Page 4

4

JOHNNY

“I’m sure you have better things to do than waste your time driving me around.” I didn’t mean to sound sad. In fact, I wanted to sound cranky or annoyed, but since I felt all those things, I wasn’t sure what actually came out. I wanted him to want to help me, not feel obligated to help me. “I can have a friend from work pick me up. He expects me to do stupid shit, so I’m not a burden to him. Well, not a big burden.”

“You’re not a burden.” He furrowed his brow and then bounced me in his arms to shift my weight higher.

“Whoa, there.” I tightened my grip around his neck, practically strangling the man. “Kinda feels like I’m a burden.”

He chuckled as he beelined it for the parking lot. “You’re light as a feather, Johnny. Could stand to put on a few pounds, in fact. But I don’t have anywhere else to be, and I don’t mind helping.” He swallowed hard and then cleared his throat as if trying to push out words that didn’t want to be spoken. “And, I guess, I kinda like being helpful and don’t get to do it often enough.”

“I knew it!” Oh, shit. Did I say that out loud? “I mean, you definitely seem like the type of guy who is a helper of…” My mouth was suddenly dry as a desert, and I wasn’t sure how to finish that thought. “Well, people…who need help. Like me. I need help from a person like you.”

“Um.” He was heading straight for my car, but I assumed that was a coincidence. “Okay.”

When he stopped at a brand-new Range Rover right beside mine, I figured he’d given up on his good Samaritan act and was just dropping me off. But he didn’t know the only Corolla in the lot was mine. “Well, thanks for the lift.” I lowered my good leg to stand up. “And, really, I’m not litigious. I work in insurance, so I know what a nightmare junk lawsuits are.”

“What are you talking about?” He let me stand up and lean against him as he fished out his keyfob and the Range Rover unlocked. “We just established that I want to help.” He opened the passenger door and turned to me. “Do you need me to lift you up?”

“Oh.” I looked between his car and mine and pointed. “This is my car, so...”

He looked down at it and nodded. “Okay, good. Is there anything you need out of it before we leave?”

I shrugged, still confused about what was happening. “My work stuff, I guess.”

“I’ll get it.” Before I knew it, he was helping me into the seat and then he held out his hand. “Your key?”

“In the trunk.” I handed him my keys and watched as he pulled out the duffle bag I’d put my shoes in and my computer bag. “Yeah, both of those, I guess.”

He cocked his head and then reached in. “What about your shoes?”

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I’ve got other work shoes at home, but you can put them in the duffle bag.”

“Nonsense.” He locked up my car and carried everything to the back of his car.

I closed the door and leaned back. The leather seat was like butter, and there was some kind of bump in my lower back that felt amazing. Like it was made for me. My eyes naturally closed and I just relaxed and let the last bits of energy in my bones finally dissipate.

Sawyer got in the driver’s seat and started the engine, but I still didn’t open my eyes. I was in that floaty place between awake and asleep and figured if he was taking me to his kill room, at least I'd have some nice lumbar support on my way there.

“We’re here.” Sawyer opened my door and then placed his hand on my shoulder. “Wakey, wakey.”

I smiled as a rush of cool air came in with him. “Home?”

“No, the ER.” He reached over my lap and released my seatbelt. “I’ll go grab a wheelchair so you don’t have to walk, unless you want me to carry you in.”

Um, yes, please. But no. That would be…inappropriate. Probably. “I can walk with you.”

“You’re not just gonna drop me off at the door?” I tried not to smile wider, but I didn’t try that hard. Having him hold me to his chest was pretty damn nice. Having him walk me in was even nicer. This man who just met me wasn’t abandoning me to figure it out on my own for once in my life.

“If you think this is optional, you’re wrong.” His mouth twitched at the corners, almost like a grin but not that relaxed. “I’m taking you in, staying with you, and then getting you home. It’s non-negotiable.” His words were like a key turning in a lock. My lock. Grounding me in place like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

“Okay.” My throat was thick with emotion, but he didn’t notice. And if he did, he didn’t acknowledge it.

Sawyer shifted his weight so I was barely touching the ground as we strode toward the ER door.

I kept my gaze locked straight ahead, and just before the glass doors slid open, I took a deep breath. “Thank you, sir.”

A wave rolled through him from a quick gasp, and I knew he liked it. Sawyer leaned close to my ear and whispered, “You should save that word for when you know me better.”

It was the kind of warning that made me want to rush headlong into getting to know him. But as soon as we got inside, the sweet conversation ended and he went into Daddy mode and started issuing instructions and putting me in a wheelchair by the door.

After just a few minutes of sitting in the waiting room, I was taken to an exam room. The ER must have been slow because a doctor came in right behind me to check me out.

The weight of everything that had happened kept my mind distracted from what was being said, and instead of trying to focus, I retreated into my head. It was easy to get lost in thought about how Sawyer’s strong arms held me and broke my fall, and the way he continued to hold on to me even now. His hand was on my bicep, keeping me calm, even if he didn’t realize the effect he had on me.

The best part about having him here was that Sawyer asked the right questions and paid attention to what the doctor was saying so I didn’t have to.

It was easy to pretend everything was real and he was my Daddy, taking care of me all the time instead of just for a little while.