by Soraya Lane
She could hear her phone ringing, but it hurt too much to move. Caitlin leaned as far as she could off the bed without falling, eyes still shut, groping for the phone.
“Hello?” she croaked.
“Morning, sunshine.”
Lucy. “What… I mean how?” She rubbed at her eyes and gently tried to sit up again before slumping back down. “How can you be calling me this early?”
Lucy laughed. It sounded like glass being shattered to Caitlin. “It’s not early, silly, it’s after lunch.”
What? Caitlin groaned, looked at her bedside clock. No way. “Why do you sound so cheerful?” She was grumpy now.
“Why don’t you? I thought you went home with Mr. Navy.”
Caitlin flung herself back down again, stomach flip-flopping some more. Only it wasn’t the alcohol making her queasy this time.
“Caitlin?”
“I left with him. I mean…” She paused, trying to remember. It was like trying to see through thick fog just thinking about the night before. Or the latter parts of it anyway. “He brought me home.”
Lucy laughed again. “Maybe next time I won’t let you have so many shots.”
“Let me?” Caitlin shut her eyes again as her head started to pound. “You practically forced those drinks on me. It’s your fault I feel like this. I never get drunk!”
Partly because she didn’t like to be vulnerable and partly because she hated feeling like this.
“So where is he? Did he stay over?” Lucy asked. “I need details here.”
Caitlin gripped the phone tighter, her hand clasping it hard. “No, he didn’t stay over.” She had no idea what had happened, could only remember flashes of being with him, of arriving here with him and somehow ending up in her bed. A bead of sweat touched against her forehead. She was always so careful never to put herself in that kind of predicament with a man.
She sat up, let her feet touch the carpet, moved slowly to stop her head from spinning. She had no shoes on—they were neatly on the floor beside the bed, and there was half a sandwich on the bedside table. Next to a glass of water. She definitely wouldn’t have been in the right state of mind to put a sandwich together like that. Which meant that…
Caitlin gulped down a few sips of the water, her mouth so dry it hurt. Tom must have been in her bedroom. Last night. With her.
She stifled another groan and put Lucy on speaker phone so she could start to shuffle slowly toward the bathroom.
“You still there?” Lucy asked.
She shook her head before realizing that Lucy couldn’t see her. “I have to go take a shower.” Caitlin wasn’t completely lying, she did need to do something to wake herself up. To make herself feel like a human instead of a brain-dead zombie again. “I’ll call you later.”
She hung up and walked carefully across the room. Turned on the shower and started to strip.
What if… She wrapped herself in a towel and walked slowly out and across her bedroom, peeking into the lounge.
No. He wasn’t there. Just Smokey curled up on his favorite chair.
She’d had a funny feeling that Tom might have stayed on the sofa, but she’d been wrong.
But he’d been here. She knew that. He’d brought her home, he’d put her to bed and he’d been careful with her. She couldn’t remember exactly what had happened, but she knew he’d looked after her. Because her clothes were still on, there was food beside the bed, and her front door was locked.
Tom had made sure she’d gotten home safe, that no one had taken advantage of her.
Without her even knowing it, without her asking for it, Tom had entered her home and kept her safe. So no matter how much she’d embarrassed herself the night before, drinking as if she’d never drunk alcohol in her life before, she needed to give the guy a chance. To be there when he arrived this afternoon for their hike instead of flaking out and canceling the way she wanted to.
Even if her head was pounding so hard she could hardly put one foot in front of the other, she owed him that. Because him bringing her home was the first time a man had gone out of his way to protect her. And she hadn’t even asked for his help. Even if she still never trusted a man again, Tom had taken care of her. She at least owed him a thank-you.
Caitlin went back into the bathroom and found some aspirin. She swallowed two tablets with a swig of water and dropped her towel, stepping into the shower.
She didn’t know how she was even going to keep her eyes open or stop the earth spinning when she moved, but she was going to. Because Tom was arriving soon.
