Page 3 of Anything for You (Veterans of Silver Ridge #7)

CHAPTER THREE

Stone

S he hadn’t stopped talking since we’d made it into the living room, though she’d slowed down when we passed through the kitchen and she saw the two pies on the counter.

Did she like pie? It wasn’t necessarily the landlord’s job to know what kind of sweet tooth his tenant had. Shouldn’t be thinking about that because she would live her life and I’d live mine and we wouldn’t be interacting. I never would’ve gone ahead with this if we would.

Dr. Corrigan had encouraged me. My friends had, too. It’d made sense to rent the space once I’d redone it. I’d get a neighbor, and the person Kenny had suggested needed a good place to land. So why not my place?

Especially if we both kept to ourselves, which I’d assumed we’d do. Then I wouldn’t be thinking about asinine things like what I should and shouldn’t know about her.

But pie preference couldn’t hurt.

“So I thought the directions were to go to the left, but honestly, I see now how wrong that was,” she said at a clip I was only barely understanding, it was so fast. “Like, obviously that’s the main house and that’s my little cabin. Right? I mean, how? Except, I know how.”

I didn’t comment because she wasn’t leaving me any time to, not that I would’ve.

“I’ve been so tired. That’s the only reason this happened, and I promise you it’ll never happen again. On a normal day, I would’ve realized it was your house.”

I stopped at the top of the small set of four stairs leading to her cabin’s front door.

“Perhaps when your key didn’t work?” I suggested, intrigued beyond measure how the lock hadn’t stopped her from coming inside.

By all accounts, this woman was a little ray of sunshine wrapped in a too-pretty bow. She was a nurse and friends with many of my friends. I’d accepted her application because this was a test for me and she needed the place, but I hadn’t accepted because it was her.

Well, it wasn’t the only reason.

“Oh, right. Yeah. Let me just…” She dug into her truly gargantuan purse, her arm disappearing completely before she held up a ring of at least a dozen keys triumphantly. “Ta-da!”

I held out a hand, welcoming her to try the lock. She fiddled with the crush of metal for a moment before finding the one she’d picked up from the front desk at Saint Security when she’d signed her lease, and sure enough, it worked .

“Ah, see! There it is,” she said, flashing me a grin and then winking like we were in on the joke together. Her bright smile made creases in her cheeks and tiny lines around her eyes, though she still had a hollow look that spoke to her persisting exhaustion.

My chest seized. Bear’s head slipped under my hand, and he sat. Whoops. Apparently, he could sense my stress. “It’s alright, bud.”

“Oh, this is cute.”

Dove’s voice came from inside, so I followed after asking Bear to wait on the porch for now. She wasn’t a threat to me, and Bear was really only here to help when I was a threat to myself, anyway.

In the small living room, Dove perused the bookshelves on either side of a built-in TV nook housing a decent-sized screen.

“I can remove those if you prefer,” I offered, wondering if she was irritated I’d left the books.

The cabin was furnished, which she’d apparently wanted, though she did have some belongings to move in based on the stuff crammed into every nook and cranny of her small sedan where it sat in the driveway like it’d screeched to a halt about ten feet before actually parking.

Sadness peeked out those bright eyes before she tucked it away and smiled yet again. “No, that’s fine. I’ll enjoy being surrounded by your books.”

Hmm. What an odd thing to say.

Why did I like it?

Instead of saying so, I simply nodded and showed her the kitchen. “Electric cooktop here—not glamorous, but there are no gas lines to this cabin yet.”

“That’s fine. I’ve used gas, but our old house just had electric coil burners. It was fine. I’m okay with cooking, but not gourmet or anything, so as long as I can figure out low, medium, and high on there, I’ll be fine.”

She ran a finger along the edge of the windowsill, then touched the light-colored drapes I’d hung.

Internally, a clock started ticking. The stress from earlier, the unexpected interaction, even though she was no threat and I even kind of liked her, sent a tightness winding around me. I’d need my own space soon.

I moved down the short hallway. “Bedroom’s there. Bathroom there. That room can be used however—couch folds out into a decent bed.”

I’d imagined it as an office, but more than one person had suggested the couch, and based on her response, it had been the right move.

She grinned. “That’s amazing. I could have someone come stay! Thank you so much.”

She clasped her hands together, and I couldn’t tell whether she was about to jump or beg or pray, and I didn’t want any part of any one of them, so I turned toward the front door.

“AC unit’s there on the wall. Heat if you’re still here in the fall, same place. You can light a fire but not in the summer, and?—”

“I’m planning to be here. Should I not be? I thought this was a six-month lease to start. Is it not?” The words tumbled out at a panic-level pace.

“Right. Yes. Just meant if it’s not working out, I’ll let you out of the lease. But yes. You’ve got until December first.” It had been a leap to commit to having someone else so close for that long, but Dr. Corrigan agreed I was ready.

I am ready.

I just need to go home now.

She sagged with relief and pressed a hand to her heart. “ Okay, good. I’m not moving furniture, but… I definitely need a few months before I have to do this all over again.” She sniffed and swiped a finger under one eye.

I didn’t know the full story there, but Kenny and Luc had made it clear she needed a break. I wasn’t an altruist or a saint, but I could offer that. As long as she didn’t break into my house a second time…

“I’ll go. You have the number on the lease if you have issues. Just make sure you keep the lids on your trash cans and all that—the usual.” Pulling the door open, I halted at the threshold, a low-level headache starting at the base of my skull, when she spoke again.

“Is it dangerous here? I know we’re a ways out of town, but I didn’t actually think it through, maybe? Kenny and Luc and Adam all said it was safe, and I even saw Bruce the other day and he said it was a great spot, so…” Her brows pinched in the center, and she worried her lip.

“No. Sometimes wildlife, but nothing too bad since they scent Bear and he has a mean bark. I don’t leash him when he’s outside, but I can if?—”

“No, don’t leash him on my account. I’m not scared of him.”

I nodded. “Okay. Shouldn’t be anyone unknown around. If you do see people, it’s farmhands, but they don’t usually come over this way. All vetted. All good people.” And they knew to stay away from here because of me.

“Great. Awesome. Yes. Cool. Super.” She pushed some stray hair behind her ears and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Dorian.”

No cheery smile, no lilting laugh, no attempt to hide the exhaustion, sadness lingering at her edges, and her gratitude.

Cerulean blue eyes with what might be tears gathering before she blinked them away pinned me in place, a tack through the shirt on my chest pricking at parts of me no one had touched in years.

I nodded. Exited. Closed the door behind me. Bear nosed into my side, tail wagging as he followed me down the stairs and back to the house.

Away from her. To give her space. To take my own.

To keep her safe.