She should have been thrilled at this opportunity. He’d be alive, still healing, but no threat at all to her, physically or emotionally. When the phone came back online, she could call someone out here to get him to a hospital to receive proper care. She’d be on her own, the way she liked it.
She couldn’t do it, though. Couldn’t emasculate him like that. No matter how much he unnerved her.
As she stared at him, it was like a switch flipped in her brain. He wasn’t bluffing, which meant he trusted her enough to put himself at her mercy. Perhaps she could try trusting him back?
She hadn’t trusted anyone in three years. What a novel feeling. He had given his word not to blab all over town about her and she believed him. He said he wouldn’t hurt her, and she couldn’t see him raising a hand to her. Was she being foolish? Maybe. But she liked this, liked the easiness and lack of worry that came from being able to let go of the constant fear. Honestly, Genevieve wasn’t even sure she knew how to trust anymore. Maybe he’d been sent here for her to…relearn?
It was too much for her to think about all at once, the ideas overwhelming her. She broke their gaze and stood. “Are you hungry?”
“Genevieve…”
“Are. You. Hungry?”
“Please, yes.”
She crossed to the fridge and pulled out the makings for dinner. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast either. “Do you like chicken?”
“Love it.”
“Great. Just wrung this one’s neck yesterday.”
At his silence, she looked over her shoulder and slammed the fridge closed with her hip. “Is there a problem?”
He swallowed. “No. I wish you hadn’t told me where that chicken came from, though.”
“You mean this chicken?” She held up the meat in her hands. A little imp of mischief prompted her to speak. “Sorry, does it bother you that I pick it up from the pen, grab its neck and twist it until it snaps?”
Alex closed his eyes. “Actually, I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Where do you think meat comes from?”
“I think the meat fairy puts it in my grocery store.”
She laughed, a bit startled. It had been a while since she’d heard herself laugh. “Sorry to disappoint. The meat fairy doesn’t come out this far.” She proceeded to put dinner together.
When she brought his bowl of broth over to him, he looked at it with dismay. “Are you punishing me?”
She wasn’t that petty. Okay, she was, but she wasn’t mad at him, so no, she wasn’t punishing him. “You need to build your strength.”
“I’ll build it a lot easier if you give me real food.”
“You can eat this, or nothing. Your choice.”
He glared at her, but she had no intention of budging. Especially now that she had an inkling of what a marshmallow he was beneath his scary job and huge physique. Sure enough, when she started to turn around, bowl in hand, he breathed out a rough sigh. “Okay, fine. Give it to me.”
Alex sat up on his own and took it from her with ill grace. She returned to the stove and ladled some of the soup and chicken into her bowl. She ate standing over the sink. Blessedly, he didn’t speak much, as if sensing her contemplative mood. When he was finished, she washed both of their dishes.
“You don’t have any psychic powers, do you?”
She cast a startled glance over her shoulder. He spoke about her abilities with the same kind of casual tone someone would use to ask if she had blue eyes. “What? No. Why?”
“Guess I couldn’t be that lucky. I was just thinking of how worried sick my mom must be. She’s listed as my next of kin. I’m sure they called her when I didn’t show up to work, if not the next day, then Monday for sure.”
Her heart softened at the worry and concern in his voice. “You sound close to her.”
“My dad died when I was twelve. She raised us by herself. It was hard enough to move down here when she was still in Westchester. I can’t even imagine what she must be going through, thinking I’m lying somewhere dead.”
“My mom raised me by herself too.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.
