“I’ll get them.”
She hurried ahead of him to point out the boxes, not that he could miss them. When he hefted one easily into his arms, she would have said it was full of pillows instead of heavy volumes. Thick muscles bunched under his shirt, and his sleeves pulled tight around his flexing biceps.
He brushed past her on the way to the front door, leaving her to gape at his back muscles flexing beneath flannel.
She stared for a long moment before shaking herself back to reality. Her shop had been broken into. Someone might be scoping out her house too. She shouldn’t be noticing Gabe’s muscles. But damn if her brain cared.
Tearing her gaze away, she walked to her bedroom to grab a few belongings. By the time she had a bag packed with a few outfits and her basic toiletries, Gabe had finished loading the boxes in the truck and waited for her in the living room.
When he turned from the bookshelves he was inspecting, he glanced at the bag in her hand. “Ready?”
She nodded, and they locked the house on the way out. The drive back felt shorter, maybe because she wasn’t fixated on the app, waiting to see a blur materialize on her porch again. Maybe because knowing her home was secure, and her antique books safe in the bed of the truck, made her chest hurt less.
Maybe because the man behind the wheel radiated strength that made her less afraid of every shadow, even her own.
At the ranch, he walked her to the front door. Honor met them, concern shining in her eyes, her hair up in a messy knot. She looked from Felicity to the tall man standing behind her. “You can sleep in the library.”
“The library?”
Honor’s mouth curved. “Best room in the house. The couch is comfortable and I know you’ll feel right at home there.”
For the first time in hours, she found a reason to smile.
Gabe had already started toward the truck. “I’ll bring the boxes in,” he called over his shoulder.
Her heart gave that same little flutter she’d experienced when he showed concern for her sleeping alone in the house.
“I can do it,” she called to his back, but he just kept walking.
Honor buzzed around like an endearing sister bee, making up the couch with sheets and cozy blankets, switching on a lamp beside the sofa that cast a warm glow over the space.
Felicity looked around. “Sleeping in a library is a childhood dream of mine.”
Honor laughed then came to hug her. “No rolling ladders, but I think you’ll be comfy.”
Felicity squeezed her an extra-long beat, so grateful to have her.
Honor examined her face. “Are you okay, sis? This is a lot. I’m worried about you.”
Felicity pulled in a deep breath. “Everyone is making it much easier.”
“I should have come with you to the shop.”
She shook her head before Honor got all the words out. “The vets count on you to keep their routines. Besides, Gabe and I just cleaned up a little.”
At that moment, Gabe returned, muscles bulging under the weight of one of the boxes. He glanced around for a place to set it down, then carried it to the far wall and placed it in front of an old-fashioned record cabinet with a turntable on top and an extensive album collection on the shelf beneath.
When he straightened, his stare landed on hers—like he was checking on her without asking a question. After only a heartbeat, he turned and walked back out to retrieve the other boxes.
Honor fussed over her, bringing her a mug of hot chocolate and showing her where the bathroom was. She even offered one of her fluffiest robes to Felicity.
“Thank you. You’re the best sister.”
Honor embraced her again. “Anything for you. You should try to rest. If you need me, you know where my room is.”
“I’ll be fine. Besides, if I get restless, I can always go through these boxes. I still haven’t opened them and they were shipped to the shop months ago.” She glanced up as Gabe returned with the third box. He set it on the floor next to the others and turned to her with a quirk of his lips.
“That should do it. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you. I’ll help you go through the boxes.”
