After kissing her again, he went downstairs. She could hear him puttering around, talking to Bandit and the kitties. Too cute. Soon, he was back and closing the door most of the way, leaving it open a bit to listen for Jordan if she needed anything in the night. Such a good dad.
Once Theo had shucked his clothes, leaving his boxers and a t-shirt on, he stepped toward the window. “Do you still like to sleep with the window open a crack?”
It was the middle of June and warm during the day. However, Maine nights could still get chilly.
“Yes, please. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all. I’ve kind of gotten used to doing it myself.”
He shut the light off and slid into the bed on the other side. Not touching or coming too close. Did he hate the thought of touching her that much? No, that was ridiculous. He’d been kissing her the last few weeks every night. Before he knew she’d had a nervous breakdown.
Shoving her head in the pillow, she tried to stifle the sniff that automatically came. She couldn’t do this. There had to be a limit to how much crying any one man could handle.
The mattress creaked as Theo turned on his side, facing her.
“What’s wrong, pixie?”
She reached toward him and touched his chest. “Ignore me. Sometimes I get stuck in my own head. Things that I’d rather forget.”
“Can I help you forget?” A hand snaked around her waist and tugged until she was pressed against him. “Does this help? Holding you?”
The strength emanating from him filled her and made her brave. She adjusted until her head lay on his shoulder and her hand rested next to her cheek. “Very much. Thank you.”
“We all need a little help now and then.”
Being in Theo’s arms brought back more memories, ones that settled between her thighs and brought out feelings she hadn’t had in many years. Now was not the time. They’d kissed, yes. And she wanted more. But she also wanted to be in better shape when and if they got close again. It had to be perfect. Having Theo snuggled up next to her was the fastest way to make everything perfect.
As Theo pulled Chelsea’s car into the parking lot at Benji’s auto, Aiden Cavanaugh marched out to greet him. The chief had called him earlier and asked to meet him here.
“Theo, thanks for coming.” Aiden shook his hand. “How’s Chelsea?”
“A little improved. Bit of a headache still.”
“I can imagine.” Aiden’s mouth twisted in a commiserating smile.
“What’s up?” Theo didn’t want to leave Chelsea by herself too long. He’d dropped Jordan off at school, much to her dismay. The school was having an end-of-year field trip, so she wouldn’t be back until close to five. Next week started summer sessions. Having Jordan go year-round always bothered him, but he’d never had much of a choice. Perhaps with Chelsea around, their daughter could enjoy being at home a bit more.
“I wanted to let you know what we’ve found out about the accident.”
He’d wondered about that himself but hadn’t wanted to push Chelsea any more than necessary. “Chelsea still doesn’t remember anything. The doctor said that was normal.”
“Yeah, it is, and we had a look at the toxicology report. Nothing out of the ordinary in Chelsea’s system.”
“Out of the ordinary?” Theo narrowed his eyes at his friend. “You mean like alcohol or drugs? I could have told you that.”
“Don’t get bent out of shape, Theo. It’s routine. Let’s face it, Chelsea’s been out of your life for years. She could have changed.”
And she had in some ways. But in so many others, she was still the woman he’d fallen in love with.
“What I wanted to talk to you about was your SUV. Have you had any problems with it lately?”
Shaking his head, Theo thought back to the regular maintenance he did on the car. “I had it serviced a few weeks ago. It’s not the newest vehicle, but it’s in decent shape. Did they find something broken?”
Aiden glanced around and pulled him over to the side of the building. “Benji did the work himself. He said the brake line was cut.”
“What? Are you sure? It was fine when I had it in recently. I think they would have mentioned if the brake line was damaged.”
Aiden tapped on Theo’s arm. “The brake line wasn’t damaged. It was cut. With a knife. Not enough to have the brakes stop working immediately, but in such a way that it would have taken time for the brake fluid to drain out and the brakes to fail.”
