34
The following afternoon,Liv’s mind still reeled with the previous evening’s events. She couldn’t stop it from replaying Zeke’s intimate conversation with Nicola or his reaction to her mention of the sword or the fact that they’d almost made love in a house full of guests within hearing range.
But none of that compared to his commit to me comment. She’d been so shocked, then aroused, then embarrassed, that she never got a chance to find out if he threw the words out on a whim or if he meant them.
She sighed and continued picking up her son’s dirty laundry off the floor. Even if Zeke meant what he said, how would he fit her and Brodie into his busy life?
Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and she shuffled soiled underwear and socks to her opposite hand in order to fish her phone out. At the sight of the women’s center’s director’s name, her pulse leaped.
“Hi, Gina. Everything okay?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Liv, but I thought you’d like to know that Claudia Rogers is here.”
Liv closed her eyes a moment. “How bad is she?”
“He broke her nose, and she now has a missing front tooth.”
“I can be there in forty minutes.”
“Actually, rather than making the trip, I had hoped you could help her get an emergency DVPO."
A domestic violence protective order was a court order that required the abuser to stay away from the victim. They weren’t foolproof, but they allowed the police to make an arrest on the spot if the abuser violated the order.
"Consider it done, but I’d like to come see her.”
“She won’t be here. I’ve already helped her make arrangements to stay with her cousin in Raleigh.”
“Claudia has agreed to go?”
“Yes. I don’t know how long she’ll stay, but we can at least put some distance between them.”
“I’ll let you know when I have the protection order.”
“Thanks, Liv.”
After disconnecting, she called her Aunt Belinda and relayed the information. Her aunt didn’t question Liv on the legitimacy of the claim, having assisted her with other battered women from the center in the past.
Liv found herself standing in the hallway between her and Brodie’s room, staring at nothing.
“What are you doing?”
She looked toward Zeke’s voice and watched him stride toward her, a fierce expression on his handsome face. Drawing in a deep breath, she pushed Claudia’s situation to the side and stood her ground.
Last night, on their drive back to the Friary, she had studiously avoided the commitment topic and tried to question him again about his research on the longsword, but he’d stubbornly refused to quench her curiosity. Irritating man.
“Where can I find a kitchen garbage bag?” she asked, delaying the inevitable.
That pulled him up short. “How should I know? Did you ask Henri?”
“Not yet.” She sent him a chiding look. “You really should know where the garbage bags are located.”
“Quit trying to redirect me.” He scowled at the bundle of clothing in her arms. “Why do you need one?”
She continued into her bedroom. “For our dirty clothes.”
“Just give them to Henri. She’ll wash them for you.”
“I’m not asking a member of your staff to wash my dirty underwear.”