The thought set a tickle up her spine that had nothing to do with the hot water pounding against her skin.
* * *
An hour later, Caitlin was sitting on her front doorstep, head cradled in her hands, sunglasses pressed firmly against her eyes. She gulped some more water from her bottle, but it didn’t help.
“Hey, stranger.”
Caitlin looked up slowly, squinting into the sun. She hadn’t even heard the car pull up through the pounding in her head.
“Hi,” she said back, wishing it had come out all deep and sexy instead of croaky.
“I’d ask you how you’re feeling but…”
“Like death warmed up,” she replied, at least able to smile this time. “While you look like you had a full night’s sleep and then some.”
Tom chuckled before holding out his hand. She took it, grateful he was hauling her up to her feet.
“I, um, well.” She looked him in the eye, deciding to do it now instead of avoiding the subject. “I appreciate you bringing me home last night.”
She wished he didn’t look so darn chipper though.
“You do?” he asked, walking back to his car then leaning on the hood, legs crossed at the ankle as he watched her. “Because you were pretty sure you didn’t want to leave the bar last night.”
Caitlin groaned again. She couldn’t seem to stop doing it. “Please don’t rub it in.”
“Oh, but I have to,” he said, smirk back on his face. “You see, you were sure that you knew what you were doing dancing like that.”
She ignored him and yanked open the passenger door. “Can we not reminisce about last night? It really wasn’t me at my finest. Please.”
“You sure about that?” Tom teased, standing on the other side, looking at her through the open windows of the vehicle.
She was pleased it was a 4x4; it meant she didn’t have to bend down and risk another head spin. Part of her liked this more-relaxed guy; she only wished she didn’t feel like hell and that they were talking about someone else.
“Look,” she said, getting in as he did the same. “I don’t usually drink, in case that wasn’t obvious from my antics. So can we please forget it ever happened? That was not the real me you saw last night, and she won’t be out on the town ever again. I can promise you that.”
Tom laughed, shaking his head and putting his hands up in surrender before starting the car. “If you say so. But I can’t stop thinking how cute you looked when I tucked you up in bed last night.”
“Tom!” She was going to die of humiliation if he didn’t stop.
He just kept laughing, as if it was the most amusing thing he’d ever talked about.
“I didn’t, well, say anything embarrassing, did I?” Caitlin cringed at having to ask the question, but she was terrified of what she might have said or done. This was exactly why she didn’t usually drink!
“Sweetheart, you’re the size of a grasshopper, no one’s going to judge you for not being able to hold your liquor.”
Now it was Caitlin who was laughing. “A grasshopper? Couldn’t I at least be something a little more, I don’t know, elegant?”
“A butterfly then,” he joked. “Hell, I don’t know, but you’re a ballerina, right? You don’t exactly have the build of a woman built to knock back tequila.”
Caitlin’s head was starting to feel better, the distraction helping her from focusing on the constant thud she’d felt before.
>
“Why are you so perky, anyway, after such a late night?” she asked.
Tom cast a quick glance at her. “I’m a perky kinda guy,” he said. “I’ve had years of having to get up at dawn, so I’m used to not having much sleep.”
Oh. That figured. “So it wasn’t exactly hard for you to roll out of bed to pick me up, then?”
“Did you only just get out of bed?” he asked incredulously.
Caitlin nodded and pointed to her head. “Hangover, remember?”
Tom turned up the radio a touch and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “I got up at 6:00 a.m.,” he told her. “I’ve already been for a two-hour run, had breakfast, read the paper and stopped by to see Gabby.”
Caitlin stared at him. “You’re serious, aren’t you? Who the hell are you and where did you come from?”
Tom shot her another of his gorgeous grins. “It’s all about discipline, Caitlin.”
She shut her eyes and tried to block him and his annoying perkiness out. Oh, she got it. When she’d been a professional dancer it wouldn’t have mattered how late she’d been out, her commitment to her dance had been absolute. Unwavering. But that was another lifetime ago, and right now, she could hardly even remember that girl.
