by Ana E Ross
She glanced around the room again, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her backpack on the floor near the door with a green dress she recognized draped over it. How thoughtful of him to have grabbed her backpack on his way out the night he brought her here. She wished she’d been lucid enough to ask him to get her duffel bag from its hiding place. But that would have led to questions about its contents.
If he knew what was in that bag, he might get the wrong idea. He might think she robbed a bank or something, or that she was a drug dealer, or perhaps had associated with or stolen from one. He might think that a drug-dealing organization was the “they” she was hiding from. Then whatever little respect and sympathy he had for her would be gone. Even though they might never see each other again, Tashi didn’t want any thoughts Adam might have about her to be bad. Months, maybe years from now, she wanted to be able to look back on their time together with a smile of gratitude and the thud of excitement in her heart. She wanted to believe that his thoughts of her were pleasant.
The fact that her stuff was stacked near the door meant he was ready for her to leave. He probably had a lot of work to catch up on, work he’d set aside to take care of her. And then there was the matter of his daughter. She could be taking up precious time he should be spending with his child.
She brought her gaze back to his face and offered him a warm smile even as the thought of leaving his tender loving care, of perhaps never seeing him again caused a dull ache inside her. “Thank you, Adam. Thank you for coming when I called, and for taking care of me for these past three days. But I’m feeling a lot better now, so—”
“Well, that was the idea. Getting you better.”
His voice was as soft and tender as his eyes. They seemed to massage the hurt, desolate places inside of Tashi—places the human eye couldn’t see—just as effectively as his hands had massaged her aching body throughout the past three nights.
“Yes,” she said. “That was the idea, and now it’s time for me to return to my apartment so you can get on with your life. I know I can never repay you, monetarily—” Well, she could, but he’d want to know where she got the money. “But if there’s ever anything I can do to reciprocate your kindness, just say the word. I can babysit for you.” She tossed out the lie easily, knowing that the first chance she got, she was leaving Granite Falls. She’d finally come to terms with the possibility that the FBI agent who’d helped her escape that night was dead. He was never coming to explain anything to her. There was no reason for her to stick around and put Adam’s, his daughter’s, and his parents’ lives in jeopardy.
His brows furrowed. “Babysit? And whom would you babysit for me, Tashi?”
“Your daughter. Tiffany.”
He threw back his head and laughed.
Tashi swallowed the cry of humiliation that rose to her throat. “You probably have a long list of professional nannies, huh? Why would you trust a stranger with your daughter?”
“No. It’s not that,” he said, his laughter fading to an arresting chuckle. He crouched down in front of her and held her hands in his. “Tiffany isn’t my daughter. She’s my goddaughter. I was spending quality time with her that day you and I ran into each other. Dr. LaCrosse—Erik is her father. I don’t have any children, Tashi—not yet, anyway, nor do I have a wife,” he added as if it was important for her to know that.
“I feel so foolish. I thought…” Her voice trailed off. She’d known that he wasn’t married, but it was a relief to know he didn’t have any children either. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but there it was, a scintilla of elation that he hadn’t reproduced with any other woman. But was he involved with anyone? The article she’d read on the Internet hadn’t specified about his private life, and she’d been too sick to dig any further into his background.
“You’d really do anything to return my kindness?” he asked softly, rubbing the pads of his thumbs across the insides of her wrists, sending sparks shooting through her blood.
“Anything.” Her voice shook.
“Stay.”
“What?”
“Stay. Stay here with me. You may be feeling better, but you still don’t have your full strength back. Erik said it would take at least a good week or two before you’re feeling yourself again. And that’s with you eating three healthy meals a day and staying off your feet. You need someone to take care of you, Tashi. The fact that you called my hotel looking for me that night tells me that you have no one else. Am I right?”
Tashi tugged her hands from his and wrapped them around her middle. The invitation was tempting, but the repercussions could be deadly for Adam. “Why? Why are you being so kind to me?”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“Meaning you would do the same for a stray dog.”
He tilted his head to one side and gazed at her. “Where’s this sudden hostility coming from, Tashi?”
It seems like the only way to get you out of my life. “I have to get back to my apartment,” she said, attempting to rise from the bed.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and pressed her gently back down. “You can’t go back to your apartment. Not yet.”
Panic rioted inside her. “Why? What happened?”
