“Kate.” He gently tugged her good arm and guided her onto the couch. “Sit down and let someone take care of you for a change.”
“Seems like you’ve been taking care of me a lot lately. First the puppies, and now, this.” She sighed. “I hate feeling so needy.”
“Not even close, baby. You’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever met. Now, do you want coffee?”
She shook her head. “No, not really.”
“Hungry? I’m no chef, but I can heat up a can of soup like a boss.”
“No, thanks.” She tried to stifle a yawn and failed.
He looked uncertain. “Maybe I should leave and let you get your rest.”
“No! Please.” The truth was, she didn’t want anything but to curl up beside him and snuggle in for the next week or so and told him so.
“All right, baby. Let’s see what’s on Netflix.”
“Mmm, Netflix and chill. I’m into it.”
He was so warm, so solid, and smelled so good. She closed her eyes and felt all the bad stuff fade away. She was asleep inside of five minutes.
When she woke up several hours later with a painfully full bladder, it was dark, and she was alone. Her initial panic eased when she heard Chris quietly moving around in the kitchen.
She made a quick trip to the bathroom before seeking him out. He was ladling soup into a bowl and had placed a sleeve of salted crackers next to it.
“What are you doing?”
“Heating up some beef stew. I found some in your freezer. It’s time for your next dose of pain pills, and it advises against taking them on an empty stomach.”
She pressed herself against his back and wrapped her good arm around his waist. “You’re pretty awesome, you know that?”
He chuckled. “Glad you think so. Want to eat in here, or would it be more comfortable in there?”
“Here is fine.” She sat down at the kitchen table and lifted the spoon to her lips. “You’re right. You are a boss with soup.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I rolled my Jeep down a mountain and lived to tell the tale,” she answered wryly. The last dose of painkillers was wearing off, and she was feeling it. “I wish you didn’t have to go back tonight.”
He sat down across from her with a bowl of his own. “What if you came with me?”
She looked up, surprised. “Come with you?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking ... I can take better care of you up there, and when I’m working, you’ll have Sam and Sandy to keep you company. Not to mention, I know Duke misses you.”
She missed the dogs and definitely liked the idea of seeing them again. Hanging out with Sandy and Sam sounded nice, too. She didn’t get a lot of quality girl time these days, not since Karyn had moved to the other side of the country. The best part, without a doubt, would be staying with Chris.
She worried about overstepping though. It was a lot to ask.
Then again, he did seem intent on helping her, and it probably would be easier on him. He wouldn’t feel compelled to travel up and down the mountain, and he’d have more time to do ... whatever it was he did. She wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but perhaps she could find that out, too. There was so much about Chris she didn’t know yet, and she wanted to know everything.
He misunderstood her musings for hesitation. “If you don’t feel comfortable staying with me, you could stay in the main building. It’s not the Waldorf, but—”
“Your place is fine,” she assured him. In fact, there was no place she’d rather be. “If you’re sure it would be okay. I don’t want to be a burden.”
“It’s more than okay, and you could never be a burden.”
Her heart did a little happy dance.
She finished her soup and crackers with renewed gusto. While she dutifully took her pills, Chris made short work of washing up. Then, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs as if it were nothing. Her thoughts went to exciting places even though she knew it was only wishful thinking.
“I can walk, you know.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware of that. Do you mind?”
“No, but I don’t want you to strain yourself either.”
He laughed as if she’d said something funny. “I won’t. Which room is yours?”
“The one in the back.”
He continued on, his long, easy strides eating up the distance until they reached her room, and then he gingerly set her down on the bed. “Got a travel bag?”
“Yeah, in there.” She pointed to her closet.
It didn’t take long to pack. She was a simple girl with simple tastes. Jeans, T-shirts, flannels, sneakers. She threw in a pair of pajamas, too, but was secretly hoping to wear one of his shirts to sleep in. She’d read about that in several romance novels, and it always sounded so intimate.
“Do you want to call your parents and tell them you’re going to be away for a few days?” he asked as she zipped her bag closed.
No, she didn’t. It had been a rough day, and her parents were probably already in bed—or at least dozing in front of the television. Besides, she was pretty sure they were still upset. No one had called or stopped by to see if she’d gotten home okay. They had plenty on their minds, and they were used to her taking care of herself, but it still hurt a little.
“It’s getting late. I’ll text them tomorrow.”
Chris raised a brow but said nothing. “Okay, baby. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Kate
Kate made sure everything was off and/or unplugged before they left. Old houses meant outdated, pre-pre-pre-code wiring. It didn’t happen often, but a year didn’t go by when some old place went up in flames due to faulty electrical stuff. So, when she knew she was going to be away for a few days, she tried to minimize the risk as much as possible.
Chris helped her into the SUV, and off they went. It felt like a big step but one she wanted to take. She was far more excited than anxious, probably because it felt so right.
The two-lane road leading up the mountain was passable, especially for powerful SUVs or four-wheel drive vehicles. Snow was piled along the shoulders on both sides, though less on the right than the left, where the county snow plows had pushed as much as they could over the sides. The road, already narrow to begin with, required extra caution when they encountered someone driving in the opposite direction.
