Horse gave a huff that she was taking as agreement.
“Come on,” Kellan said, taking hold of Eli’s arm as though he was preparing to drag him out. But Eli nodded and followed him out of the bathroom. She and Horse walked after them and she glanced at the door.
Wait . . .
“How did you get in here?” she asked.
“Oh,” Kellan said. “I have a keycard for this room.”
Eli grimaced and shot his brother a look. Kellan just stared back at him.
“What?” Kellan asked.
“You shouldn’t have told her that. It makes you sound like a stalker or something.”
“I just have it in case of emergency. The room is under my name.”
It was?
Okay, she understood why the hotel had given him a card. But not why he’d kept it.
“Give me the card,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Why?” Kellan asked.
“Because I don’t feel comfortable with you being able to enter my hotel room whenever you like.”
“I would knock,” Kellan told her seriously. As though that made everything all right. As though she should be able to sleep easy now.
Not that she really thought he would harm her. But she was a woman on her own and she had to be more careful with her safety.
More careful than you have been lately, anyway.
“Unless I thought you were in danger,” he added, totally taking away from what he’d just been saying.
“Card,” she said firmly.
“Kellan, you can’t keep a keycard to this room,” Eli told him. “And you know it.”
Kellan sighed and dug the card out of his pocket, handing it over to her. “I think I should keep it. Clearly, you have issues with asking for help. But, fine. If you need any more assistance, call. Or you will not like the consequences. Make certain that you are up and ready at eight.”
Eli sighed as his brother left. “He really is a good guy. He just sees things in black and white sometimes. He’s really intelligent and analytical, but not great with emotions.”
“It’s all right,” she told him. Although had he really just threatened her? How did she feel about that? And what would he do if she didn’t call? Or if she wasn’t up and ready in the morning?
“I just really want to sleep now.”
“See you in the morning. Lock the door behind me.”
“Looking forward to it.” After closing and locking the door, she sank to the floor. “What was that, Horse?”
He came over and sat on her lap, making her groan. For some reason, he seemed to think he was a lap dog. And even though he was basically skin and bone, he wasn’t that light.
She hugged him tight, resting her head on his. At least he smelled good now. Maybe it was crazy to trust a dog that she’d picked up off the side of the road. Actually, it was definitely crazy. But she felt some kinship with him.
“Why did I say, ‘looking forward to it’?” she asked with a groan. “What an idiot.”
Horse let out a small woof.
