“Breathe. It’s okay. If you hold still, it’ll be over before you know it.” That was what Gigi had said anytime he’d injured himself as a boy. He didn’t have to tell Hilary he’d never believed it either.
April started work and Hilary’s tears streamed down her cheeks again. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed, moaning softly.
Instinctively, Arlo put his head down on the pillow beside her. “Hey.”
She opened her eyes, her pupils dilating. Flecks of gold surrounded her iris, reminding him of fish scales under water struck by the sun.
“Talk to me. Tell me again what you do and why I should listen to you.” He relaxed and focused on her face. He could do this. She wasn’t really that scary and he owed her big time.
* * *
He wanted to hear what she did! For a second, it was gratifying. Then it dawned on her. He was being kind and trying to distract her while April cleaned her hands.
But she had nothing to lose. If anything, it would perfect her pitch for the next person she wanted to bring on board her business.
Hilary sniffed and cleared her throat, trying to distance herself from the pain in her hands. “I source the best ingredients for my list of top-rated restaurants from the pick of growers and producers in and around Seattle.” Hilary spoke confidently, wincing slightly when the pain got too much. Arlo squeezed her pinky when that happened and gave her a reassuring smile to keep her talking. Instead of the pain, she focused on her words and the face of the man beside her. By the time April had finished one hand and moved to the next, Hilary knew every plane of his face, the direction his moustache grew, the curl in his neatly trimmed beard and the looks of confusion that flickered through his eyes every so often.
“And you really think my oysters are good enough for your clients?” His lips twitched.
“Of course. You think I’d put myself through this if I didn’t?” How could he even doubt it?
“You could hardly have known this would happen.”
“No. But I could’ve gone away the first time like I was told. Sorry, but I’m really stubborn when I find something I want, and I don’t take rejection well.”
April cleared away her kit. “I think it would’ve been the less painful option, but I agree with you. Arlo does grow the best oysters and they’re worthy of a lot more praise than he gets.”
“April, please don’t.” The shutters came down on his eyes and Hilary felt the warmth between them start to slip away.
“Just giving you my opinion. Now, I have some pain relief here for you, Hilary, but also a word of advice. If it were me, I’d stay put for the next few days. You can’t drive with those hands, and you can’t do anything else either, just in case you were wondering. You know, those annoying daily habits we have like showering, eating, and dressing.”
“But I have to go back home.”
Arlo rolled off the bed. “I can drive her back to town or she could go with you, April. You can drop her off at Matt’s.”
April smiled and shook her head. “No can do. I wouldn’t advise anyone to sit in a car with a back like that. The road out of here is not the best, and I doubt it would make her feel any better. My suggestion is to stay here until the day after tomorrow when I want to see you at the clinic for a dressing change. I’ll think about you going back to Matt’s then.”
Hilary glanced at Arlo. He looked like a cornered animal ready to bolt.
“I can’t do that to Arlo. I’ve already annoyed him far too much as it is and look what that got me. I’ll go back to Matt’s if you don’t mind giving me a lift, April.” She pulled herself up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Hands reached for her shoulders and laid her back down on her side. Nausea rolled in her gut and she closed her eyes.
“No. It’s okay. You stay, Hilary. It was my fault you got hurt.”
She breathed through her mouth to keep her stomach contents. “But you don’t like people here. I’ve already worn out my welcome.”
He gave her a faint smile and met April’s gaze over the width of the bed. “I’m getting used to having you here, so if April says you need to stay, you can stay.”
April snapped her bag shut. “I do.” She held out a package of tablets. “Two of these three times a day, Arlo. Make sure she gets plenty of fluids and I’ll see you both in a couple of days at the clinic.” She made her way to the door. “And keep it dry, Hilary. No shower until I see you again.”
April paused at the door and gave them both a smile before leaving them alone.
Hilary closed her eyes and when she opened them, Arlo was staring at her. No points for guessing how impressed he must be. He hadn’t wanted to talk to her, and now he had to look after her. Way to make a good impression, Hilary.
“This is a little bit awkward.” And that was putting it mildly. Arlo stood on the other side of the room looking more uncomfortable by the second. “I appreciate what you’re doing for me, I really do.”
He shrugged. “Damn dog doesn’t understand how big he is some days.” As if he heard his name, Bear whined at the door. “I’d better go and feed him. You be okay for a while?”
“Sure. Maybe a glass of water for these tablets when you come back?”
Arlo scratched his beard. “Sure. Sorry, wasn’t thinking. I’ll make you some soup too. Be right back.” With that, he charged from the room.
She lay on her side and stared at the door. Nobody had mentioned the elephant in the room. This was the only bedroom in the house. Did that mean Arlo was going to be her bed buddy for the night or would he sleep on the couch?
Hilary mentally kicked herself. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier, before April left?
Because you were in too much pain to even think that far ahead, that’s why.
How was she going to broach the subject of their sleeping arrangements?
Chapter 9
Arlo took a deep breath and opened the door. Her eyes were closed, and her bandaged hands were hanging over the edge of the bed. Hilary looked so vulnerable, he had a hard time being annoyed with her for invading his space.