As they neared the area where she’d gone over the side, a shiver went through her. Of course, Chris noticed.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. This is where it happened.”
Her cast prohibited hand-holding, but he reached over and gave her thigh a gentle squeeze.
“What do you think the chances are of recovering my Jeep?” she asked.
“Pretty good, I’d say.”
She hoped so. She loved her Jeep. If she had to have a broken arm, she was glad it was her left and not her right, or she wouldn’t be able to drive stick shift. She hated driving automatics almost as much as she hated the idea of depending on someone else for a ride.
Shit! Until her Jeep was recovered—and assuming it was still drivable when it was—she was vehicle-less. How would she make her deliveries? Or go to the store? Or do anything?
Double shit! She needed to call Martha first thing in the morning and tell her she was out of commission again for a few days, though it was probably unnecessary. News traveled fast, so chances were, they’d already heard.
They dropped her stuff off at Chris’s trailer first. Kate looked at his bed, images of the last time she’d been there rushing into her mind and heating her body. As excited as she was by the prospect, she didn’t think she was up to that just yet. Snuggling against him under the covers, however? That was one hundred percent doable.
Chris suggested she rest while he checked in at the main building, but Kate was having none of that. It had been too long since she saw her fur babies, and she needed a dose of their unconditional affection. She also w
anted the chance to thank the guys for everything they’d done. She shuddered to think what might have happened had they not.
Kate assumed they’d walk, but Chris insisted on driving, for which she was secretly glad.
Mama Dog was very happy to see her. And the puppies! Their eyes were fully open, their claws like little, sharp needle daggers, and they were more active than they had been the last time she saw them.
Also new: they had their own special area now—a side room that had been transformed into a canine palace! There were separate sleeping areas, play areas, feeding areas.
“You did all this?” she guessed.
“I designed it,” Chris said modestly, “but everyone had a hand in building it.”
“Wow. That’s so ...” Amazing, wonderful, thoughtful, kind ... there were any number of words she could put at the end of that statement, and none of them seemed enough. She listed them all anyway.
Chris shrugged, as if it were no big deal. “They were glad to help. Plus, it gave them something to do. Speaking of, will you be okay here for a few minutes if I go check in with Church?”
“Absolutely. Go.” She made a shooing motion with her right hand. “I’ll be right here.”
He kissed her tenderly. “I won’t be long. I’ll let Sam know you’re here.”
Kate eased down onto the floor, and within minutes, she became a human jungle gym as the little guys and girls crawled up and over her legs in an effort to get closer to her. Her spirits, already lifted by Chris’s offer to stay with him, shot up into the stratosphere. Only one thing was missing.
“Where’s your daddy?” she asked a wiggling pup, rubbing her nose against his whisper-soft fur.
“Smoke took him out for a walk,” said a guy she didn’t recognize. Hovering in the doorway with a stainless steel bowl in each hand, he was lean and wiry with reddish hair and a boyish face, but he had the haunted eyes of a man who had seen far too much. “I’m ... Justin.”
“Nice to meet you, Justin. I’m Kate.”
He put the fresh bowls of water down in the feeding area. “These are your dogs?”
“Well, Duke is, kind of. He just showed up one day and decided to stick around. I didn’t know about his secret, torrid love affair with Mama Dog until recently.”
She thought she’d caught the ghost of a smile on his lips, but it was gone before she could be certain.
“Are you going to keep them?” he asked.
“I’d like to, but I don’t know if that’s feasible.”
He nodded, his eyes roaming over the dogs as if taking a silent inventory, and then left as quietly as he had come. Kate had the feeling he would have stuck around longer had she not been there.
“Kate!” Sam entered, smiling from ear to ear. “Is it true? You’re going to be staying with Mad Dog for a few days?”
Kate returned her genuine smile with one of her own. “It is.”
“Awesome. We can definitely use some more female energy around here.” Sam got down on the floor with her and eyed her cast and sling. “Sucks about the circumstances though. I heard you got knocked around pretty good. How are you feeling?”
“Not bad, considering. Sore mostly.”
“I guess that’s to be expected. You were very lucky.”
“Don’t I know it? If it wasn’t for these guys, who knows how long I would have been stuck out there?”
It was a sobering thought and one that had been lingering in the back of her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder how long it would have taken for someone to come looking.
A dark shadow crossed over Sam’s features, and Kate wondered if she was thinking about the trouble she’d had a year or two earlier. Some psycho had been stalking her or something, and there were a series of fires in which Sam had actually been a suspect, but it’d turned out it was her emotionally disturbed stalker who’d been setting the blazes. Kate didn’t know the specifics, but the general consensus among the Ladies Auxiliary was that there was a lot more to the story than the official version Lenny Petraski liked to tell.
Maybe, someday, Sam would feel comfortable enough to share that with her, but until then, Kate would respect her privacy.
“Everything happens for a reason, Kate.”
“You sound like my grandmother.”
“I’ll take it. Your grandmother was a sharp woman.”
