Page 39 of Protecting Everleigh

"Okay." Her stomach rolled. Why? Was it in case he wanted her gone? Her emotions were a mess right now. She'd need to call her sister this evening if she could.

They stepped into the elevator, and he softly said, "If Craig checks, it looks like you're still here."

Ahh. Her heart raced at that admission and she felt instantly better. What a roller coaster of emotions she was on.

The ride to the HOG was reasonably short. She barely had time to get her thoughts together before he pulled into the garage.

"This was an old factory?"

"Yeah. A sewing factory. GHOST completely renovated the first level last year for us. Now they're in the middle of renovating the upstairs to make way for babies."

"Oh, right. Lara and Tate's baby."

"And, I imagine one day Spencer and Kenna will start having babies. So, we have the space, we want to use it."

"Smart."

Tapping the garage door closed, he grinned then stepped out of the truck. He hurried around to the passenger side and helped her down. Then pulled her suitcase and laptop bag from the backseat.

Her stomach flipped and rolled. She'd be meeting everyone at the same time. At least those she hadn't met. And, Hawk and Roxanne would know for sure she and Henry were sleeping together as soon as they retire for the night. How would they feel about that? If she were a mom, how would she feel about her son sleeping with a woman, he'd recently met? If she could articulate her feelings for Henry, she'd reassure them that she cared for him deeply. But they also knew she'd be leaving after negotiations were over. They'd worry about him getting hurt. She worried about herself getting hurt. There was no perfect scenario for this situation.

Henry opened the door and ushered her inside. Tate, Lara, Myles, and his parents were at the table playing cards.

Roxanne stood. "Hi, you two. So great to see you."

She strode across the floor and hugged Henry. Then Roxanne wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. It was a genuine hug. It felt good. It brought tears to her eyes. When had her mother last hugged her? She vaguely remembered a day when she was in third grade and had won the national spelling bee. Surely there'd been other times since then, but she couldn't recall them. Usually, only when she'd done something worth celebrating. Never upon walking into the room. She forced herself to relax in Roxanne’s arms. Then she tightened her hold on Roxanne, hoping to convey things she didn’t know how to say.

Henry announced, "I brought Everleigh back here because things got heated with Craig this afternoon."

"Oh, no. What happened?"

"He lunged at Everleigh, and I dropped him with a right."

Tate clapped his hands, Lara joined him. His father chuckled and his mom grabbed his right hand and looked it over. "Are you alright?"

"A little sore, but it was worth it."

"Henry."

He shook his head. Leaning down he kissed his mom's head, then said again. "Totally worth it."

His father leaned back in his chair. "I can't wait to hear about it."

"Let me get Everleigh settled, then we'll come out and chat."

His dad began shuffling the cards. Henry tilted his head toward the bedroom and began rolling her suitcase.

Once in his room, he closed the door. "I have room in my closet. I'll make room in my drawers while you hang your clothes. My bathroom is through that door..." He pointed to a room at the back. "Make yourself comfortable."

He opened a drawer and began moving clothing around. She silently began hanging her meager clothing. She bought nice clothing because she could afford it. And the expensive clothing wore well and didn't wrinkle as bad. But it was pitiful that all her clothing fit in a large suitcase. It was a source of embarrassment as she looked upon her life. Everything she owned fit in a large suitcase.

Henry walked into the bathroom and opened and closed drawers while she put her workout clothing and her undergarments in the drawers he'd made room in. She lined her shoes up in the closet near his, then took her toiletry bag into the bathroom. Henry grinned. "I managed a drawer."

"That's perfect. Thank you."

27

Oh, his heart hammered in his chest, and he imagined this was what it was like to be in love. He'd never been in love, and he'd never felt like this before. So, by process of elimination, he thought he must be.

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