“You don’t lock your door?” she said with surprise.
“I left in a hurry.”
To rush into town to help her.
“I’m so sorry. You must be so tired. I didn’t know Ed was going to call you.”
“Which just makes things worse. Since you should have demanded he call me the minute he picked you up.” He toed off his cowboy boots and she did the same with her sneakers. Grabbing them both, he set them in the coat closet. She noted it was neat as a pin.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
Reaching out, he grasped hold of her chin. “I don’t care what time it is, how much I’ve been working or what is going on, if you’re in trouble, if you’re hurt, you call me. Understand?”
“I understand.”
He took hold of her hand and led her into a tidy living room with a cathedral ceiling, making the room feel cavernous. She looked up, seeing gable windows. There was a fireplace that had already been lit. She rushed forward but he kept hold of her hand, not letting her get close.
“Be careful around the fire, okay? Don’t stand too close.”
She thought about pointing out that she wasn’t an idiot, but he’d already shown that he was on protective overdrive tonight. So she just nodded.
“You can have a snack while I set up your room.” He looked her over with a frown. “Or do you want a shower first?”
She did feel kind of sweaty and gross. “That would be great.”
“All right.” He grabbed her hand again. A shiver worked its way up her skin at the feel of him touching her.
The man was potent.
He pointed to a room off the living area. “Through there is the kitchen and dining.” They walked down a short hallway. “My room.” He nodded at the door across from his room. “The bathroom and your room are down there.” He opened the bathroom door and walked to the shower, turning it on. Again, everything was neat and clean. Weren’t men living alone meant to be messy? “You got PJs in here? Toothbrush?”
“No, I didn’t have time to grab any.”
“I’ll get you one of my T-shirts.”
He opened the cupboard and rustled around, pulling out a toothbrush in its packaging as well as a razor. “Here you are. Help yourself to anything you want. Clean towels are in here.” He pointed to another cupboard. “I’ll grab that T-shirt. When you’re clean and dressed head back out to the living area.”
She nodded. He quickly returned with a red T-shirt. After showering, a wave of exhaustion washed over her and she had to sit on the toilet lid for a moment. She only had one pair of panties so she’d gone without. She’d have to wash them now so she could wear them tomorrow.
Tears filled her eyes.
She knew she was just tired. That she had to get up and keep moving. Nobody was going to do this stuff for her. She’d been taking care of herself for a long time. Sometimes, though, it would be nice to let go of all the worries. To let someone else shoulder some of the decisions. Take care of her.
Linc takes care of you.
Yes. But she couldn’t get used to it. She wasn’t sure if he was taking care of her because he still wanted her. Or because he felt like he had to because she had nowhere else to go.
And she didn’t want to ask.
A knock at the door startled her and she realized she’d actually fallen asleep on the toilet. Yikes. That was embarrassing.
“Um, yes?”
“You okay?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah, coming.” As soon as she found some energy.
“You dressed?”