He tiptoed over to the bed and put down the glass of water he’d brought to help her swallow the tablets. Luckily he hadn’t opened the can of soup yet. He’d turned back to the door to make his escape when she called his name.
“Arlo. Don’t go. Please.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He pivoted around and was taken back by the sadness in her eyes. He hunched down on his heels by the edge of the bed so they were face to face. “What’s wrong, Hilary?”
“Take your pick. The pain, the embarrassment, the lengths I’ll go to in order to get what I want. I should be ashamed of myself, and now you’re stuck with me when all you wanted was to be alone.”
Arlo stroked the hair from her eyes and grabbed a tissue from the bedside table.
He dabbed at her tears and left it next to the pillow, the intimacy not lost on him. “Things happen. We can deal with it. It’s not what either of us wanted, but that’s life, Hilary.” Not even a second-chance businesswoman, no matter how good looking. “Now, how about you sit up and I’ll give you the tablets? You’ll probably feel better once you get some decent pain relief into your system.”
“Maybe.”
“Let me help you.” He put his hand under one arm and lifted her enough that he could get his other hand under her other side. “There you go.”
Once she was sitting, Arlo took two tablets out of the packet and held them out. Hilary opened her mouth and he placed them on her tongue before holding the glass to her lips.
“Okay?” he asked.
She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” Hilary glanced at the floor and up to his face before looking away again.
“What is it?”
“This is your bed.” A tinge of pink flushed her otherwise pale cheeks.
“It is.” He had a feeling he knew where this was going. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight; you don’t have to worry about
me.”
Her shoulders relaxed. He’d read her perfectly.
“Can I get you something to eat, Hilary?”
“I don’t think I could keep much down. What I really want to do is go to sleep and forget the pain.”
He had his marching orders. Great. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone but I might leave the door open so if you need me during the night, I can hear you calling. Is that okay?”
She lifted her head and met his gaze. “No, wait. I don’t want to be alone yet. Can you—I mean, would you mind, you know, lying down beside me again and talking to me?” She looked away again. “Just for a little while.”
Arlo stared at his feet, not sure what to say. It’d seemed like the thing to do when April had asked him earlier, but now it seemed a little bit weird, uncomfortable even.
“Don’t worry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Hilary tried to lie down again by twisting her body. She cried out and Arlo grabbed her shoulders, bringing her back up to sitting.
“Take it easy. Just relax, Hilary. I can stay if that’s what you want. At least until you fall asleep. Okay?”
A shuddering breath escaped her lips. “Thanks. Can you help me lie down please on my other side?”
Arlo helped her get comfortable before going to the opposite side of the bed, and lay down, joining her. He lay stiff and still, quite out of his comfort zone now that April wasn’t present.
“I don’t bite.”
He met her gaze and relaxed. “I know.”
“Talk to me, Arlo. Take my mind off my pain until these drugs kick in.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Tell me what was it like growing up on Hope Island.”
He smiled. To him, it was as natural as breathing. The freedom, the sea, and a child’s love of exploring. “Despite what happened to our mom, it was the best time. We could wander to our hearts’ content so long as we told Dad or Gigi where we were going and kept to the time limit they gave us.”
Hilary focused on his face, and it took him a few minutes to be able to ignore the intensity of her gaze. “You’re the eldest, right?”
“Yeah. Not that you’d think so. Drew and Matt are so bossy, they act like they run the lot of us. Aggie, the only girl, isn’t much better. Worst most days, actually. The twins, Linc and Forbes, are pretty cool. They leave me alone, but they’re away at college so they don’t get much of a chance to be that annoying.” He smiled. “But when push comes to shove, it doesn’t really matter how bossy my siblings are. I’m happy letting them take the lead and doing my own thing.”
The pain in her eyes had subsided. Her meds must be kicking in. “Tell me more about the exploring. Are their caves down on the beaches?”
“You want caves and pirates kind of tales?”
She grinned and nodded.
“Lots of them. I remember once, I must have been about ten, which would make Drew going on nine. We discovered a cave we hadn’t seen before, mainly because we weren’t supposed to go that far around the beach. Dad gave us a set area we could roam but I wanted to find something new.”
Hilary moved and brought her hands up to her chin, resting the sides of them against his chest. He touched her wrist and kept his fingers there before continuing with the story. “Drew started complaining; he wanted to go back in case he got into trouble with Dad. I wanted to see where the cave went, desperate to find treasure or an old skeleton. I was a pretty brave kid when I put my mind to it. Skeletons didn’t faze me like strangers did.”
* * *
The self-conscious look came back into his eyes and Hilary encouraged him to keep talking. “Don’t stop. What happened?”
His lips curved up and a small laugh escaped him. “Pretty sure you can imagine. The tide came in; Drew and Matt turned back. I called them scaredy cats and kept on going. I had my trusty torch and I wasn’t quitting. There was bound to be treasure at the end of that cave. A little bit of water wasn’t enough for me to give up.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile, and Hilary itched to follow the lines with her fingertips, but that would be invading his space. He’d given her enough already. “And?”
“Dad came to the rescue. He had to wade through waist-deep water, and by the time he found me, it was up to his chest. Boy, did I get into trouble.”
