"Hence the reason I came back." He stepped closer to her bed, hesitant and slow.
One side of her mouth lifted before dropping again. He wasn't there because he wanted to be. He was only there because he didn't have another option. While a small part of her wished she didn't have to spend the night in this small cabin with him, she was grateful that if she had to be stuck with someone, at least it was Daniel.
She sucked in a deep breath. "Thank you."
"For coming back?" His brows drew together.
"For dinner and your help and...patience earlier." She grabbed a lock of hair and twisted it around her finger. "I should probably warn you...my...PTSD may get a lot worse before the night is over."
"Tell me what you need from me, Ri." Daniel’s narrowed eyes and pinched lips showed his wariness as he took another hesitant step closer.
She leaned forward and patted the middle of her bed. "I need you to sit and listen."
Relief filled his face, but it took longer than it should have for his long legs to close the short distance between them. When he sat, it was in a perched position on the edge of the bed, as though prepared to dart away at a moment's notice.
"I'll always be here for you." He reached out a hand, hesitated, then pulled it back.
She hated that he didn't even dare touch her anymore. Even worse, she hated that she wasn't sure she wanted him to touch her.
"I know you will." She gave him another weak smile. "In my heart, I know you'd never hurt me, but my head..." She didn't bother finishing the sentence. She simply shook her head and balled her fists as her stomach hardened. Once again, she cursed Collin for what he took from her.
"Can you tell me what happened that sends you...into a panic any time I get close?"
She stared at the alternating glimmers of light and dark cast across the table by the dancing flames and swallowed the fear that clogged her throat. "Six weeks ago..." Her voice was quiet but steady, and she wanted to applaud herself. "A pharmaceutical rep who frequently visits our clinic asked me out. He was good looking and charming, and I was flattered, but I wasn't interested in going out with him. I could tell he was a player by the way he flirted with all the women in the office. He was everyone's favorite rep. All the nurses loved him." She tucked the lock of hair she'd been playing with behind her ear. "He asked me out in front of half the office staff, so I didn't feel like I could say no."
"We went to dinner and a play, then he invited me back to his place." She shook her head. "I told him I wasn't that kind of girl. He joked about changing my mind someday, but let it go and drove me home, where we talked for another hour in his car." She shrugged now. "I had a nice time, but I didn't expect him to ask me out again. It was obvious he wanted a physical relationship, but I'd made it clear I didn't."
"However, he came into the clinic a few days later and insisted on buying me lunch. Again, I didn't feel like I could refuse, because he asked in front of all the nurses who would love to be in my shoes. We ended up in the hospital cafeteria because I didn't have much time. He kissed my cheek before leaving and said he couldn't wait to see me again." Her voice grew louder and steadier, even though she wished she didn't feel compelled to tell Daniel all of this.
“The following week, Collin asked me out again?—”
"Collin? As in the guy who's stalking you?"
"Yes." Riley finally looked at Daniel now.
"So, your stalker isn't some random guy off the street?" He scrubbed his hands over his face and shook his head.
"No."
"I'm sorry. Please continue."
“He asked me out again in front of several nurses, and while I searched for an excuse to say no, my medical assistant spoke for me and told him I'd love to go out with him again." Riley grabbed the pillow behind her and hugged it to her chest as though it could somehow alleviate the tightness there.
"The night we talked in his car, we talked about how I grew up on a ranch and I loved swing dancing. He told me he wanted to take me swing dancing and couldn't wait to see me dressed like a true cowgirl. He kept calling me his c-cowgirl all night."
Daniel's brows inched upward, and his jaw dropped. "That's why you got angry when I called you a cow—" He stopped himself.
She cringed as she nodded. "No matter how many times I tell myself it's stupid to let these little things affect me, they still do."
"It's not stupid. Triggers aren't something you can control."
"I know, but according to Emily, I can learn to control how I react to them."
"You can." Confidence filled his voice.
"I might need you to teach me how to whittle," she joked, but couldn’t force enough lightness in her voice for him to take her seriously. However, a certain sense of comfort filled her at the thought of carrying a pocket knife around.
The smile on Daniel’s face looked more conciliatory than humorous, but she appreciated it nonetheless.