“So ... not to overstep my bounds or anything, but is there any chance I could help you out in the kitchen while I’m here?”
Sam’s eyes lit up. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“No. I’ll need something to keep me busy while Chris is off doing, uh”—she frowned slightly—“whatever it is he does.”
Sam laughed. “Don’t take it personally. Being closemouthed about what they do is part of their DNA, I think. You get used to it.”
“Duly noted.” At least it wasn’t just her.
“But I can tell you, these guys put an awful lot of time into planning and renovating, and Mad Dog is right in the thick of it. I’ve seen some of the concept sketches he’s done. He’s incredibly gifted. By the time this place is complete, it’s really going to be something.”
Her chest swelled with pride on Chris’s behalf, and she made a mental note to ask to see some of those plans. “It’s already something, and if the kitchen and dining room are any indication, I can’t wait to see what else is in store.”
“They’re concentrating on inside stuff now because of the weather.”
“Chris showed me around the grounds when we went snowmobiling. It was breathtaking.”
“Incredible, isn’t it? Wait until you see it in the summer. And the fall? Absolute perfection.”
Kate hoped she’d still be welcome in a few months. She had to caution herself against expecting too much, too soon.
“Chris was talking to my father about ordering supplies for a greenhouse.”
“Yes! There’s a long-range plan for several actually,” Sam said. “But Mad Dog suggested we do a prototype first to work out the kinks before committing to anything on a large scale.”
“Sounds awesome, but why? There’s certainly no shortage of farms and markets in the area that provide fresh produce.”
Sam hesitated and bit her bottom lip. “True, but not all of them are willing to contract with Sanctuary.”
Kate knew exactly what she was referring to, but she didn’t understand the why of it and told Sam so. “It just doesn’t make sense to me. These guys are doing something amazing. Why wouldn’t the locals support it?”
“You can probably answer that better than I can.”
Sam’s response confused her.
“Why do you say that? You’re as much a local as I am. Sandy, too.”
Sam gave a little smile. “We might be from the same town, but you’re plugged into the community far more than we were.”
Kate shook her head. “Not true. Everyone in town came to Santori’s because of you, Sam. And Franco’s hasn’t been the same without Sandy. Don’t even get me started on the township office! Mona’s got everything so messed up, no one can get anything done.”
“Who can’t do what?” Smoke asked from the doorway.
Duke pushed past him and made a beeline for Kate, his back-end wiggling so hard that he almost fell over.
“Well, it looks like someone’s glad to see you,” Sam commented, her smile bright once again.
“I’m glad to see you, too, buddy,” Kate assured Duke, scratching behind his ears. “I don’t know though ... he’s not going to want to come back to my place after living here.”
I might feel the same way after a few days.
“It’s been awesome, having them around,” Sam said. “When I’m feeling stressed, I just come in here and pet the dogs for a few minutes and feel instantly better. I’m not the only one who feels that way either. It’s therapeutic.”
Kate certainly thought so. Hearing Sam say that made her feel slightly less guilty about leaving them here.
Chris ret
urned, smiling when he saw her on the floor with the dogs. “Having fun?”
“Yes. Join me?”
He lowered his body with an easy, masculine grace and picked up a puppy. She loved that those big hands could be so gentle.
“Did you talk to Matt?”
He nodded. “Yes. We can head back whenever you’re ready.”
“Maybe I’ll just sleep here,” she teased, rubbing noses with another pup.
“Not tonight, baby.”
He put his tiny charge back in the puppy playpen area and then did the same with the others, one by one. Kate pursed her lips into a mock pout, which made him laugh.
“You’re here to rest and recover, remember?”
She sighed and let him help her to her feet. “Yes, I remember.” She was tired, and the aches and pains from just that slight movement reminded her that she was due for another dose of painkillers.
“See you tomorrow?” Sam asked, now tucked against Smoke and smiling at the two of them.
“Yes! I’m looking forward to it.”
Kate was yawning nonstop by the time they got back to Chris’s trailer. After she took her meds and brushed her teeth, Chris helped her undress. His touch was light and non-sexual, though she caught the heat that flashed in his eyes, and it thrilled her. She liked knowing she wasn’t the only one wishing she were feeling better.
“Did you bring those sexy flannel pajamas?” he teased.
“As a matter of fact, I did. But I was kind of hoping you’d let me sleep in one of your shirts.”
Approval shone in his eyes. “You got it.”
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a long-sleeved shirt. His arms were so much larger than hers; she had no problem fitting the sleeve over her cast. The soft, comfy cotton slid over her skin, smelling like laundry detergent and man.
He lifted the covers, and she scooted into bed. Much to her chagrin, he didn’t immediately follow.
“Aren’t you coming?”
He hesitated. “Are you sure? I could sleep on the couch.”
She patted the bed beside her. “I’m sure.”
He extracted something from another drawer and then disappeared into the bathroom. Kate swallowed her disappointment at having been denied the opportunity to watch him undress, though it probably was for the best. When he emerged a short while after, he was wearing loose pajama bottoms and smelled of minty toothpaste.
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