Josh went on, “Dillon and I will stop by my place. I’ll pack a bag for myself and spend the night here.”
“You don’t need to do this.”
“Yes, I do, and you know it, too.” He carried her to the sofa and gently set her down.
She dropped her shoulder bag on the coffee table. “Just take over everything, why don’t you?”
“Thank you, I will.” He grinned. “Do not move from this sofa. Whatever you need, tell me. I’ll bring it to you.”
She wanted to argue some more. But she knew him. He wasn’t going to give up. Plus, he happened to be right. Continuing to insist that she was fine and didn’t need his help wouldn’t make either of those things true.
“Go, then,” she said through gritted teeth. And then added more gently, “And thank you.”
He bent close and kissed her forehead. The brush of hislips on her skin… It scared her in a thousand little ways. He was so good to her. She could not get enough of him no matter how hard she tried.
But she was notin lovewith him. Being in love with him would make her vulnerable in a truly dangerous way. She could end up desperate and alone if she ever lost him. Just like with TJ…
And her mom, too.
True, it had been almost twenty years since Darla Barkowski died in hospice care up at the hospital in Sheridan—almost twenty years that felt like yesterday.
Her dad wouldn’t let her go up there. He’d said she was too young, that it would be too hard on her. He’d taken her to Macy’s house, where Macy’s mom could look after her.
Riley had been furious with him for that, for cutting her out. Later, after he came for her and took her home and broke the awful news that Mom had passed, she’d beat her fists against his chest as he tried to comfort her. She’d screamed that she hated him and he’d better bring her mom right back…
And then ten years later she’d lost him, too. On a cold, rainy afternoon in early spring, she’d answered the front door to find a kind-faced woman she’d never seen before, a woman from the coroner’s office sent to inform her that there had been a landslide on Teton Pass and her dad would never be coming home…
“Rile?” Josh smiled down at her.
“What?” she replied way too sharply.
He answered her soothingly. “I said, how about I go upstairs and bring you down some pillows—and something more comfortable to wear than your work clothes?”
“Uh, sure.” She made a real effort to be civil. Because he was amazing and verbally abusing him wouldn’t makehim give up and leave her to deal with this situation on her own. “Thanks,” she added grudgingly. “Something comfy to wear would be great.” She told him which clothes she wanted and which drawers to find them in.
“Got it,” he said, and off he went. When he came back down, he’d brought the extra quilt from the foot of her bed, too. He handed her the pillows, the quilt, the joggers, the cozy socks and the soft, roomy shirt she’d asked for. She plunked them down beside her on the sofa.
“Now, settle in,” he instructed.
“Frankly, I need to pee.”
“Then let’s take care of that.” He helped her to the downstairs bath where she relieved her bladder and changed into the clothes he’d collected for her. After that, he got her set up on the sofa with her ankle elevated, wrapped in a compression bandage and iced. He closed the downstairs curtains so she could rest, brought her a late lunch and took the tray away after she’d finished eating. Then he carried her work things up to her room and also went out to his truck to get the walker for her.
When he set the walker at the end of the sofa, she had her phone in her hand. Did he look at her funny? It seemed so to her.
With a shrug, she explained, “I need to call Annette about a few issues. I fell down the stairs before I had a chance to check in with her this morning.” When he shook his head, she demanded, “Why are you shaking your head?”
“Calling Annette can wait till tomorrow. For now, just lie back and close your eyes.”
She scowled up at him. “You don’t know whether it can wait or not.”
“Okay then,” he replied, his voice velvet-smooth and far too soothing. “You tell me. Can it wait? Or not?”
“Oh, probably,” she grumbled. “But just till tomorrow.”
“Deal—and you do need to call Bright Beginnings to let them know I’m coming for Dillon.”
“I’ll do that.”
