“We?Why?You led them here, didn’t you?”Suddenly vibrating with anger at the injustice of it all, I shove him as hard as I can, causing him to stumble back a few steps.“You led them right to my front door.”
“No.”He shakes his head vigorously.“They already knew.”
I can almost hear the tumblers fall into place in my head.
I’m about to tell him what an idiot he is for coming here, when I hear my name called from inside the coffee shop.Just as I turn around, I catch sight of Hugo turning down the hallway and coming toward me.
I whip my head back to find my brother gone.Vanished into thin air in a fraction of a second.
“Hey…is everything all right?”Hugo asks behind me, and I swing my entire body around to him, wearing a big smile.
“It’s all fine.”
Hugo
The relief isimmediate when I see her standing right outside the door.
She seems a little strange though, almost like she’s looking for something or someone.But the next moment she walks in the door, shutting it behind her as she goes up on her toes to kiss me.
The perfect distraction, instantly erasing any perceived weirdness.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Uh…yeah, I guess.Go where?”she wants to know.
“Dinner at my place.”
I don’t tell her she won’t be going home after; I’ll tackle that when we get there.
Luckily, Doug and Arno were understanding and accommodating, allowing me to pack up her things and pay her bill.She’ll be ticked off about that too, but whether she likes it or not, she’s going to have to learn to accept some help.That is, if she wants to stay afloat until her insurance comes through to cover her costs.
“I have my car here, so I’ll have to follow you.”
“Leave it here, we can grab it later,” I suggest, putting a hand on the small of her back as I guide her firmly to the front door.
I’m eager to keep moving, worried the moment we stop she’ll dig her heels in again.If I’ve discovered one thing about Bess, it’s that she can change her mind on a dime and likes to throw up real or perceived road blocks.I’m hoping not to give her a chance by staying in motion.At least until we get to my place.Once there—and without a vehicle to facilitate an escape—I’ll have time to convince her to stay.
To my surprise, she doesn’t say much as we grab her things, lock up Strange Brew, and get in my truck.She stares out the window on the way home, a pensive, almost faraway look on her face.When I lightly touch her arm, she almost jumps out of her seat.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
She forces a tight smile on her face.“It’s been a long day, I guess I’m more tired than I thought.Maybe it’s best if I?—”
I quickly interrupt before she can finish that thought.
“Why don’t you have a nap while I cook?Unless, you’d rather have a shower first, of course.”
She grabs a hank of hair, wincing as she sniffs it.
“Shower it is,” she decides.
Ragnar goes ballistic when we get home, almost knocking Bess on her ass as we walk in the door.She doesn’t seem to mind, and gives the dog plenty of loving before I remind him he needs to go out for a pee.Bess grabs the opportunity to head up for a shower.
Of course, my well-laid plans fall apart the moment Bess goes upstairs and finds her own things I already moved into the primary bedroom.
“Why is my stuff here?”she calls from the top of the stairs.
“I was going to talk to you about that over dinner,” I offer, looking up from the bottom.
