A man in a white lab coat spoke softly to Tina before handing her a clipboard and pen.
A moment later, she lowered herself into the chair at West’s side. “I’m really angry.” She scribbled her contact information onto the paper, a look of frustration on her brow. “I want to just go crazy, blow up and fight, but there’s no one to fight. None of this makes sense. It’s not real.”
“You can fight with me, if it helps.” He tapped the toe of his boot against her sneaker.
Her cheek kicked up. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“You sure?” He shifted in his seat and grimaced. His ribs were more sore than he’d thought, and sitting still was only making it worse. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“You look like crap.” She rolled her eyes and deposited the clipboard on the floor with Ducky. “Let me see your ribs.” She reached for the hem of his shirt.
“Hey, now.” He pressed the fabric back over his tender flesh.
Tina scoffed. “Baby. Move your hands.”
“Excuse me?” He frowned. “I was hit by a truck.”
“If that truck had connected with you, you never would’ve gotten up.” She pushed his hands away and dragged the shirt up for a better view of his torso.
West stopped fighting when she made a little sound. The expression on her face was perfection. “See something you like, doc?”
She blinked, then dropped the shirt as if it had burned her. “Just bruising. A hot shower, aspirin and ice will help.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded and gathered the clipboard back into her hands.
“You can look again if you want.”
She shook her head and went back to writing on her paper. “Shut up.” Her cheeks darkened under his stare, reminding him of other times he’d coaxed a rush of color into her skin. She slid her eyes his way, then put them back on the task before her.
There was something she wanted to say, but she was fighting it. He could see it in her eyes when she’d moved her gaze in his direction. The look was there when he’d returned her to her car earlier, and it was there again now.
He hoped she’d change her mind this time. He couldn’t take being shut out again, and he didn’t want to let her go. West returned his attention to the world beyond the clinic window, but damn it if his heart wasn’t seated in the chair right beside him.
Chapter Eight
Tina watched with rapt curiosity as the cruiser wound along desolate country roads. She’d never given much thought to where West hung his hat, but now that they were on their way to his place, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Clearly, he hadn’t chosen a traditional neighborhood. Those were all behind them now, tucked closely together near the center of town. She imagined if he had his choice, he’d live on a small farm or in a cabin. West was an outdoorsman through and through. It was his love of nature that had drawn her to him, and his love for people that held her there to the very end. Amazing how she appreciated those qualities all the more as a grown woman.
The cruiser slowed near a bend in the road, and West turned onto a narrow drive nestled between ancient oaks and evergreens. The forest rose into the sky on either side, tangling their limbs in leafy patches overhead. “Here it is.”
“Talk about secluded,” Tina marveled. “Don’t you get lonely?”
He smiled through the windshield. “Not with all this.”
They rocked down the gently pitted drive in silence, listening to songbirds and crunching gravel before a handsome log cabin came into view. A wide expanse of lawn extended in every direction, seemingly cut from the hills just for him. No, West wouldn’t be lonely here, surrounded by nature and just minutes from all the friends and family a person could want.
West gathered her bags and swung Tina’s door open. “You’re smiling.”
“This is beautiful.”
“Thanks. I bought the land when I came home from the service. Dad, Cole and I restored the house. It was pretty well run-down, dilapidated, collapsed roof, but it was part of Shadow Point’s story, so we gutted it and started over inside. It needed just about everything replaced, but the bones were solid, and I like living in a piece of our town’s history.” He led the way toward his home, saddled with her things. “This used to be the office of an old mining company. I found some pictures at the library and framed them for the mantel. The house is small, but it’s been plenty big enough for me.”
The sun had set while they’d waited for Ducky to be seen and treated. A while longer still for paperwork when she’d decided he was safer being boarded with her trusted veterinarian than going home with her and West.
Tina followed him along a flagstone path to the porch, admiring his landscaping and the tire swing suspended from a massive oak in the front yard. It was like having a deeper look inside the man West had become. “That swing is just like the one at your folks’ house.”
“Yeah. Didn’t seem like home without one, though I’m not sure anyone’s ever used it. I don’t get much company and Cole stopped swinging years ago.” He flashed her a mischievous smile.
“Good to know.” She gave the tree another long look before moving on. She hoped that one day Lily would swing on a tire like that, happy and carefree, oblivious that childhoods like Tina’s existed.
West shoved the cabin door open and flipped on the lights. A cozy living space sprung into existence before her eyes. “Wow.”
“Thanks.” West locked the door. “We put the loft and stairs in. It’ll be my office once I get the electrician out here to wire it, but it could also be a guest room with a little work. I’m going to put your things in my bedroom. I’ll take the couch, and you can do whatever you’d like. I don’t plan on sleeping, but you should try.”
Tina followed him down a wide hall to a pair of doors facing off with one another.
He pointed to the left. “That’s the bathroom, and this—” he turned to the right “—is the bedroom.” He hit the light switch, then delivered her bags to the bed.
Tina wandered inside, admiring the comfortable-looking bed and trying hard not to let her mind wander to where Lily was sleeping tonight. Allowing her thoughts to wander was the worst sort of torture, and she needed to hold it together a little while longer.
