn’t dare eat anything with their fingers. Not even fried chicken. God forbid.

“Speaking of which, Chip and I are going to make sure it’s all ready for you and Zadie to come home tonight because the nurse told me that she believes they are letting you out tomorrow.”

“As long as everything stays the same, that’s what they told me, as well.” She took the fork and knife and cut the cheeseburger in half. “Are you sure you don’t mind bringing me home?”

“Not at all. Now, eat. You’re not going to find a better burger than that one.”

“It smells freaking awesome.” She took a bite and immediately closed her eyes and moaned. She’d been living on fast food for months. This tasted like the finest sirloin burger money could buy. “I’ve died and gone to hamburger Heaven.”

“If you’d like, I can put together a list of restaurants, stores, and anything else you might want or need and leave it at the house.”

“Chip said he had a book for me somewhere.”

“I’ll check on that for you tonight.”

She glanced over her burger. “I appreciate it. But, really, you’ve done enough, and I like to explore.”

“Am I really coming on that strong?”

“Like a category-five hurricane.”

He laughed. “It’s all Zadie’s fault.” He glanced over his shoulder. “She’s kind of stolen my heart. Seriously, though. I understand. And I hear you.”

“Thank you.” For now, Bryn would enjoy the food. Tomorrow, once she was home, she’d be able to lose herself in her work and, hopefully, the sexy firefighter would stop coming around. Because not only was he way too helpful, he was incredibly easy on the eyes.

And that was a distraction she didn’t need.

She couldn’t afford to let her guard down. Just because the world thought she was dead, didn’t mean someone like Suzie Walton couldn’t accidentally resurrect her.

Jamison crackedopen a second beer and handed it to Chip before settling down in one of the Adirondack chairs he’d purchased for Bryn. He knew it went beyond the scope of being neighborly. However, she needed something for her backyard. She needed a lot of things. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, but he’d likely insult her by just doing it. He didn’t know her tastes, and he should have learned from his ex-wife that buying things for the house without a woman’s approval wasn’t the smartest thing in the world.

“I’ll reimburse you for these,” Chip said as he settled into the other chair. He wiggled as if testing out the sturdiness.

“It’s not a big deal.” Jamison knew that Chip was strapped for cash and should probably sell the house, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not only had it been his childhood home, but his mom had grown up here, as well. Two generations. If it were up to Chip, he and his family would live here, but his wife thought it was too small—which it was, but they could expand if they wanted to and without too much work. When Chip found out that his new tenant was single and pregnant, he’d made some minor adjustments, like buying a crib and lowering the rent. But he could have had the place cleaned instead of negotiating it into the reduction of the monthly payment. But that was Chip. He had a soft heart, but he was cheap as hell.

His wife was probably steaming mad over the entire thing. She constantly threatened to put the place on the market while he was sleeping, but she’d never do it. Deep down, she understood that it might take a year or two before Chip could let the house go.

“I get the impression that Bryn, your tenant, doesn’t have a lot of money to buy the extra things she needs.” Jamison leaned back, crossed his ankles, and looked at the evening sun. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get Bryn out of his head. He’d delivered two babies. One when he was only twenty-two years old, and a pregnant woman had gotten trapped in an elevator. When they finally got it open, the baby’s head was already crowning.

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