Help was on the way.
Nico could not find them without his tracker and his brother.
The proof against him was still safe in her pack.
God would give her the strength to finish what they’d started an eternity ago when she’d stopped to let Annette into her rig. Had they shared much, she and Annette? Her memories remained largely blank. She wondered if she’d ever recollect their exchange, the minutes that had bonded them together much more deeply than they’d each realized.
After two arduous hours, they arrived back at the trailer park. There was no point in securing a different trailer, so they reentered Thelma and Frank’s. The expanding floodwaters had gobbled up two more homes until only a few remained dry. Nico might manage to return and figure out their deceit.
But they’d be gone long before that happened. Hopefully.
Cullen led them through the same side door and insisted that Kit shower immediately. “Going to pop Tottie in the sink and wash her off.”
She didn’t argue. Her own skin was on fire. The warm water was a straight-up blessing. She had to put on her dirty clothes again, but she took a damp towel and wiped away some of the debris first.
When she finished, she found Tot squirming on a blanket and playing with her toes in the living room. Cullen was on his knees, wiping Nico’s blood off the hallway floor. He looked chagrined. “Oh. I thought I’d be donebefore you got out. I, er, didn’t want you to have to look at a big bloodstain.”
Her mouth rounded in a circle of surprise, but the response stuck in her throat.
He cocked his head. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s ... I mean, that’s very thoughtful, is all.”
He ducked his head and shrugged. “Be done in a minute. Tot probably wants a bottle.”
She padded away and fixed Tot’s milk. Only a few servings of powder left and a handful of diapers. Tension tightened her stomach until she reminded herself that Gideon was on his way. They were safe.
And there’s a man whocares so much about you that he’s mopping upblood to protect your feelings.She’d gotten the occasional gift in her life, flower bouquets, Valentine chocolates, and even a tiny diamond chip necklace, but no gesture had ever meant as much as what Cullen had done.
For her.
Even though she’d basically told him there would be no future between them.
Tot’s squeal broke her reverie, and she offered the bottle. The wind howled around them and the shower pattered softly as Cullen took his turn. Tot yanked her mouth away, winding up for a good shout. Kit offered the pacifier, which Tot allowed for a moment before ejecting it. Kit rested the baby across her knees and took a close look. Was Tot flushed? She pressed her cheek to the baby’s with a tingle of alarm. Feverish? Or perhaps Kit was simply warm from the shower.
She fished through the duffel and retrieved a grahamcracker. Tot cried, and her alarm grew. Cullen appeared. He too had to put on his dirty clothes again, but he appeared much more comfortable.
“Cullen,” she started, but he held up a finger.
“One second.”
She didn’t understand what he was up to when he went to the bedroom, until she heard him hauling a dresser to block the kicked-in door from opening.
So he didn’t believe the Nico threat was neutralized either.
When he finished, he joined them.
“Tot’s really cranky. Does she feel hot to you?” Kit watched anxiously as Cullen inspected the baby.
“Not sure. Won’t eat?”
“Not even the cookie.”
“Could be a lot of things: teething, she’s tired...”
Poison in her lungs, dehydration, she’d gotten too cold, been injured somehow in their crazy mad escape...
“I’ll walk her around for a while. You rest.”