She had solid plans to cry herself to sleep at the first opportunity. “This is beautiful.”
“I made it from trees on the property. We had to take them down to make room for my pole barn.” Thick, polished limbs and logs were twined together to form the headboard and bedposts. The mattress was nearly waist high and covered with a pale gray duvet.
West watched her curiously as she took it all in.
She’d felt the way he looked not long ago, when West had gone through her home, room by room. She’d been irrationally anxious, wondering what he thought of her life, and if he knew how important it was to her that he approved. She couldn’t be sure about the second part, but West was undoubtedly feeling as exposed as she had while he’d plucked through her personal space.
She circled the room, taking in the details. Everything smelled like aftershave, leather and spice. A row of belts hung from the open closet door, and a line of boots stood against it. Stacks of blue jeans and T-shirts climbed the closet interior, supported by a framework of wooden shelves. He’d probably made those, too.
A photo of several men in fatigues sat on his dresser. Most of the group members were shirtless. All were tattooed. West included. Dark lines of india ink wrapped their arms, chests and sides. She turned curious eyes on him.
“Army buddies,” he said.
“You got a tattoo?”
“Couple.” West cleared his throat and leaned against the doorjamb. “It was nice of the vet to keep Ducky, but I didn’t mind bringing him here.”
A change of subject? West didn’t want to talk about the tattoos. Why? She bit h
er lip against the nosy question, and went with his new subject instead. “Dr. Flanders’s wife is a friend of mine. I know he’ll take good care of Ducky while I’m away, and I have no idea what comes next for me, so I think he’s better off there than here. I’m just glad he only needed a bandage.” Ducky was lucky that leap from a moving vehicle hadn’t done worse than some muscle strain. “Speaking of injuries.” She walked back to West. “You need to clean your scrapes and cuts, and put a butterfly bandage on your chin or you could wind up with a scar. You’ll also want to put some ice on your worst bruises, or they’ll hurt like hell in the morning.”
West shook his head, clearly amused by her list of orders. “Yes, ma’am.”
His slow Southern drawl sent her back to high school, when those words had been his standard response for personal requests, like a toe-curling kiss or a rendezvous under the bleachers after class. Heat bled across her cheeks.
West grabbed a small stack of clothes from his closet, then turned for the door. “Give me ten minutes to shower, then I’ll make coffee and we can get started on the killer’s profile. I don’t need ice or bandages.” He glanced at the bed. “If you’ll try to rest, I’ll try to hurry.”
Tina watched as he dropped his things on the bathroom counter across the hall and stared into the mirror. He unbuttoned his uniform shirt and let it fall onto the floor before grabbing the hem of his white undershirt and stripping it off over his head. Thick, taut muscles worked across his back and chest as he removed the material and tossed it aside, leaving a clear view of his sharp, lean torso. West had always been fit, but now...wow. Expertly detailed tattoos lined his ribs, arm and shoulder. The words were dressed as badges, painted on military choppers and replica dog tags. Words like Ranger. Airborne. And All Gave Some. Some Gave All.
She pressed a palm to her stomach, no longer lean from youth and hunger, in an attempt to stop the butterflies. Her body had changed as much as West’s, though not in the same ways. He was broader and thick from military training and an outdoorsman’s life. She was softer, curvier from the effects of maternity and a regularly filled stomach. Sure, her hips were wider and her bottom more round, but she’d never felt as beautiful. She couldn’t help wondering if West had noticed the physical changes in her, too. If he had, what did he think?
West turned to look across the hall at her, as if he’d somehow heard her unspoken question. He unbuckled his belt and slid it from the loops. His hands lingered at his waist, and his soulful blue eyes fixed hungrily on her.
Tina’s heart hammered and her chin dropped. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.” She was caught staring. Caught watching the man undress. “I didn’t... I wasn’t...” She waved her hands helplessly between them. She wasn’t what? Imagining what his new body would feel like pressing down on hers? “Oh, Lord.” She marched to the open bedroom door and swung it shut before she died of humiliation.
* * *
WEST CHUCKLED SOFTLY and rubbed a heavy palm over his cropped hair. He’d been caught in the midst of a fantastically filthy fantasy. Worse, he’d been caught by the woman who was starring in it. If Tina’s expression was any indication, the images he’d unintentionally conjured were painted on his face. He’d been enjoying the imagined reflection of her bare backside in the bathroom mirror while she sat on the counter, legs wrapped tightly around his waist.
And damn.
He’d looked across the hall to find her staring back. Her face was six shades of red, and he couldn’t muster a single explanation. Though, she’d panicked enough for the both of them.
He rushed through his shower and re-dressed in his favorite blue jeans and old army T-shirt, hoping she wouldn’t ask what he’d had on his mind when their eyes had met. He wasn’t a fan of lying, and she probably wouldn’t like the truth. Luckily, the steaming hot water had cleared his mind and helped him refocus.
West wrenched the bathroom door open and padded into the kitchen on bare feet. Scents of black coffee and scrambled eggs rose to meet him.