“Nothing. It needs to be cleaned and fumigated. There were rodents running about the night I took you out of there. And you need a new refrigerator. Remember how you got sick?”
She dropped her gaze to the floor. Tashi had never felt so ashamed of where she lived before, of the image of her in that place branded in Adam’s mind. She’d been too sick to think or care about it, but sitting now on Adam’s white bed, in his white palatial bedroom, in his mother’s white satin clothes, she felt the heat of humiliation creeping through her.
“I’ll talk to your landlord and have him replace the fridge,” Adam said, obviously unaware of her dilemma.
Her head shot up. “No. You can’t talk to my landlord.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not his responsibility. The previous tenant left it there. It’s my responsibility to replace it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Can you afford to replace it? Do you even have a job, Tashi? How do you survive?”
Alarm and anger rippled along Tashi’s spine conquering the spaces where humiliation had occupied seconds ago. She hadn’t even realized what she’d done until she was halfway to the door.
“Tashi.”
She glanced over her shoulders to see Adam sprawled on the floor where she’d pushed him in her haste to escape, a stunned look on his face. “I’m sorry, Adam. I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, but I have to go.”
She gave no thought to taking off her clothes in front of him. It didn’t matter. He’d already seen all of her that was to be seen. She dropped the robe and the nightgown on the floor and pulled her dress over her head.
“Tashi, I’m sorry if my questions upset you, but you can’t leave like this.”
Tashi felt miserable for treating him so unkindly after all he’d done for her, but it was the only way to keep him safe. She turned as he came up beside her. “I’m sorry, Adam, but I need to go. I have to go, and I can’t tell you why. Just—just let me go.”
“Okay,” he said, raising his hands in treaty. “I’ll take you back to your apartment, but only after you eat something. You haven’t eaten since breakfast. You slept through lunch so I know you must be starving. I made you a chicken casserole. It’s warming in the oven.”
Tashi’s stomach growled at the mention of food. She was hungry, and there was nothing at her apartment to eat. Since she didn’t have a fridge, she would have to live on takeout until she figured out her next move—what state, what town she was moving to, and how to go about obtaining a new identity. She would love to leave the country, but using her name to obtain a passport would definitely raise a lot of red flags. Maybe after she assumed a new identity...
Tashi never thought her life could have gotten any more complicated after that night in New York City. F
ifteen months ago, she’d gone into hiding after killing a man who intended to hurt her. And since then, she’d been living with guilt about the one who’d died to save her. Now here she was, running again to save another who wanted to help her.
An inner torment gnawed at Tashi as she faced the harsh realities of a life of loneliness. Until she knew what happened in that house after she escaped, until she knew who was after her, she could never have friends, or a…
As her fears mounted, she had an overwhelming need to rest her head on Adam’s chest and feel his arms about her one last time. Until the day she’d bumped into him, it had been months since anybody had hugged her, so long since she’d felt the warmth of human contact. She longed to be close to him again, kiss him even. But she throttled back those feelings for his sake. If she showed any weakness now, he would be more adamant about keeping her around.
“Tashi? Will you eat something first?”
His gentle voice pulled Tashi out of the cocoon of anguish wrapping around her. “Yes. Okay. I’ll—I’ll eat. Then you’ll take me to my apartment?”
“Yes.”
“No more questions?”
“No more questions.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Adam watched relief settle into her features at his promise to cease questioning her. He knew she was pushing him away because she was afraid for him. She was all alone in the world, but when the one person she’d reached out to in her hour of dire need offered to help her, she panicked.
“Come.” Taking her hand, he led her out of the bedroom, across the hall, through the living room and into the dining area. Her hand felt almost as small as Tiffany’s clasped within his. She was so frail, a strong gust of wind would send her toppling to the ground.
He seated her at the table that was already set for two. He brought the casserole from the oven and served her a good portion, then he got the pitcher of vegetable and fruit he’d juiced while she was in the bathroom and filled up their glasses.
“Thank you,” she said, attempting to give him a smile. “It smells delicious.”
“Too bad you don’t have a refrigerator to take some home for later. When do you think you’ll have one? I can bring some food around for you.”
She dropped her head, picked up her fork, and immediately began eating.
Was she trying to shut him up or was she that hungry? Maybe a little of both. Adam smiled inside at her subtle wit as he lowered his weight into the chair across from her and picked up his fork.
