Page 136 of Sunkissed Colorado

She rested back against the pillows, smiling and nodding as she reached for my hand. “Just need you,” she whispered, smothering a cough.

And I needed to be with her too. I didn’t care what her parents or anyone else thought. The two of us were a package deal.

The funny thing was, we’d been that way almost since the whole ridiculous competition over general manager started. We worked far better together than apart. Just took the both of us a while to figure it out.

Arriving at Eliza and Javi’s home that afternoon was a stark contrast to the last time I’d rolled up here. That time, Zandra had texted me to come get her because Ian had ambushed her.

Part of me would have loved to find Ian here again, just to make it nice and convenient for me to rearrange his face and his body parts for what he’d done.

But then again, that would distract me from taking care of my girl, and that was job number one today. Same with all the days in the future if I had my way.

Eliza fluttered around us as I led Zandra inside and toward the stairs. “Are you positive you won’t let me set you up in the living room, sweetheart? Then you won’t have to manage the stairs.”

“We’ve got it,” I said. Zandra and I had already talked this through. Well, I did the talking, she did the typing and speaking through her eyes and expressions.

She did not want her mom eyeballing her every move. Also, she wanted to share a bed with me. So, the guestroom upstairs it was. “I’ll take it from here, Eliza.”

Zandra’s mom jolted like somebody had buzzed her with anelectric shock every time I used her first name. But I was done being formal.

Polite, yes. But was I going to bend over backwards to try to impress them, like the first night I came here for dinner? Nope. They would get the enjoyment of my charm when I was sure they were being fair to Zandra.

We got upstairs, and I picked her up to carry her the rest of the way to the guestroom. I carefully removed her shoes before helping her into bed and pulling the covers up around her. It was clear she was exhausted, and she’d been nodding off in the truck on the drive here. The past day had taken way too much out of her.

I kicked off my own shoes and crawled into bed beside her. After arranging her pillows to make sure she was comfortable and could breathe okay, I spent a few minutes softly kissing her face and stroking her arms.

“I love you,” I murmured against her temple.

Her eyes said it back, along with her lips making the shape of the words.

I traced my thumb along her cheek, marveling at how good it felt to have her safe in my arms. “I want you to get some rest, and I’ll be downstairs taking care of some things. But I’ll be back to check on you.”

“Don’t go far,” she whispered.

“Won’t set foot outside this house,” I promised, brushing a kiss across her forehead. “Your parents are going to regret inviting me.”

I stayed there until she drifted off to sleep, her breathing finally evening out as the tension left her body. Only then did I carefully slip out of bed, making sure not to wake her.

I had some deliveries that would show up soon. And I figured I should be downstairs when they arrived.

I made it to the entryway just in time to hear furious knocking on the front door. A small silhouette stood outside,visible through the frosted glass. “I’ve got it,” I said, throwing a wink at Gladys as she rushed into the entry.

Gladys cast a glance behind her, then whispered, “I heard you saved Zandra’s life and you were defending her to her parents, so you go right ahead and make yourself at home.”

I was glad to know I had at least one ally here. Luckily, though, I’d already called for reinforcements.

As soon as I opened the front door, my sister shot inside.

Grace went to me for a hug first, already launching into a stream of questions. “How’s Zandra doing? Have you heard anything about how the fire started? Oh, Dane has dinner. Point me to the kitchen, and we’ll get started setting up.”

Dane was right behind her, carrying enough bags of takeout to feed the entire wing of the hospital Zandra had been in. “Put me to work,” he said. “You might want to speak up about what you need, otherwise Grace is going to come up with a million things on her own.”

I had no doubt of that.

While we’d been waiting for the discharge papers at the hospital, I’d sent out messages on the Lonely Harts Club group thread. I’d already been texting with all of them off-and-on all day to keep them updated.

The O’Neals and the Landrys had a habit of bringing out the big guns when one of us was hurt or in trouble. And thank goodness for that.

Gladys started to point Dane and Grace toward the kitchen, but then Eliza appeared in the archway that led to the living room. “What onearthis going on here? Callum, who is in my house?”