Page 9 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

He laughed at the way she’d put air quotes aroundrough. He couldn’t say no to helping her with this goal of hers, especially since it would annoy her brother. But he knew they’d have to be careful.

They finished their coffees and headed toward the river. Today it was flowing steadily, looking serene and picturesque. Now that the train station and surrounding shops had been renovated and cleaned up, the town was starting to come to life again. He noticed that a camera crew was set up across the street.

He knew from his own research that they were from the Home Living TV network. Indy Belmont—Conrad Gilbert’s fiancée—was filming a makeover show where she redid buildings in this town.

The paved road ended near the bridge and then a steep path led down to a dirt walkway that ran alongside the river. He looked at the trail and then back at Rory. The last thing he wanted was for her to hurt herself. “Someone should put a handrail in here.”

“I’ll mention it to Dash.”

“Or you could go to the town council and tell them yourself,” he suggested. She was too connected to Dash and if he was going to spend time with her, he wanted to see her standing on her own.

She nodded. “You’re right. I’ll do it.”

Rory hadn’t realized how much she needed someone like Kit until he pointed out that she could go to the town council herself. She had been thinking of the actual things Dash was forbidding her to do when she’d moved out. But she hadn’t really contemplated taking a starring role in her own life.

She liked the idea of it but she knew that when it was time to show up and present her ideas, she was going to be nervous. But she didn’t need to dwell on that just yet. For the moment she looked down at the slope and wondered how she was going to navigate it.

“Any suggestions for how I can do this?” she asked Kit. “My left leg is weaker than my right.”

“Wait here while I see just how steep this is to walk down.”

She watched with more than a little envy at the nimble way he went down the slope. He took his time, though, looking for rough patches and checking the sturdiness of the dirt path. When he got to the bottom, he took a few steps in both directions and then came back and returned to her side.

“Okay. The way down, I think you should put your hand on my shoulder and I’ll lead the way. We will go slowly and you will be in charge of the pace. When we get to the bottom, the river path is level and has been edged with pavers, so it’s clear someone has been maintaining that part. But getting back up might be harder.”

Rory had already been thinking about that. She’d noticed the deep, almost lunge-like movement of Kit’s legs as he’d come back up the path, and she wasn’t sure she could do that. When she did lunges at her physical therapy sessions, she’d only managed two on each side and then her thighs started quivering.

“Do you cross that bridge when we get to it?”

“We can. But be prepared for me to do a lot more assisting. Is that something you’re okay with?” he asked.

She had made so many strides in walking and getting around on her own, but she’d known from the beginning that when she tried more strenuous activities there would be times when she’d have to rely on someone else to help her.

It frustrated her because she wanted to be able to do things for herself. But she had no shame in asking for help. Conrad had been the one to make her feel normal about it. He told her that after his post-accident surgeries he’d had to ask for assistance with everything. With that one thought, her big, six-foot-five-inch, muscle-y cousin had made her realize that she was going to recover, too. But only if she asked for help and respected her limitations.

“Yes. Areyouokay with it?” she asked. If he wasn’t, then no matter how hot he was she was going to have to end this before it really had a chance to get started.

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled at her. “I am. I like being your knight-errant.”

She smiled at him. “Knight Kit. I like it, but I don’t want to be a damsel in distress.”

“You won’t be. Ready?”

She took a deep breath. Then closed her eyes for just a second and looked up at the sky before glancing back at Kit. His dark brown gaze was steady and patient. He wasn’t going to rush her. She also felt like he wouldn’t judge her if she suddenly said no. But this was her year ofyes.

She nodded.

“Okay, so something I have learned is that the first step is always the hardest,” he said.

“Why do you think that is?”

“Because you don’t know what it’s going to be like.”

She put her hand on his shoulder. He was strong, solid, and she felt the strength in him. He looked over his shoulder and winked at her. “You’ve got this.”

She licked her lips and nodded. She did have this. And if she didn’t, she’d come back tomorrow and try again. Hopefully with Kit, she couldn’t help but think.

“Ready?

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