by Gina Wilkins
Chapter Eleven
Because of the late start, it was late afternoon by the time Aaron and Bryan finished the roofing job on the little cabin. The family had gathered again at the home of Shelby’s parents that evening, earlier than they could usually get together because the marina, store and grill closed early on Sundays. Dinner tonight was Texas chili and jalapeño corn bread prepared by Mimi and Maggie, something they’d been able to throw together fairly easily and stretch to feed a crowd.
Aaron joined them for the meal, but Shelby noticed he was rather quiet—not that he had much chance to get a word in. Still rattled by the events of the day, her family was even more verbal and energetic than usual, everyone talking at once, all of them chagrined that Shelby had tried to warn them about Terrence Landon and they’d all brushed off her concerns.
“We really are going to learn to take you seriously from now on when you start spouting your improbable theories,” Steven told her, his smile lopsided. He’d been more attentive to Shelby than usual that evening, no doubt still perturbed that he hadn’t been there for her earlier. They’d teasingly compared concussions and other injuries, but Shelby had been aware that Steven was as relieved that she had survived her ordeal as she was that she still had her brother. They could argue, compete or tease, but through it all they were family—and they loved each other.
She held up her hands in a gesture of surrender, the left still swaddled in a stretch bandage. “No more conspiracies for me,” she vowed. “From now on, I’m keeping my head down and focusing on my numbers and spreadsheets.”
“That would be a shame,” her father said unexpectedly. “Had you made a habit of that, we might never have known that Wade had been siphoning money from us. And who knows, Terrence Landon or Russell King or whatever the hell his name is might have decided this was a good place to return to whenever he needed a convenient retreat from which to run his fencing operation for a few weeks at a time. You did good, honey.”
She flushed a little in pleasure. As much as she loved him, her father wasn’t one to indulge in complimentary speeches. He was also the one who’d been most impatient with some of her more fanciful schemes and imaginings, and with reason at times. “Well, maybe I’ll try to restrain myself to only crying wolf when I actually see one,” she said.
He looked as though he tried to smile back at her but just couldn’t. “You certainly saw one this time.”
After dinner and dessert, Shelby announced that she was exhausted. Though she’d rested most of the day after her ordeal, she was still bone-weary, probably more from lingering trauma than lack of sleep. Her head hurt some, but not so badly that she wanted to accept her mother’s offer to stay there rather than return to her own place. She wanted to sleep in her own home—preferably not alone, she thought, glancing at Aaron from beneath her lashes, but better by herself in her own bed than being hovered over any longer in her parents’ house.
“I’ll see you home,” Aaron said, rising to his feet when she did.
She’d hoped he would offer.
After saying good-night to everyone, promising them all that her doors would be securely locked despite the threat being over and assuring them that she would see them tomorrow, she was finally able to step outside with Aaron.
They took a golf cart to her place, with Aaron behind the wheel. It wasn’t a long walk, but still more than Shelby felt up to just then. He accompanied her inside, glancing around curiously, which made her realize it was actually the first time he’d been in her trailer. The home had come furnished in neutral colors, but she’d added touches of bright accents to reflect her own tastes. She’d left it fairly tidy, though an open book, an empty diet soda can and a candy bar wrapper sat on the coffee table. Evidence of a snack attack while reading, she thought with a tired smile.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked Aaron, moving toward the couch.
He had paused just inside the door. “No, thanks. Unless you need me for anything else, I’m going to clear out and let you get some rest.”
“Oh.” Disappointment flooded through her as she turned back toward him. “You’re leaving now?”
Hands in his jeans pockets, he nodded. “Unless you need me to stay.”
“I don’t need you to stay,” she said quietly. “But I’d like for you to.”
She wondered if he understood that she wasn’t talking only about tonight.
He couldn’t seem to quite meet her eyes. “You need sleep. The docs said there’s no reason for you to be monitored or anything during the night, right?”
Swallowing hard, she replied, “They said I’ll be fine.”
“Are you in any pain?”
“Just a mild headache and my wrist is sore, but I think an over-the-counter pain reliever will be enough. I don’t like taking the prescription stuff.”
He nodded, still looking oddly uncomfortable. “So, you have everything you need? You got your phone back, right?”
“Yes, it’s in my pocket. Fully charged and working. Maggie took care of that for me.”
“Feel free to call or text if you need me.”
“Aaron,” she said when he started to turn. “What’s going on?”
Staring at the doorknob, he said, “I know you’re tired. You need to rest.”
“Why won’t you look at me?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Because every time I see that bruise on your face, it makes me ache,” he admitted.
“Aaron—”
His hand gripped the doorknob hard enough to whiten his knuckles. “I’m no hero, Shelby,” he said roughly. “I’m not a private investigator like my brother or a firefighter like yours wants to be. I was the wrong person to ask to help you with Landon. I didn’t take you seriously enough, and then when I did look into him, I made him so suspicious he grabbed you as insurance.”
