“Unfortunately, the second they hear my address or last name, they don’t want anything to do with me.”
Assholes.
“Come on, I’ll walk you in.” The words came out harsher than he’d intended, but fuck, he was mad.
He circled the car to her side and touched a hand to her back as they jogged through the rain. The wooden stairs of the porch creaked beneath his feet.
Tilly unlocked her door and turned. “Thank you for driving me home.”
“I’m not done here, Matilda. I want to see the boarded-over windows.”
“It’s Tilly. And you don’t need—”
“I do.”
For a moment, she looked like she was going to argue, but she must have realized that he wasn’t going anywhere, because she sighed and stepped inside. “Okay.”
He followed her into the living room, noticing that she turned on the hall light, then the kitchen, avoiding the living room overhead fixture. “Something wrong with the living room light?” His gaze shifted to the bucket on her coffee table.
“There’s a leak, and until it’s fixed, I don’t feel comfortable using it,” she said quietly. “I tried to get a better look but had a little…accident.”
An accident? “The fall and the injured shoulder…”
It wasn’t a question, but if it was, he’d have his answer just by the expression on her face.
Dammit, that had been a week ago.
He moved over to the window, his gut twisting at seeing the flimsy wood that had been nailed over the frame and was barely hanging on.
Tilly’s throat cleared behind him. “I’m, uh, not great with that kind of work, but I did my best.”
Not only was her house ridiculously easy to break into but it was damn cold, everything outside getting in. “Your heat doesn’t work.”
Again, it wasn’t a question, but she answered. “It doesn’t.”
Another ripple of anger. He knelt down, noting the wet wood below the window. Suddenly, he wanted to hurt every asshole who’d let her down. Everyone who could have come and made sure her home was sealed and warm and safe but hadn’t.
“I want to know the name of every contractor you called.” He rose and turned to look at her, only to see her eyes wide.
“Kayden, I—”
“I’m not going to do anything to them, just make sure I don’t use them in the future and spread word in town for others to do the same. I’ll also call around and find someone to fix these problems.”
She was shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “That’s really kind of you, but it’s not your problem. It’s mine. You’ve already helped me tonight with driving me home and offering to find someone to fix my car. I can’t—”
“Youcan. And you will. I’m not giving you any other option.”
Her brows flickered like she didn’t understand. And maybe that was his fault, for being an asshole at the beginning. He stepped closer, and like it had a mind of its own, his hand went to her cheek. God, her skin was soft. So soft, it felt like velvet.
He lowered his voice. “Let me help you, Tilly.”
Her mouth opened and closed before she whispered, “Why?”
“Because you need help, and because I can.”
Something flashed in her eyes. Disappointment, maybe? Had she wanted a different answer?
The emotion cleared quickly. “I don’t think anyone will come when they learn who I am.”
