Nora woke to the smell of ham frying in a skillet, and for a few moments before she opened her eyes, could have almost convinced herself that she was home, and her mom was making supper. But when she rolled over on her bandaged hand, the pain was all it took to remind her of where she was, and what had happened.
She’d often dreamed of what a reunion with Ash would be like. Sometimes she dreamed she’d be in an airport, and she’d see him walking toward her up the concourse. Other times she imagined she would be coming out of a store somewhere and run into him, like in the movies. There would be this moment of shock between them, and then immediate vows of undying love. But she’d never imagined they’d come together again because her whole family was dead, and someone had tried to murder his father. And yet here they were. She was in his bed with stitches, and a very awkward bandage on her hand.
She groaned as she got up, made a quick trip to the bathroom, ran a hairbrush through the tangles in her hair, and dug a pair of sweatpants out of her overnight bag. It took a few minutes to get them on, and then she left the room.
She could hear Asher and Gunner talking as she came up the hall. The cadence of their speech was alike, but Ash’s voice was deeper. It was the only way she could tell who was talking, and the sound of his voice made her shiverin the very best way. But the second she walked into the kitchen, Ash dropped the spoon in his hand and rushed toward her.
“Sweetheart… You’re awake. Did you rest… Are you hurting? You can have another pain pill if you are. We cooked.”
She stopped. “I know. Yes, I did. Yes, I am. I believe I do. It smells good.”
He grinned. “You sorted through all that as quickly as you used to find the mistakes in my math homework. Come sit. Supper is almost ready.”
Gunner was shuffling papers aside and moving laptops to make room for her and the food. “You slept a long time, and I was getting hungry enough to consider checking you for a pulse,” he said.
Nora laughed. “You didn’t have to wait. I would be happy with leftovers.”
“That’s just it,” Asher said. “The Kingstons don’t leave leftovers. I’ll make your plate if you’ll allow me, and cut up the ham for you, too. The rest of it is easy to manage.”
“Feel free,” Nora said.
“We’re having baked potatoes. I made them,” Gunner said.
“Yes, you did, little brother. You turned on the oven and rolled them in foil, then forgot to set the timer. I saved them from incineration, and we are all grateful for your assistance.”
Gunner shrugged. “Oh. Well. I’m better at my job, I assure you. Butterandsour cream, Nora?”
“Yes, please, and salt and pepper,” she added, then watched them working together and knew this was how they’d grown up. Without a mother, they’d learned to do everything together.
When they finally sat down to eat, the first bites of fooddelayed the need for conversation, but when Nora realized Dylan was gone, she spoke up.
“Did Dylan go back to Amarillo?”
Ash nodded. “Yes, right after we got the door fixed.”
“What were you doing when you cut your hand?” Gunner asked.
“Re-caulking a loose windowpane on the back of the house. I’m getting it ready to sell. I can’t live here and do my job, and I don’t want to be a long-distance landlord.”
“Where do you live in Fort Worth?” Ash asked. “I mean…house or apartment?”
“A very tall apartment building I call my ivory tower. Since I work mostly from home, I don’t get out much,” she said.
“Ash has a really cool house,” Gunner said. “Lots of room. Multiple bedrooms and stuff.”
Nora refused to respond, because she and Asher had already discussed all that.
Ash glanced at her and winked. “She already knows I live in a house now. I did the apartment thing when I was younger, but soon figured out I need privacy and space. Product of all this wide-open space we grew up in, I suppose.”
“And I, a single woman on my own, chose the high-rise for the safety features,” Nora said. “A doorman. Twenty-four-hour building security. Covered parking garage. Taser. Pepper spray, and I live on the fourteenth floor and have three locks on my door and there are security cameras in the halls on every floor. That leaves two points of escape for any perp. Elevators, which are traditionally slow, or fourteen flights of stairs. It’s a serious deterrent.”
Ash paled, and Gunner’s shock was evident.
“All of those are prerequisites for renting an apartment? Are you serious?” Asher asked.
Nora shrugged. “No, but it’s the optimal choices. All women live with the knowledge that anywhere, at any moment, they can become a victim of a mugging, a rape, or a murder. And, lord love a duck, don’t forget the stalkers. I’m just fortunate enough to afford the extra perks. Most women aren’t. They become the victims you two deal with. I don’t want to become a statistic.”
“I may never let you out of my sight again,” Ash muttered.