“That was not your fault. There was no way you could have predicted the man would completely lose his mind. And don’t say you should have walked me home,” she added quickly, predicting what he would probably say next. “You tried to insist and I wouldn’t let you. That was entirely my decision.”
He sighed and squeezed the back of his neck with one hand. “When Maggie came to me and told me you were missing, I nearly lost it.”
“She said you were amazingly calm and collected. She told me she could tell you were worried, but you immediately started organizing a search and then told her you suspected Landon.”
“I—”
“Aaron,” she cut in firmly. “You figured out where I was and you took care of Landon without getting me hurt. You reported Lowell in time for the local police to stop him. I’m not going to embarrass you by calling you a hero, but I’m very glad you were on my side today.”
“Every time I think that you were right next door for hours without me knowing, tied up and—”
“And absolutely certain that you would find me,” she assured him, moving toward him to place a hand on his cheek. He had been so strong all day, and despite his denials, so heroic. She couldn’t blame him for falling apart a little now.
He covered her hand with his own, then turned his face to place a kiss in her palm. “I’m sorry for what you went through,” he murmured.
“I was scared,” she admitted softly. “And furious. But mostly I kept thinking of you, sending you mental signals where I was. Maybe you picked them up.”
She was pleased to see his lips twitch with a hint of his smile, even though it didn’t last very long. “Maybe I did.”
“Don’t go, Aaron.”
His expression was conflicted. “I think it’s better if I do tonight. And tomorrow—well, maybe it’s time for you to thank me politely for the rescue and then send me on my way. I’ll be suitably crushed and your ego will be bolstered, just like you planned.”
“It
was a stupid plan,” she grumbled, rather mortified by his recounting of it.
He chuckled without much humor. “We’ll play it however you want,” he assured her. “But I still have to go. I’ve got a future to figure out.”
A future she didn’t fit into, he might as well have said. She stepped back and bit her lip. She really couldn’t bear it if he gave her the speech about what a great pal he considered her to be.
“I guess I am tired,” she said. “Thanks for seeing me home.”
He nodded. “Call if you need me.”
“I have my family nearby,” she reminded him. The people who really cared about her, she added to herself.
He might have flinched a little, but then he nodded. “Do you want me to send one of them to you? Your mom? Maggie?”
“No. I don’t need anyone. I’m fine.” She was quite sure one of her family would have insisted on staying with her tonight had they not thought Aaron would be there instead. Which didn’t mean any of them, with the possible exception of the younger generation, approved of her staying the night with a man she’d known such a short time. But they’d all agreed long ago that if they were going to work and live this closely, there had to be boundaries. Lori still got the parental-supervision treatment, mostly because she was still in school and they didn’t approve of the guy she was seeing, but for the most part, they let Shelby make her own choices.
She didn’t need her hand held to keep away the bad memories tonight. That wasn’t why she wanted Aaron to stay.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. If I change my mind, I’ll call someone.”
“Good night, Shelby.”
“Good night,” she whispered.
Without looking back, he closed the door behind him.
Shelby sank slowly to the couch. She’d thought he would stay, she realized dazedly. Maybe not forever, but at least for tonight. As traumatic as the experience had been for both of them, she’d thought they could spend tonight wrapped in each other’s arms, giving and seeking reassurance. Instead, he’d walked out without even looking at her.
Leaning back against the cushions, she tried to be angry with him. But something about the expression she’d seen on his face before he’d left had twisted her heart. After all that had happened to her in the past eighteen hours, she should be curled in a fetal position, whimpering. Instead, she was sitting here worrying about Aaron, wondering why his eyes had been so damned bleak.
A clipped laugh escaped her. She’d done it again, she thought with a shake of her head. Gotten in over her head. And she wasn’t thinking about the bad man in Cabin Seven now.
* * *
Leaving the golf cart parked in front of Shelby’s mobile home, Aaron headed grimly down the road on foot, passing the brightly lit houses without stopping. He thought about letting them know she was alone and that it might be a good idea to send someone to check on her, but he couldn’t talk to anyone just then. Maybe he’d call someone from his cabin; they’d swapped phone numbers earlier during the search for Shelby.
He paused in the deep shadows by the private drive sign. This, he thought, was where Landon had grabbed her. Where Maggie had found Shelby’s phone. She must have been so frightened. So close to home, yet so far from safety. Had she thought of him, wished she had allowed him to walk her home as he had offered? She’d said she didn’t blame him for not being with her then.
She had every right to blame him for walking out on her now.
He turned, looked back at the lights glowing in the Bell family compound. Living so close together, working together, eating together—and yet Shelby was alone tonight. By choice. She hadn’t asked any of them to stay with her.
She had asked him.
He’d have thought by now she’d have figured out he wasn’t the type to stay around. He couldn’t even stay in one job without getting bored. Not that he could imagine ever getting bored with Shelby. Just the opposite, in fact—he hadn’t stopped going full-tilt since she’d hug-attacked him at the gas station. He’d been fascinated, amused, confused, terrified, hot and bothered—but he’d never once been bored.
