Page 15 of Colton On Guard
Which meant the drive home might be tricky, to say the least. Again, he debated the possibility of simply staying put. If not for the thread of fear he’d heard just now in Genna’s voice, he might have tried to convince her.
While he tried to figure out the best course of action, she joined him. “Wow,” she said.
“See what I mean?”
“Yes.” She turned to face him. “But, honestly, I’d much rather brave the weather than risk being here when the intruder comes back.”
He noticed she saidwhenrather thanif.
“I can keep you safe.” He meant every word.
“Maybe so, but even if you stayed here with me, I’d be jumping at every single sound. Best to just go somewhere else, at least until I can get the front door repaired and an alarm system installed.”
Slowly, he nodded. “What about securing your belongings? We can try to put something to block anyone from coming in the front door.”
“And leave through the garage.” She looked around the room. “How about we just pile up a bunch of furniture against it. I know that wouldn’t really stop someone determined to enter, but it might provide a bit of a deterrent.”
“Good plan.”
Once they’d moved everything in front of the front door, he stepped back. “That’ll have to do.”
“It’s better than nothing.”
They went out through the garage. Genna grabbed a spare opener from a hook on the wall. As soon as he used his remote to unlock his truck, they exchanged glances and ran for the vehicle.
Despite the short distance, they both got drenched. Or he did. Genna still wore her rain slicker with the hood up.
Inside his truck, they turned to look at each other. With one hand, he pushed his soaked hair away from his face. “I wish I had a raincoat like yours,” he said.
Her smile made everything worth it. “You’d look good in yellow,” she teased.
“Not as good as you,” he replied, perfectly serious. He noticed she lowered the hood finally, fluffing her wavy blond hair with her fingers.
The mad urge to kiss her went through him. He froze, took a deep breath and waited until it passed. Then he started the truck and drove out of the parking area.
Headed back to his place, Parker focused on getting them there safely. He could not afford to be distracted by the beautiful woman sitting next to him. The wind-driven rain made it difficult to see, even with his windshield wipers on high.
They inched slowly forward, caution over speed. He could feel Genna’s tension, hear it in the quick shallow breaths she took. He didn’t dare take his hands off the steering wheel or his attention from the road, so the only comfort he could offer was words. “It’s going to be all right,” he said.
They rounded a curve and slowed. Ahead, the road was washed out, water coursing over the pavement, making it impossible to tell the depth.Turn around, don’t drownhad been drummed into everyone’s heads since childhood. Yet, every time they had a flash flood, there were always numerous individuals who ignored that warning and found themselves stuck in several feet of water. First responders were kept busy saving these people.
Parker didn’t want to become one of them. Yet with an already tense Genna next to him, he didn’t really have a choice.
He stopped the truck and shifted into Park, considering his options.
“Is there another way we can go?” Genna asked nervously. “Driving through all that water doesn’t look safe.”
“There is,” he answered, finally able to look at her. “But not only is it about thirty minutes out of our way, there are several areas of that particular road that are likely to be washed out even worse. This is our best bet.”
Slowly, she nodded. “I trust you,” she said, catching and holding his gaze.
His heart squeezed. “Thanks,” he managed to respond. “With this lift kit on my truck, it sits a bit higher than normal. I feel reasonably confident we can make it through.”
Reasonably confident. He hoped she didn’t ask the odds.
“Okay. Like I said, I know you’ll keep us safe.”
“I’m definitely about to try,” he told her, shifting back into Drive.