Archer would give him time, much as it killed him. But while he was doing that, he’d get the ball rolling in other areas.
Because he wasn’t giving her up.
He took out his phone and found the number he’d put in there.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Kent? It’s Archer Miller. About that job offer…”
27
Caley looked out the windshield at the cute cabin. It was surprisingly pretty. It had a small porch out the front, but she knew from Doc’s description that there was a larger one out the back. It was bigger than she’d thought it would be considering she knew it only had two bedrooms. She knew he had a clinic at the main JSI headquarters which was a few minutes’ walk away. The drive here had been picturesque. There were cabins dotted through the trees, most down on the flat but some further up the mountain where JSI headquarters were.
So, this was home.
She’d been discharged from the hospital this morning. Thank God. She hadn’t thought she could stand another night in there. Issy had seemed just as eager to get home as she was to leave. She’d thought about asking to go up to see the remains of her cabin, but she wasn’t ready to face that yet.
He’d bundled her into the car. She was surrounded by pillows to cushion her hands and to allow her to nap. And she’d actually managed to have a small one.
“What do you think?” he asked as he stopped his truck. Kent had arranged for it to be delivered to him.
A pang of sadness filled her as she thought of Archer, she didn’t understand why he’d left without saying goodbye. Issy had told her he had to get back to work. Which was likely true, but he couldn’t have taken a few minutes to say bye? And since he’d left, Issy had been acting odd. Withdrawn. Quiet.
She hoped he wasn’t regretting letting her move in with him. Worry churned in her gut.
“It’s really cute.”
“You sound so surprised.”
She was. He didn’t seem the type to care about where he lived. But then again, he was a neat freak, so it was no wonder everything looked spotless. How quickly would she drive him nuts with her messiness?
Self-doubt was really killing her. She could barely do anything for herself with her hands bandaged. Nightmares were tearing up her sleep. And she felt kind of bereft, lost. Maybe it was just because she was missing work.
“Of course not.” She gave him a bright smile. He didn’t look like he bought any of it.
She wondered what she was going to do about clothes. She could buy some stuff online, but she couldn’t use her computer yet. Not that she had one. She sighed sadly.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t like the cabin?” He reached over and grasped hold of her chin gently turning her face to him. “You don’t want to live here?”
“No, the cabin looks lovely. Far nicer than mine.”
“You’re worried about moving in here? With me?” There was something vulnerable in his voice that she wasn’t used to.
“No,” she said firmly. “I want to live here, with you. I’m just…” Just tell him, Caley. “Do you regret it? Offering me a place to live? If it’s too soon, I can find somewhere else, somewhere close by. You don’t have to do this just because I have nowhere to live. And I’m injured.”
His eyes had grown wider with each sentence. “What the hell? What nonsense are you spouting? I asked you to move in with me before I left, remember? This has nothing to do with the fire. What part of ‘I love you and I’m not letting you out of my sight’ did not compute with you?”
“It’s just…I guess you’ve seemed a bit quiet since Archer left. And I was worried…”
“That I’d changed my mind?”
She nodded.
“I have not.”
I have not? That was it? She gave him an exasperated look.
“Baby doll, you are mine. You’re staying mine. End of story.”