Page 96 of Stalked By Shadows

“Color coordinated bins?”

He shrugged. “Helps me find stuff fast. The quilt cottons are a little more complicated because I have them broken up by pattern instead of color, but still in bins with a certain design on them.” He went to the chest at the end of the bed and opened it. A second later he pulled out a new quilt. This one was green, with leaves and tiny dragons. It was part the roll of strips he’d had me choose, and the little dragons. He must have gone back for more of the fabric. Micah handed me the quilt and I opened it, marveling at the pattern and the size. It was huge. I wrapped it around myself, loving it instantly. This was better than any of those cheap Walmart comforters I’d had.

“You fucking rock.”

A smile curved the edge of his lips. I grinned at that little break in his mask. How long would it take to tear it down again? A few hours? Days? Weeks? “You thought I’d be back?” I asked him.

“I hoped,” he admitted. “Your disappearance didn’t fit the others.”

“Because I didn’t vanish in a state park? I’m sure people vanish in the middle of big cities all the time.”

He nodded and looked somber for a moment. “A lot of those are due to drugs or sex trafficking. You don’t fit either of those profiles.”

That was true.

“I thought maybe you got lost in that other place. The one that sucked you down.” He glanced away. “I kept dreaming that I couldn’t save you.”

I pushed the blanket back, letting it fall onto the bed, and wrapped him in my arms, reminding him of what we’d told Lukas earlier. “I don’t need you to save me. I need you around, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, accepting my embrace.

I glanced at the bed. While I was tired, I wasn’t tired enough to sleep and it was only four in the afternoon. Did he need a nap? “Are you tired?”

“A little, but not enough to sleep?” He said, more a question than an answer, like did I understand? And I did. He had stuff in his head he needed to sort out.

“Do you want me to go?” Maybe I should have stayed with Lukas. Though I kind of thought he needed time with Sky to finally sort out what was in his head.

“No. I like having you here.” He seemed to think for a minute. “Not because it assures me you are really back, but you help slow my thoughts, calm the everyday anxiety? Like my brain knows that if something happens, whatever it is, you’ll know what to do.”

“Even if that something is run away screaming,” I agreed.

He laughed. I loved that sound. “You’re so damn snarky.”

“Are you complaining?”

“No.” He rubbed my arms, like he was reassuring himself that I was real. “Let me set up a bath for you. A twenty-minute soak and your skin should feel better.”

“Yeah? That easy?”

“You’ll probably have to repeat it over the next few days, but it will help.”

“Okay,” I said. “What will you do while I bathe?”

“Watch you. Maybe crochet?”

“Sounds like a plan.” I followed him down to the bathroom and watched him fill the giant tub and add a bunch of things to it. Whatever they were smelled heavenly, and the heat wafting in little steam trails off the water looked deliciously inviting. I stripped without thinking about it, and slipped into the tub, sinking down until the water reached my chin.

Micah brought some new crochet project in and sat down beside the tub, working his magic while I half dozed in the heat. It was amazing. My body awakening slowly to the sensation like every muscle had been cramped up to avoid pain or something. By the time the water began to cool and I was pruney, every inch of me felt softer, smoother, and more awake than when I’d found myself in that Georgia hospital. We barely spoke the entire time and that was okay as the silence had been comforting.

“Do you want me to shave off the rest of the beard?” I asked him after he handed me some shampoo that was supposed to help moisturize my scalp.

“No. I like it. I’m a bit of a texture freak if you haven’t noticed. I think that’s why fiber arts are so appealing to me.”

And I could see that. Even at the shop he had the tendency to touch things. “I guess I’m pretty good texture right now, all scaly and dried out. Well, I’m pruney now,” I said holding up a hand. And I had to admit my skin felt so much better, not as tight, and more flexible.

He gave me a small smile. “Make sure you keep drinking more water too. Our skin is our largest organ and needs lots of fluids inside and out.”

“Maybeyourlargest organ,” I teased.