Disappointment flooded her. She actually liked it here. Living in a big city was hard for her. All the people and the noise. She liked the peace and quiet here.
But it was becoming more and more obvious that she had to go. Thankfully, it sounded like Saber and Tiger had their hands full for a bit longer.
Crawling out of the closet, she stood and grabbed the worn black bag that held her diabetic supplies out of her handbag. Carrying it into the bathroom, she washed her hands. All the bedrooms in this monstrous house had their own bathrooms. A prick of her finger to draw blood and the blood glucose meter told her what she’d suspected. It was low. She’d gone too long without eating.
She’d had Type One diabetes since she was thirteen. Managing her blood sugar levels would be much easier if she had a CPM monitor, but her aunt claimed her insurance wouldn’t pay for it. She grabbed a few glucose tabs from her bag and unwrapped them, popping them into her mouth.
Walking back into her bedroom, she sat on the bed, staring down at the eReader in her hand. Sadness flooded her. It felt like she’d lost an old friend. She wiped away a few tears. Today, she’d feel sorry for herself.
Tomorrow, she needed to figure out a way of saving herself.
4
Linc was cursing himself for not getting her number.
Or not giving her his. But then that had seemed too pushy. He hadn’t wanted her to think he was some weirdo. Even if he was at times.
You know where she works.
Right, I’m sure it’s every day that a cowboy strolls on in and asks for a manicure.
Idiot.
A cool wind whipped down the street. Shit. He hoped it was warmer for Clint and Charlie’s wedding tomorrow. He strode towards the diner, thinking he’d get some lunch before he attempted some shopping.
Gah. Shopping.
Up ahead he saw a small figure dressed only in a pair of black pants and a black shirt nearly collide with a lamp post. She pulled away at the last second, only to start tumbling back, tripping over her own feet. He quickly raced forward, and managed to grab hold of her before she landed on her butt, setting her on her feet.
“Whoa, there. You okay?” He turned her around, surprise filling him as he saw it was her.
He hadn’t recognized her in the shapeless, black clothing. Which he now realized was obviously a work uniform. There was an emblem on the top right-hand corner of the shirt.
“Marisol? Hey.”
Wow. That was smooth. Really smooth.
“It’s Linc,” he added when she didn’t say anything. “From last night. At Sanctuary Ranch.”
Okay, it kind of hurt that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her and she couldn’t even remember him.
“This is kind of déjà vu, huh?”
She was just staring up at him, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted.
“Only this time there’s no containers in your arms, blocking your view so how did you nearly walk into that lamp post?” he demanded.
Ease up, man. You don’t need to go all Daddy on her.
“Oh. . . umm. . .oh . . .”
“Marisol? Are you okay?” He reached out and placed his hand over her forehead. She didn’t feel warm. In fact, she was kind of cold. Another breeze worked its way up the street and she shivered.
“Where’s your coat, Mari? Gloves? Hat?”
“Umm, the sun was out so I didn’t think I needed any.”
“The sun might be out but there’s a cold breeze. Where are you from?”