Page 14

She looks uncomfortable.

Twin spots of red are high on her cheeks.

Her teeth dig little divots into her lower lip.

Her shoulders are slumped in something that looks a lot like defeat.

It doesn’t add up.

Then I notice something else.

While Max is still talking, rattling on about the dogs feeding schedule and how many times he took them out to play, Rory keeps playing with her hair, tugging it over her forehead.

If it happened once or twice, I wouldn’t think anything of it. Women play with their hair all the time. But this… it’s different. Almost a nervous twitch.

Is she scared, after all?

Is she trying to hide the bruise on her forehead? Is she feeling self-conscious about it like she did in the hospital?

But then why is she trying to cover the other side?

Yes, there’s a scar there—an old one, slightly raised and faded to a pale pink—that matches the one on her jaw.

But I barely notice them anymore. I never think of Rory’s scars as anything to be self conscious about.

Not when she’s so beautiful, with those expressive green eyes and delicate features and gorgeous smile.

I’ve seen a lot of women in my thirty-eight years, and Rory is by far the most stunning.

I don’t know how she got the scars. And it would be pretty hypocritical of me to ask, considering I’ve been hiding my prosthetic from her for the last six months. But she never seems self-conscious around me, so I assumed she was okay with her scars.

Maybe she’s not?

Maybe she’s insecure, even though she has no reason to be?

“Since you’re here, would you mind if I ran back to the shop for a half-hour or so?

” Max asks. “I just want to make sure everything’s running smoothly.

I’ve got Davis there, and he’s a good kid, but not real experienced.

And he’s working on Mrs. Adamson’s Caddy, so I’d like to check his work before we call her to pick it up. ”

“Of course.” Before I realize what I’m doing, I sidle up next to Rory and put my arm around her. She freezes and I think, oh shit, I shouldn’t have touched her, but a moment later she relaxes and leans against me.

Then she rests her head on my shoulder and a giant fist slams into my chest.

This is right.

Holding her.

Comforting her.

Max grins. “Or I could come back later. I’m sure I could come up with some things to do for the next few hours.”

“Do you think?” Rory asks, tilting her head to meet my gaze. “Maybe we could stay longer?”

Dammit.

How can I say no?

“Let’s see how you’re feeling after an hour,” I concede. To Max, I add, “I’ll text you in about forty-five minutes. See how Rory’s doing. That okay?”

Max lifts his chin at me. “Of course.” Then he inclines his head in Rory’s direction. “I’m happy to come back whenever. I always had dogs growing up. This has made me realize how much I missed having one.”

“Thanks, Max,” Rory replies quietly. She raises her chin to look at him steadily. “And if you want to adopt Charlie, just let me know.”

“Will do.” Max nods. Then he turns to head towards his pickup parked just in front of mine. “Text me when you’re ready for me to come back. And if you need me to pick anything up—dog food, treats—just let me know.”

Though Rory looks more relaxed standing beside me than she did talking to Max on her own, once he’s gone, she’s more like herself again. I can practically see the tension drain from her shoulders and the shadows in her eyes clear.

She leans against me for another few seconds while we watch Max’s truck disappear down the driveway before heading towards the barn. “Come on,” she calls to me, her face lighting up with one of those gorgeous smiles. “I can’t wait to see how the dogs are doing.”

“They all seemed to be happy, didn’t they?”

From the closet, Rory’s voice echoes as she adds, “I really need to do something special for Ronan and Max to thank them for all their help.”

“I’m sure they’d like that,” I answer. “Ronan likes skiing. And craft beer. Max is really into hiking and rock collecting. So maybe something that has to do with one of those?”

Rory’s head pops out of the closet. Her hair is all tousled and her cheeks are flushed. She looks so pretty my breath actually stalls for a second. “Rocks? Max?”

“Yeah. He mentioned it when we were out at Blissful Brews one night. I guess his dad used to collect rocks and got Max into it.”

She ducks back into the closet, reappearing this time with a blue duffel slung over her shoulder. “Well, I can figure out something to do with rocks. And craft beer is easy. Do you know if Ronan likes a particular type? IPAs? Farmhouse ales?”

I step forward to take the bag from her, looping it over my arm. “I think he likes trying all of it. He goes to brew fests and special tastings and stuff like that.”

“Okay.” Rory grins at me. All her uncertainty from earlier is gone, replaced by a bubbling enthusiasm. Had I realized how happy coming here would make her, I would have agreed immediately rather than trying to convince her to wait. “I’ll get to work on that.”

