“Do you need me to do a sweep to make sure it’s safe?”
“Well, itispart of your job description.” Her lips twitch, and her shoulders relax just a little when I drape the towel over the railing of the deck, leaving it outside. “You’ll also have to check my bed, between the sheets, every night. Oh my God, that was horrible.”
“None of the spiders here can kill you.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“In the summer, you’d have to watch out for rattlesnakes, and the occasional bear, but that’s really all that we have that’s life threatening.”
“You’re not helping, Gideon.”
“I’m giving you knowledge. Knowledge is power.” I smirk and reach out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, breaking my rule on touching.
Her hair is like silk.
“Come on. I’ll make sure he wasn’t the daddy of a family, and the rest of the clan isn’t in the shower.”
“Oh my God, Gideon.”
I laugh and lead her up the stairs.
Lena stands in the hallway as I clear her room of any other terrifying creatures, and when I return, we both eyeball the doorway.
“Do you want another room?” I ask her.
“You really demolished this door.”
“You screamed.” I shrug, as if it’s a no-brainer. “I had to get to you.”
And it’s a sound I never want to hear again.
“I don’t need another room. I don’t need to hide anything from you.”
She squares her shoulders and lifts her chin.
She’s so much stronger than she gives herself credit for.
“I’ll fix this right away, but it might be a couple of days because I’ll need to go to Missoula for supplies.”
“Oh, I’ll go—”
“No.”
She deflates. “Gideon, I love this ranch, but I could really use a change of scenery.”
“No.”
“I’ll wear a disguise. No one knows I’m here. And I’ll have you with me. I won’t do anything stupid, I won’t leave your side. I won’t even go to the bathroom without you.Please.”
I should say no.
I should not give a shit that those gorgeous lavender eyes are begging me, and that I would give her literally anything she asked for.
This is a bad fucking idea.
“You’ll doexactlywhat I say.”
Her face splits into the biggest grin, and she nods frantically.
