I grab the keys and head out to my truck, glancing at her beater.
“That’s Rus’s old car, ain’t it.”
“Yep. He gave it to me a few years back. The only reason my parents let me keep it was so I could drive back and forth to work.”
I slide into the driver’s seat of my truck and reach over to help Greer up.
“I didn’t know they made trucks this high,” she grumbles.
“It helps with the rocky terrain.”
I head down the mountain, trying my best to keep my mind on all the things I need to do and far away from my unwanted houseguest.
If she’s so unwanted, why did you offer to let her stay with you?
I tell myself it was to help Rus, but surely there are other less invasive ways I could have done so. I have plenty of money to make it work. Perhaps I could rent her an apartment. That’ll surely clear my debt.
Before going to the clinic, I drive around Iron Peak, showing her the local diner, library, and a few other places she might be interested in. She takes it all in, but I can’t help but notice the worried expression on her face.
“I know it’s smaller than Summerton, but it has what you need.”
“It’s not the size that bothers me…well, not in the way you might think.” She looks out the window and sighs. “I was just hoping there’d be a place for me to work.”
“That again?”
Her head snaps to look at me. “I don’t think you understand that it could take me years to pass my GED test.”
“I understood that when I agreed to take you in.”
“Then you should also understand that feeding and housing someone who contributes nothing is going to get old—especially with me sleeping in your bed.”
I could just tell her that I intend to rent her an apartment, but something makes me hesitate. A nagging feeling I can’t quite place.
I pull into the clinic parking lot and kill the engine. “Let me help you down.” I exit the truck and rush around to assist Greer, arriving right on time to catch her as she tumbles from the cabin.
Her limbs flail wildly as her face crashes into my chest. My arms weave awkwardly around her, holding her in place for a long moment.
“Oof!” she gasps, her feet scrambling beneath her.
Her soft body molds against mine—full breasts pressing into my ribs, hips fitting perfectly under my hands. Heat explodes through me; my blood roars south as her intoxicating scent wraps around me like a drug. For one dangerous second, I imagine lifting her right back into the cab, pinning her against the seat, and claiming every inch she’s offering without even knowing it.
When she finally rights herself and pulls away, I feel a sense of unexpected loss. Like something was just taken from me.
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I think your sky-high truck is what’s really to blame.”
“In the military, we would have called that a spatial awareness issue.”
She frowns. “Yeah, that kind of goes along with being dyslexic.”
“Oh…” How could I have been so insensitive?
“Lighten up.” Greer giggles. “It was my fault.”
An unfamiliar smile curves my lips, which I immediately banish. The last thing I need is to get too close to this girl. Or any, for that matter.
“Could you hurry your independent ass inside? I’ll be in the doghouse with Lucy if I take much longer.”
“Lucy?”