“Sounds good.” I glance around Rory’s bedroom, my gaze lingering on her four poster bed for longer than is probably appropriate.

But I can’t seem to help myself. The second we walked in here, my attention jumped right to it, and all the things I would love to do with Rory on it came tumbling in after.

I would love to lay her out on top of the fluffy gray comforter, peel off her clothes and kiss her all over.

Then I’d dip my head between her legs to discover just how sweet she tastes.

I’d bring her right to the edge, watching her face flush with desire, and find out what kinds of sounds she makes as she comes.

And maybe, though I’ve never tried it before, I’d see if she was interested in using those posts in other, more creative ways.

An image flashes before me of Rory, beautifully naked and tied to the posts with silken scarves, trusting me to take care of her. Her head thrown back in ecstasy, her breasts thrusting towards my mouth, tipped with taut, rosy peaks. Then her eyes would open to look at me, filled with?—

“Gage?”

Damn. Not the time to be fantasizing about Rory.

“Yes?” I ask while turning to surreptitiously adjust the bulge in my pants. “What’s up?”

“Well.” She casts a quick glance around the room. “I think I have everything in here. But I still haven’t found Elmore’s favorite toy. The little stuffed elephant you brought him for his birthday?”

Once we finished visiting with the dogs in the barn—who were all perfectly fine, not traumatized in the slightest, but very happy to see Rory—I agreed to make a quick trip into the house so she could pack up some more things to bring back to GMG.

“I haven’t seen it,” I reply. “Maybe it’s under the bed?” I crouch down to peer under the mattress, but all I see is an expanse of smooth wooden floor. “Or under the couch in the living room?”

“Do you mind checking again?” She comes up beside me and nudges my arm with hers. “I know it’s just a toy, and he has others, but he sleeps with it every night.”

Warmth fills my chest. It’s silly, I know, to be pleased about a dog liking a toy you gave them, but I can’t help it. “We’ll find it. It has to be somewhere around here.”

“Thanks, Gage.” Rory moves into the hallway. “Once we find it, we can go back to see the dogs once more before we leave. Does that sound okay with you?”

“Sure.” It’s been more than an hour, but I’m not complaining. Not anymore. “I’ll text Max and let him know to head back shortly.”

As we head down the stairs, a thought occurs to me. “Do you want to call in a takeout order from Mariano’s? We could swing by on the way home.”

“Oh.” Rory hurries to the bottom of the steps and turns to face me. “That would be awesome.” She pauses. “Do you think it would be…”

“I’ll ask them to send someone out to hand off the food,” I answer, anticipating her question. “So we won’t have to go inside.”

“That sounds perfect, then.” She beams at me. “This is really turning out to be a good day. Delicious donuts with you for breakfast, a trip to see the dogs, and then lunch from Mariano’s.”

“We could watch that show you’ve been talking about, too. The one with all the cute kittens and puppies. If you want.”

A bubble of fizzy anticipation grows bigger inside me. The way Rory describes it, today does sound like a pretty great day.

Well, except for the whole Rory-in-danger part. But I’ll get her back to GMG, safe in her cabin, and we’ll spend some more time together.

Distance? Maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

“ Too Cute ?” Rory asks. “I love that show. It’s not new, but I only discovered it a couple of months ago. It’s impossible not to smile when you’re watching it.”

“ Too Cute it is, then.” Crossing the living room, I set Rory’s duffel on the ground and crouch in front of the couch. I pull my keys from my pocket and flick on the attached flashlight, aiming the beam of light beneath the couch. “I don’t see it,” I tell her. “I guess we’ll have to keep looking.”

Rory stops in the center of the living room, her forehead creased in thought. Then she brightens. “Oh, I think I know where it might be.”

“Where?”

She’s already making a beeline to the kitchen. “The little doghouse in the back. Elmore likes to go in there sometimes to take a nap. He might have brought it in there.”

“Okay, I can check.” I stand up, biting back a wince as my prosthetic rubs against my sensitive skin. “Just wait?—”

“I’ll just run out to check,” Rory calls back. “It’ll just take a second.”

“Ror. Wait. That’s not a great idea.”

But her hand is already on the doorknob to the back door. “It’s right outside, Gage,” she replies, a teasing note to her voice. “I think I can manage to go twenty feet on my own.”

I don’t doubt that she can walk twenty feet. But I don’t like the idea of Rory going anywhere without me. “Just wait?—”

“I’ll be right back. Don’t worry.”

In normal circumstances, I wouldn’t. But these aren’t normal circumstances.