The car slowed and she had to see where they were.
Huh. “You don’t strike me as the fast-food type,” she said drily.
“I’m not,” Tom said, putting his window down to order at the drive-through. “But if we have any chance of actually doing some hiking today, you need something greasy to get rid of that hangover.”
Mmm. Greasy sounded good, even if she wasn’t about to admit it to him. “I thought you’d be a health nut, given your interest in training so early in the morning like a crazy person,” she said sarcastically. She could have told him that she understood, that she got it, but he was teasing her and she had to give him something back.
“Oh, I am, don’t you worry.” He reached into the backseat and pulled out a bottle of green sludge. “Here—down this and it’ll make you feel better.”
Yuk. Green gunk. “Can I hold my nose while I drink it?” She’d definitely be sick otherwise. She was almost gagging just looking at it and she hadn’t even smelled it yet. She might understand the exercising, but she’d never been into veggie drinks.
“If you have to.” He moved up to the next window and collected the paper bags. “If it makes you feel any better I’m going to grease up, too. We can work it off later.”
Tom passed her a bag and waited for her to open it before driving off. “Bacon-and-egg burger,” he told her, taking a bite of his own, other hand on the steering wheel. “I promise it’s good.”
Caitlin unwrapped hers and inhaled the delicious smell of melted cheese and bacon. She went to take a bite but Tom stopped her.
“Uh-uh.” He nudged her with his elbow, already eating his burger. “Juice first, otherwise you’ll never drink it.”
Caitlin scowled at him, not liking being bossed around. “Where’s yours then?”
He shrugged. “I don’t need it. I had a homemade vegetable juice before I collected you.”
Caitlin tried not to laugh. He made her look like a sinner, when she’d always thought she was the good girl. “Well, I guess you’re not exactly a bad influence, are you?”
“I’m no bad boy. Workaholic, sure. Fitness freak, maybe. But I’ve never been accused of being a bad influence.”
* * *
Tom had no idea where that had come from. Not a bad boy? It was a wonder she wasn’t laughing at him.
“So, what’re we doing today? You did get my note, right? The one that said I wasn’t really hiking-fit.”
Tom made the turnoff and put his foot down on the accelerator. “I’ve already had my morning workout so don’t worry, I’m not going to push you too hard.”
She stayed silent as he drove, but he couldn’t ignore her. After last night…he had no idea what had happened. How he’d ended up storming across a bar and marching her home, but right now she didn’t seem to be holding it against him. Maybe she’d liked his stupid alpha routine, or maybe she just couldn’t remember.
Last night her hair had been out, hanging straight as silk down her back. Now it was caught up high in a ponytail, sitting across one shoulder. She’d put on sunglasses so he couldn’t see her eyes, but he didn’t need to. He could still see the way they’d looked at him last night when he’d helped her onto her bed.
Tom cleared his throat, focused on where he was driving. They were almost there.
“Why did you send me that note, Tom?”
The question took him by surprise. He had no idea why. Not when he’d spent so many hours trying to forget about her, trying to tell himself that it didn’t matter if he’d been rude or annoyed her. She wasn’t his daughter’s teacher and he wasn’t interested in her. Couldn’t be interested in her.
And yet here he was in a car with her, on a Saturday afternoon, going for a hike. He usually ran these tracks fast, but now he was about to volunteer for a walk.
“Tom?”
He made the turnoff and drove slowly into the parking area. “I wanted to say sorry, that’s all.” It was a half-truth; he wasn’t completely lying. “I was rude the other night and I shouldn’t have been.”
She kept staring out the window, before looking back at him, slowly taking her glasses off.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
“Much.” She blinked a few times as if she was trying to adjust to the bright light. “So where exactly are we?”
“San Pedro Valley Park,” he told her, pulling into a vacant lot. “We’re going to do the Valley View Loop.”