And he was walking away from her.
He could almost hear his brother’s voice in his ears. Idiot.
He looked toward Shelby’s trailer, then over his shoulder toward Cabin Eight. It’s time to make a decision, bro.
“I’m trying, Andrew,” he muttered aloud, his voice a hollow echo in the darkness. “I’m trying.”
* * *
Shelby was still sitting on the couch fifteen minutes after Aaron left, trying to get up the energy to put on pajamas and crawl into bed. She was so tired she thought she’d fall asleep immediately. She only hoped she wouldn’t dream about waking up bound and gagged in Cabin Seven.
When someone tapped lightly on her door, she assumed it was a member of her family checking on her. Probably Maggie. Maybe Lori. Maybe she needed a couple hours of girl talk and commiseration from someone who’d understand the ramifications of getting involved with Mr. Heartache-in-the-Making, something both Maggie and Lori would understand all too well.
She opened the door with her good hand, then froze when she saw who stood on the porch. “Did you forget something?”
Aaron nodded sheepishly. “I forgot to tell you I’m a coward and an idiot. I’m sure Andrew would be happy to confirm both those things if you call him, but I’m hoping you won’t.”
Her heart fluttering crazily now, she cocked her head. “You are not a coward,” she said flatly. “Not after the way you rescued me earlier. You are, however, an idiot.”
For some reason, that made him laugh. “Yes. May I come back in?”
“That depends. Are you here to tell me goodbye again? Because, you know—been there, done that.”
“Actually, I thought I might hang around awhile,” he said after taking a deep breath. “Steven’s going to be out of commission for a few more weeks, and your uncle Bryan needs more help than a few high school kids. What I said about the job being great for someone who likes being outdoors? Who enjoys being around people? Who hates being tied to a desk from nine to five? I’ve just realized that maybe I was talking about myself.”
For the first time she realized that hope could hurt almost as much as heartache. In a different way, perhaps, but both could end in disappointment. “You want to try resort management for your new career?”
“It certainly has its appeal,” he said, his voice deepening as he took another step forward.
She moved backward to allow him inside, slowly closing the door. “I thought you didn’t want to be surrounded by family. Didn’t want to work in a family business.”
He shrugged. “I don’t want to work in my family business,” he corrected her. “I love them all, but doing computer searches and stakeouts and endless meetings bores me senseless. Do you think there’s an opening for me here?”
“I’m sure we could work something out,” she whispered. “You really want to stay and work here?”
“I want to stay with you,” he corrected. “I’ve liked what I’ve seen of the work, but I’m more interested in seeing what happens between us. Maybe it’s happened fast, but I think what we have is special, Shelby. So special it almost scared me into taking to my heels. Almost losing you this morning—well, that made me realize exactly how much you’ve come to mean to me. And tonight it all sort of crashed on top of me and I freaked out.”
Which was what she’d seen when she’d looked at him, she thought. “I think we’ve found something special, too, Aaron. And I couldn’t bear the thought of just saying goodbye and maybe never seeing you again. But you don’t have to work for the family just for my sake. We can see each other when we can, talk on the phone every day—”
He shook his head. “If you think your family would approve, I’d like to try it, at
least for the summer. I’ve been comfortable here from the first day, fascinated by all that goes into running the place.”
“Then maybe, if you decide resort management doesn’t interest you, we’ll look around for something that appeals to us both,” she suggested, feeling uncharacteristically shy as she tucked a curl behind her right ear.
Moving closer to her, Aaron cupped her face in his hands, his fingers achingly gentle against her bruised skin. “You’re saying you could be willing to leave this place you love so much for me?”
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she smiled mistily up at him. “If things work out between us the way I think they will, I would most definitely be open to negotiation. I know I’ll always be welcome here, to stay or to visit, but like Steven, ultimately I need to follow my heart.”
Taking care with her bruised lips, he kissed her tenderly. “We’ll worry about the details later,” he promised. “Right now, I want to tuck you into bed and just hold you all night. Just to assure myself that you’re safe and you’re here with me.”
Nestling her cheek against his shoulder, she released a deep breath. “I like the sound of that.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Maybe you’d like to show me your bedroom?”
“Absolutely.”
Though she was still convinced she could have managed on her own, it was nice to have Aaron’s help donning her pajamas with her sore wrist and brushing her hair over her stitches. She could tell he was still struggling with guilt about what had happened to her, but that would fade with time. Maybe not quite as quickly as her bruises, but she would do her best to convince him that he was blameless in the attack.
Her bed was smaller than the queen-size in the cabin, but he didn’t complain when they lay curled together, her head nestled on his chest. “This is nice,” she said, her injured wrist resting lightly against him.
“I could get used to it pretty fast,” he admitted with a chuckle. He was starting to sound like himself again, easy and cheery. She was glad.