“You were very lucky he beat the tide.”
“Yeah, I was. As it turns out, I would’ve drowned. The water filled that cave to the top. There was nowhere high enough to escape it. I think my father thought he’d lost me. It was only a couple of years since Mom had passed so I think it brought it all back too. Made my punishment so much harsher than I thought it should be, but looking back, I deserved way more than I got.”
“Did your brothers hold it over you?”
“Yeah. Every chance they got.”
Hilary smiled. She could relate to that easily. “Mine were the same over the smallest thing. Being the only girl isn’t always roses, Arlo. Aggie and I might have more in common than we think.”
He tapped his fingers on her wrist. “Tell me about you growing up. What did you get up to? Do you have brothers and sisters? Where did you grow up? What do your parents do?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of info in one sentence. Let me see. My folks live just outside of Seattle, in Cashmere. Dad’s a retired engineer—not that he’s stopped working really. He does contract work still from home. Mom works a couple of days a week in a gift shop to keep her brain active, or so she claims. I think it’s because she likes to talk a lot.” Hilary giggled. “And my big brother, Elliot, lives not far from me. He’s a lawyer and has his own business. My little brother, Ryan, still lives at home with Mom and Dad. They’ve been trying to get him to move out for years, but he won’t budge. Says the peace and quiet is perfect for his creative side to let loose.”
“Artist? Gigi is a painter.” He let go of her wrist and covered his mouth as he yawned, and she felt the movement of his chest against her bandaged hands giving her a sense of connection.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. No, he’s a writer. Yet to hit the big time, but he’s doing his best. Had a couple of books published with a small press. He works nights at the local pub and spends his days hunched over his computer in the studio over Dad’s garage.”
When Arlo put his hand back on hers, she relaxed. It was easy to talk to him now that his defenses were down, and he wasn’t trying to throw her off the property. “Tell me about Aggie.”
He sighed. “She’s special, being the only girl in the family. I’m glad she’s back home. I missed her when she went to Seattle to work, even though half the time she’s just a pain in the butt. Thinks she knows everything but I guess that’s family for you.”
“I guess it is.” Hilary yawned, unable to resist the pull of tiredness and the contagious nature of Arlo’s earlier yawn. “I should let you get some sleep.”
“I said I’d wait until you fell asleep, and I will. Now, close your eyes. If you need to know anything else about my family or the island, it can wait until tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Arlo. You’ve very sweet when I’ve been such a pain to you.”
He grinned. “Go to sleep.”
Hilary closed her eyes and relaxed, thankful the pain pills were working and grateful for the man keeping her together. It wasn’t long before sleep took her away.
Chapter 10
Hilary opened her eyes and stared at the face on the pillow beside her. Last night had been filled with nightmares she put down to a combination of strong drugs and an overactive imagination with a side of pain thrown in. It didn’t help that every time she rolled over on her back where she normally slept, she cried out and panicked. And every time she woke up, Arlo was there.
She’d fallen asleep on her side and stayed that way until her bladder woke her up again at dawn. Just how she was going to roll over without disturbing him and causing herself pain was going to be the issue.
Arlo’s eyes flickered behind closed l
ids. He raised a hand and cried out in his sleep. “No, no. Don’t take her away. Wait for me.”
He rolled over onto his back and his arms flailed, one hitting Hilary on the hip. She cried out at the unexpected assault, unable to get out of the way fast enough.
Arlo opened his eyes. They were unfocused at first, in a state of panic, until he spotted Hilary. He bolted off the bed, ran his hands over his hair, and took deep breaths. “Sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t. It gave me a fright but I’m okay.” She watched him stare out the dormer window of his bedroom as he got his breathing under control. The calm Arlo from last night had vanished with the morning light. “Are you okay, Arlo? That sounded like a pretty scary dream.”
“I’m fine. It was nothing.” That was putting it mildly but he wasn’t willing to admit it.
“Okay. Listen, I need the bathroom. Do you think you could give me a hand to get up? I don’t think I can do it on my own.”
“Sure.” He came around to her side of the bed and gently put his arm around her shoulders. “How does it feel?”
“Like lava down my back. It’s as if my skin is cracking underneath every time I move.”
“Nasty.” Arlo held onto her while she stood up, her bandaged hands stuck out to balance herself. “Easy does it.”
“Okay, I’m good to go now.”
He balanced her against his arm as he opened the door and led her to the bathroom next door. “I’ll wait out here in case you have any funny spells.”
“Thanks, Arlo.” Hilary shut the door and leaned her forehead against it for a second. He was so sweet with an air of untouchable that made her want to wrap him in her arms and fix whatever it was that made him scared. She shuffled over to do her bathroom duty, and when she was finished, Hilary glanced in the mirror. There was still mud in her hair that she’d missed in the shower last night, but that wasn’t the end of the world. Her biggest problem was going to be coping for the next few days. Did she stay with Arlo, as April had suggested, and try to convince him to work with her? Should she crawl back to Seattle, with failure written all over her and the scars to prove it? Or should she go back to the B&B and hope Matt would be good enough to help her until she could catch the ferry home?
Hold Me Now: Hope Harbor Page 6