He was right. Maude had given her a plastic bag, but she didn’t want to chance losing all that good food, and since she had to hold Snowy’s leash, she only had one hand free.
For a fact, she still had no idea what happened during her seizures. She knew she froze and stopped responding, but she didn’t know if she’d drop things. It hadn’t happened yet, but it wasn’t long enough to be sure.
“Thanks,” she said, feeling inordinately pleased to have a little more time with him. Man, she had to take care. It was just a desire for a human connection, nothing more. What made her think anyone would want anything else from her, anyway? She was broken, and while her seizures might not be horrendous and scary for others, she still couldn’t drive, and that seemed like a serious limitation, absent all the other baggage she carried.
There was plenty of other baggage. Fears she hadn’t had before, some emotional trauma and constant uncertainty about herself. She hoped the next months would begin to wash some of that away. Teaching exposed her to a lot of younger people and other faculty members whether she wanted it or not. That had to help her confidence grow.
The drive to the apartment was short. The building was situated on the edge of town, as was the college, an area not within the city limits and patrolled by the sheriff’s department.
The few other residents were at the far end of the building, or in the facing apartment structure. She was on the very end of a nearly empty building. Short of moving out to a ranch, she couldn’t have been more isolated. She was okay with that, just as she was okay with being on the second floor. Snowy would warn her in time for her to sit on a stair if it became necessary, and the isolation...well, she had never been afraid of living alone. She could take care of herself.
Mostly.
She invited Stu in because it seemed the courteous thing to do, although she felt awkward about it since they’d only just met.
Once the door was closed, she let Snowy off his leash and removed his vest. He spent a minute dashing around, checking everything out. Stu set the bag of her leftovers on her kitchen counter, easy enough to find since the bar overlooked the living area.
“Why’d you pick an apartment so far away from other tenants?”
She smiled. “Simple answer to that. I got an extra window in my kitchen. I like the light.”
He chuckled. “You may regret that during the depths of winter. Even with the double-paned glass you’ll get a draft.”
She began pulling containers out of the plastic bag. “Coming from Florida, I’m actually looking forward to what real cold is like. I may regret that.”
His eyes almost seemed to twinkle. “It’s going to be a change for you. I’ll be interested to hear what you think.” Then he headed for the door. “You must want your evening to yourself, and I need to get home and clean the kitchen. I overslept just long enough I had to leave the breakfast dishes. I’ll call as soon as I know when I can come to your class, okay?”
“That would be great.” Her smile was warm. “Thanks, Stu.”
“My pleasure.”
She stood in her small kitchen as the door closed behind him and wished he had stayed for a bit. He was comfortable company. Well, maybe they’d meet again sometime out of class.
Then she continued putting food away. All of a sudden she paused and looked around.
“Damn,” she said aloud. “Why did he bring it up?”
Because for the first time since moving into this unit, she felt her isolation in the building.
Snowy commented with a quiet chuff and as she looked at him she tried to laugh at herself. She was probably far safer here than she’d been at her home in Florida. And now she had a dog, as well.
Isolation? She tried to will the uncomfortable awareness away but failed.
Uneasiness clung to her like cold, wet leaves.
Copyright © 2021 by Susan Civil-Brown
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ISBN-13: 9781488071362
Colton’s Killer Pursuit
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Tara Taylor Quinn for her contribution to The Coltons of Grave Gulch miniseries.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Colton's Killer Pursuit Page 24