“Well, I wasn’t worried about that before,” she wailed.
And she wasn’t going to worry about it now. What did she care if some mean dentist told her off? She’d suffered far worse.
“You don’t need to worry about it now,” he told her. “I won’t allow him to do so.”
“He won’t do that because I’m not seeing him.”
“Are you scared of dentists or are you worried that it will hurt?” Webb asked gently.
“B-both.” She probably needed to tell them about what happened in order for them to understand her stance. “I had a bad experience with a dentist as a child. My father . . . he told me these horror stories about what the dentist would do to me, so by the time I got there, I was hysterical. It was . . . it was awful.”
“I’m so sorry,” Webb said to her.
Damn, she hated other people’s pity.
“Why would your father do that?” Zander asked.
“Because he was a complete asshole? A jerk? Mean? Nasty? Take your pick. He was all of them. I think he enjoyed upsetting me.”
And she was telling them way too much.
Shut it, Keira.
“This experience will be different,” Zander reassured her.
“Why will it be different?”
“Because I will be with you,” he said confidently.
“And that will make a big difference, will it?” Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but feel a bit amused. He definitely didn’t suffer from a lack of self-esteem.
“Of course, because you know I would never allow anyone to harm you.”
“Um, Zand—” Webb started to say.
“You really think I feel safe with you?” she asked Zander.
“Of course,” he repeated arrogantly. He was unbelievable. Lucky he was cute. Probably the only reason he hadn’t been murdered by now.
“And why would I feel safe with you?”
“Because, as your guardian, it is up to me to keep you healthy and safe. See, so it would be against the job description for me to allow any harm to come to you. It’s simple really.”
He said it as though he couldn’t understand how she didn’t get it.
She just gaped back at him, her mouth open.
“I’ll call Eli and get him to ready a vehicle for us,” Webb said.
“Make it my truck. I don’t want her riding in your vehicle.”
“What’s wrong with my car?” Webb asked, actually looking like he was about to start sulking. If she hadn’t been so shocked by what Zander had just said, she might have found that amusing.
“It’s not safe enough. She’s only to travel in my truck, Eli’s, or the van. And Eli won’t allow us to take his truck. The other vehicles are out. Especially yours. I don’t even like you driving it.”
Webb grumbled something. She was pretty sure she heard words like overbearing and bossy muttered.
She totally agreed.