“Sounds hard,” she complained.
“It’s just over two miles,” he told her. “I could bring Gabby here and she’d make it around without a break.”
Caitlin punched him in the arm, her fist connecting with his T-shirt and biceps beneath. It didn’t hurt, but it sure made him stop moving, made him still as a statue.
She flushed, cheeks pink, as though she hadn’t realized what she was doing until it was too late. “You’re the one comparing me to a kid.” She was trying to be confident, but Tom could see she was as rattled as he felt. “And why would she need a break anyway? That girl has a never-ending supply of energy, like most of the other six-year-olds in my class.”
Tom got out of the car, standing in the sun and stretching lightly, waiting for Caitlin to do the same. He was trying not to laugh, to keep a straight face, but he was struggling.
“She’d probably want to look for wildlife, knowing her.”
Caitlin was suddenly in front of him, closer than he bet she wanted to be. He wasn’t going to pretend that he didn’t like it. No matter how much he tried to convince himself not to go there, to ignore her and move on, he couldn’t. Because she was beautiful and interesting and she fired something within him that he’d thought he’d lost before he was shipped back home.
“When you say wildlife…”
He reached out and touched Caitlin on the arm, liking the feel of her warm, soft skin beneath his hand. Liking that he had an excuse to connect with her. “It’s nothing, honestly. You must have been hiking before?”
She looked worried now, didn’t try to move away from him. “Tom? What wildlife?”
“Look, it’s nothing to be worried about. I’m talking rabbits, moles, gray foxes.” He put his hands in the air, shrugging at the same time. “Coyote and bobcats sometimes, but…”
Caitlin’s eyebrows shot up. “Hold up. Bobcats?”
Tom took her by the arm again and pulled her closer. He gave her shoulders a squeeze, tried to make it friendly even though his mind was screaming out that it should mean something more. “I come here all the time, honestly, we’ll be fine. I was just trying to rile you up.”
She looked relieved. “Phew, you had me there.”
Tom stayed close, tried not to chuckle again. He liked how innocent she was, how her eyebrows arrowed when s
he was worried. “I wasn’t kidding about the wildlife, but I do promise I’ll keep you safe.”
Caitlin looked at him as though she wasn’t sure whether to jump back in the car and refuse to move, or to thump him for scaring her. She did look a little pale though.
“You okay?”
She nodded, but didn’t move away from him, stayed close. And he liked that.
“Let’s limber up, then get going. You’ll love it.”
Caitlin didn’t look so sure, but she followed his lead, checking her shoelaces, doing a few stretches, then grabbing her water bottle from the car.
“Ready?” he asked.
She gave him a sideways look before joining him, taking two steps to keep up with his one long stride. “As I’ll ever be.”
* * *
Caitlin was feeling better. Not about the wildlife, but about the fact she could put one foot in front of the other without her head pounding.
“Pace okay?” he asked.
She glanced at Tom and couldn’t help but see the smile etched on his face. “Too slow for you, huh?”
“There’s nothing wrong with a stroll.”
Caitlin stepped it up a bit, not wanting him to go too easy on her. “So tell me about coming home,” she asked, wanting to know more about him. “Are you doing okay, honestly?”
His face clouded over, darkened, like a storm brewing where before there had been sunshine. “What do you want to know?”
She watched the scenery as they walked, liked the fact there was hardly anyone else around and they could relax. It wasn’t often she was away from the city. “I just thought you might have a story or two to share, that’s all. It’s no big deal.”
He didn’t say anything. She listened to the calls of birds she’d never heard before, scanned the trees as they passed. If he didn’t want to talk it was up to him. She had plenty she didn’t like to talk about, so she wasn’t going to press him.
“There’s more to it than me messing up my ear.”
His flat, morose tone made her slow down and look back at him. She’d known there was more, that there had to be something else for him to have reacted the way he had the other night. It was why she’d wanted to ask him. Even if a part of her was scared of his response.