Tina sat cross-legged on a stool at his island, sipping from an old mug. “Sorry. I realized I was starving, and figured you were, too.” She cringed. “I should’ve asked before I made myself at home in your kitchen.”
West ignored the warmth blooming in his chest. The view before him was one he’d always wanted, but it wasn’t real. They weren’t sharing a meal, coffee and conversation because they wanted to. They were here because she was in danger, and it was up to West to protect her. Nothing more.
He poured some coffee and shoveled eggs onto a plate. “You don’t have to ask. You’re a guest. What’s mine is yours.” He opened his laptop on the counter and printed the new findings from Tina’s case and the shooting. “I’ve got enough work here to keep me busy. The shower’s free and so’s the bed. Help yourself to whatever you need. I’ll be here in my temporary office for a while.”
Tina set her cup aside and dusted her palms together. “Okay. First, do you mind if I take a look at those bruises?”
West concentrated on his email. “I’m fine.” He could probably use some ice or aspirin like she’d suggested earlier, but he definitely didn’t need her hands roaming over his skin. He was only human.
She slid off the stool and approached him behind the counter, where his printer expelled page after page of documentation.
He gathered the papers from the printer and tapped them against the counter, creating a tight stack. “Look at all this.” He dragged his phone from his pocket and swiped the screen to life. “Three new texts and a voicemail. How long was I in the shower?” Couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. He’d made sure of it. West scrolled through the texts, hoping for some good news, then dialed into his voicemail and put it on speaker.
“West.” Cole’s voice rang into the air. “We got our hands on the other patient. Tucker. He was on a bender, out camping in the national park. I’m hauling him in for questioning, but he’s a mess. By the look and smell of him, he hasn’t been in any condition to shoot or drive for a couple days. No word on the truck or baby yet, and no indication an infant or anyone else was with Tucker out here. I’ll keep you posted.” The message ended and West pocketed the phone.
Tina frowned. “So, it wasn’t Tucker. That’s good, but I wish he wasn’t using again. I wish I could talk to him. Find out what’s going on.”
“You’ve got enough to worry about. Let Tucker worry about himself right now.” West rubbed his cheek, lost in thought. “Hopefully Chris the pharmacist turns up with an alibi tomorrow. Blake tried to reach him at home and work, but Chris wasn’t at either place.”
Tina studied the floor. “I didn’t consider Chris a serious person of interest until someone took Lily. Now I keep thinking how adamant he was that I join him for dinner or coffee while I was pregnant. He’s left me alone since then, more or less, but that’s strange, right?”
“Maybe.” West couldn’t help but understand any man’s desire to know Tina better, pregnant or not. What he thought was strange was the encounter he’d had with her other patient, Carl. That guy might not have been a killer, but he was weird, and something told West that Tina should stay away from him. Though, he doubted she’d take that advice since she was on a quest to save the world.
The heel of his hand caught on his aching chin and he sucked air.
“West.” Tina crammed into his personal space, pressing herself between him and the row of cabinets at her back. “Let me see that cut.” One small hand landed on the stubble of his cheek. Her thumb fanned over the swollen section of his jaw and lingered near the cut on his chin. “It’s bleeding again. You need a bandage. Do you have one?”
He wiped a napkin against his chin, capturing a tiny drop of blood. “This ain’t bleeding. This is nothing.”
“It isn’t nothing,” she argued. Her gaze slid from his chin to his lips and lingered. “You need to treat that cut.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The words were out before he’d intended. He’d used the old line on her earlier to see if it ruffled her feathers, but this time the context was right and so was the mood. The words had come on instinct.
Tina’s face drifted closer to his and her free hand curled against his collarbone. The world stilled as the fragrance of her engulfed him. Scents of vanilla drew him nearer, and he pulled his head down to hers. Tina’s eyelids dipped closed and her breath washed over his lips. He clamped greedy hands over the curves of her full, sexy hips and groaned at the warmth of her breasts pressed firmly against him.
“Tina,” he started, his voice sounding far too husky. He rested his cheek against hers and shored up his restraint. “You’ve had one hell of a day. I don’t want to play a part in making it any worse once you’re thinking clearly.”
“Hey,” she whispered, tipping her mouth to his. “Shut up and kiss me.”
How could West resist an order like that?
Chapter Nine
West pressed his mouth to hers, savoring the moment. He ached to deepen the kiss, but refused to complicate their already complicated reunion any further. He ran his palms down the length of her arms and twined their fingers together on both hands before breaking the chaste kiss.
Uncertainty pinked Tina’s cheeks as she opened her eyes. “Oh.” She tried to step away, but West held her fast. “It’s okay if you don’t want me that way anymore,” she said. Her voice was strong and even.
He liked that a lot, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. “Tell you what.” West formed his most challenging smile and released her hands in favor of skimming his palms over the deep curves of her waist and gripping her sexy hips once more. He pulled them tightly against him and held her there.
Tina gasped. Her lids fluttered and the sound from her lips was nearly enough to undo him.
“I’m going to be a perfect gentleman until this is over,” West vowed, “but if you’re still interested after that, I’ll make sure you know exactly how I want you.”
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