Page 17 of Duty and Desire

“Okay, I think that’s everything I need for now.” She looks around.

“I’m sure I can get you back in here if you need anything else,” I assure her.

“I’ll need to borrow your washer. Everything smells like smoke.”

“I don’t have one.” I keep my face blank, and she blinks at me. “I’m just kidding. That’s fine.” I close her second bag. “Do you wanna bring your pillow?”

“Yeah.” She grabs it off the bed, along with the thick blanket. I haul both bags down the hall to the front door, and she stops to get her purse before following me outside.

When she pops the trunk of her car, I put the luggage inside, then take the stuff in her arms and put it in with them before slamming it closed and turning to face her. “You can follow me to my place. I’ll get you settled, then take off.”

“Are you on the clock right now?”

“Yeah.”

She shakes her head and takes a step back. “I can find somewhere to hang out until you’re off tonight.”

“Babe, I’m not off until four a.m.” I open her door.

“Noah.”

“Just follow me.” I slam her door and head for my car without a backward glance, waiting until she’s at the entrance of the parking lot before pulling out in front of her.

It takes fifteen minutes to get out of town. When I hit the dirt road that leads to my house, I check the rearview mirror, finding Bridgett right behind me. I park in front of my double garage, open the door with the push of a button, then roll down the window and wave her in.

A few minutes later, carrying her luggage, I stop at the front door and glance down at Bridgett on the step below me. “Brace, babe. Lola is gonna be excited someone new is here, but she’s also on edge with her puppies in the house.”

“There are puppies in the house?” she breathes like I just told her Santa is real and we’re taking a trip to the North Pole to visit him.

“Yeah.” I grin, then push open the door. As soon as I do, Lola rushes to greet me. Her tail wags a mile a second before she goes on alert and begins to bark. “Lola, calm.” I drop the bags and pick her up, then turn to face Bridgett, who looks a mixture of scared and in love.

“She’s very sweet. You just have to show her you’re not someone she needs to be afraid of,” I tell her. Bridgett carefully reaches out her hand to Lola, allowing the pup to smell her fingers before petting the top of her head.

“She’s cute. What kind of dog is she?”

“My best guess is a mixture of Pomeranian and poodle, but really, I don’t know. I found her at an abandoned house a few months ago.”

“And she had puppies?”

“Just had them a couple of weeks ago. That was a surprise I found out about when I took her to the vet for the first time.” I carry her into the house, leaving the bags in the hall. When I get to the laundry room, I place Lola down, and she immediatelygoes to the box where her three pups are rooting around, looking for her.

“They are so tiny,” Bridgett whispers, stepping up behind me and pressing her tits into my arm.

“They are.” I watch Lola lie down for them to feed, then point out the washer and dryer. “This is the laundry.” I leave the room, then head farther down the hall to the kitchen. “Eat and drink anything you want.” I point at the stairs. “My room is up there.” I head across the living room and open the door to my spare bedroom that is more office than anything else. “The couch folds out into a bed, and there are sheets and blankets in the closet.” I turn to face her and find her looking around the room. “I hate to leave you like this, but I gotta get back into town. My boys are covering for me now, but?—”

“Please, don’t apologize,” she cuts me off. “You’re doing me a huge favor by letting me stay here.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I head out of the room, and she follows me to where I stop in the kitchen. “I’m gonna leave you my cell number. If you need anything, just call.” I jot down my digits on the pad of paper on the counter. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“I might see you in the morning.” I go to the junk drawer and dig through until I find a spare key and a clicker for the garage door. “If I’m passed out by the time you get up, you can use these to come and go whenever you want.”

“Thanks,” she whispers, and I lift my chin.

“Call your brother and let him know what’s going on.”

“I will,” she assures me, then rubs her lips together as she wraps her arms around her middle. Seeing her looking so vulnerable makes my insides twist with the urge to give her a hug, but I remind myself it’s not my place to comfort her.