Walker hesitated before frowning and nodding.
“What?” I asked softly. Grandpa and Doc had already gone into the house ahead of me to greet the dogs.
“Do you have to go back? Can’t you stay here and take the job at the Hobie FD?”
His jaw was set, but his eyes were pleading. I leaned in and rested my head on his shoulder for a moment. “I’ll think about it, okay? Come over tomorrow and let’s talk.”
Walker’s hand came up to caress my cheek and sift through my short hair. “Thank fuck you’re okay,” he whispered roughly. “When I heard you were in the hospital, Otto…”
I wrapped my arms around him for a full hug. His body felt like it was made to fit with mine like that, and I struggled to swallow the groan trying to come out.
“I’m okay, Seth. God, I was so happy to see your face in that hospital room—you don’t even know. Thank you for coming to get me,” I murmured. “And for bringing the guys.”
He pulled back and brushed a kiss across my cheek, almost, almost touching the corner of my mouth. My lips itched to feel his in a real kiss.
“I will always come to you when you’re hurt, Wilde Man, but I’d appreciate it not being something that happens often. Can you think about that next time you go walking into danger?” He winked at me, but I could see the truth of his concern in his eyes.
“I could ask the same of you, Sheriff,” I said, stepping back and letting him go. “See you tomorrow.”
Once he was gone, I entered the house and let Doc and Grandpa fuss over me. They got me settled on the sofa and turned the TV on something or other. I dozed on and off the rest of the evening until it was time to move to the guest room and let myself fall completely under for the night.
I needed the sleep badly, because, unbeknownst to me, the following day I was going to finally meet the woman Walker left me for.
Chapter 7
Walker
Seth?!
Are you joking? Please tell me this is some horrible prank, you jackass. Surely you aren’t giving up on me when we’re only a few months away from finally being together? Are you crazy?
What’s going on? What’s the real reason for your letter? Talk to me, baby. Please tell me what has you running scared. I’m worried about you.
I love you,
Otto
I returned home after dropping Otto and his grandfathers off and ran right into trouble before the Amarillo dust was even off my boots. Jolie was fuming mad, and Tisha was nowhere to be found.
“Hey,” I said, entering the kitchen and stowing my service weapon in the lockbox on a high shelf. “Where’s Tish?”
“I sent her to your brother’s house for a sleepover so we could talk,” Jolie said. I tried not to sigh. After over ten hours of driving in the past twenty-four in addition to the stress of not having known whether Otto was okay, I was dead tired.
“Let me shower and change, and we can go out to eat.” I didn’t wait for a response before making my way to the hall bathroom and shutting myself away for a long, hot shower.
When I couldn’t stall any longer without feeling like a selfish prick, I dried off and got dressed in nice jeans and a short-sleeved button-down shirt before joining Jolie in the kitchen again. Jolie was still in yoga pants and a workout tank top, and I wondered if this might be a rare night I could get away with taking her somewhere less fancy than normal.
“Ready to go?” I asked, reaching up to get my gun out of the lockbox again.
“Leave it. I ordered delivery,” she said before sitting down at the table. “Why don’t you grab a beer and have a seat?”
My stomach began to twist with nerves. She’d made no secret out of the fact she opposed our separation. I’d finally convinced the owner of the little lake house I liked to let me sign a lease-purchase agreement to give me a little bit more time to be sure I wanted to buy it. Once they found out I was the Hobie sheriff, it hadn’t been a problem. I was due to move in the following weekend.
Jolie had made every effort to talk me out of it, even going so far as to say that me spending money to rent a separate place was taking food out of Tisha’s mouth. Whenever she got like that, I shut down completely and just avoided her altogether. I spent as much time with Tisha as possible, but Jolie had become nothing but a ball of stress and pressure on me whenever I was around her. I counted down the days until I moved out, and the knowledge it included leaving Tisha wrecked me.