They ate in tacit silence, and he kept filling her dish and her water and juice glasses while questions she’d asked him not to ask swam around in his head. Questions like who were the ‘they’ she’d mentioned the other night? Why did ‘they’ want her dead? Was she afraid to be around him because ‘they’ had hurt or killed someone she loved?
Adam tensed as he recalled Tashi’s reaction when he’d tried to bathe between her thighs the other night. She’d been weak and feverish one moment, then the next had suddenly become violent, jabbing her elbows into his ribs and fighting to get out of the tub. Had someone sexually molested her? His stomach crunched at the thought, and a need for revenge he never knew was in him sizzled through Adam.
Her attempt to shield him from danger wired his resolve to find whoever had hurt her and make them pay. She was a damsel in distress, but a fighting, independent, strong-willed one, totally different from those in his past who’d expected him to fight their battles and save them from their plights.
Tashi was trying to save him by pushing him away. But if he granted her wish, Adam knew that he would regret it for the rest of his life. Strange, since he knew nothing about her—but there it was anyway—that nagging feeling in his gut, that knowing in his heart that his cousin and his friends said they’d gotten when they first met their wives.
He’d never felt that with Claire, or Denise, or any other woman he’d ever dated.
“What’s in this drink?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.
He looked up to see her twirling the juice around in her glass. He smiled. “Um, let me think… Uh—cucumber, broccoli, squash, kale, carrots, celery, ginger…” He furrowed his brows. “An apple, an orange, a banana, and yes, a couple slices of lemon. Do you like it?”
She nodded. “It’s tasty. I never knew fruits and raw vegetables could taste this good blended together.” She gave him a bright smile, making his heart flip over in his chest. “This is what you’ve been feeding me for three days? Along with warm broth?”
Adam finished his juice and set his glass noiselessly down on the black placemat. “Yes. It’s a great way to get your vitamins and other nutrients without the fiber. And fiber you did not need. The natural sugars and salt provide electrolytes that help to balance the water and pH level in your blood and strengthen your muscle function. You lost a lot of electrolytes. That’s why you were still feeling a little achy and lightheaded earlier. How do you feel now?” He placed his elbows on the table and leaned in a little toward her.
“A lot better. Thanks.” She rubbed her tummy and flashed him another demure smile that made his heart skip another beat. “You know a lot about treating salmonella poisoning,” she added over the rim of her water glass.
“Well, I’m in the food industry, so…” He spread his hands. “And Erik gave me instructions on how to take care of you. He called this morning to see how you were. He’s been calling everyday, actually. He’d like to see you again to give you a good bill of health.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Please, thank him for me.”
Meaning: I won’t be around much longer. The thought caused a dull ache in his gut.
Her lips parted slightly. “You’re a good man to take me in and care for me, Adam Andreas. Nobody but my uncle has ever been this kind to me.”
Through the glass-topped table, he watched her hands fold and unfold on her lap. “Where’s your uncle?” he asked as casually as he could. Why hadn’t she called him?
She averted her gaze for a brief moment by looking out the wall of glass overlooking Mount Washington and the Presidential Range. She turned back to him. “He’s dead.”
Sadness dulled her voice and the glimmer of light that had returned to her emerald eyes. “How did he die?”
“He had pancreatic cancer. It’s been almost two years.”
Adam let out the breath he’d been holding since she mentioned her uncle. He’d expected her to say that he’d died at the hands of whoever was after her. “I’m sorry. It sounds like you were very close.”
“He raised me since I was four years old.”
“Really? Where were your parents?”
She shivered as if someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water over her. “It’s getting late. I should help you clean up before I leave.” She picked up her empty plate and silverware from the table.
“No. No. Leave them. You’re to stay off your feet. Doctor’s orders.” Adam tried to force some humor into his voice even as he battled his frustration over her determination to leave the safety and comfort of his home, to refuse the tender loving care he was extending toward her. “Would you like some dessert?” he asked, desperately seeking a way to keep her around a little bit longer. “I have some leftover blueberry tart.”
“Thanks, but no. I’m quite full. Everything was delicious, Adam. You are an amazing cook.”
“I’ll be happy to cook for you every day, Tashi.”
Bypassing his bait, she pushed back her chair.
Adam dropped his napkin on the table and hurried around to help her up. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. “Tashi, please stay, if only for the night. I’ll take you home first thing tomorrow morning.” It was killing him to think of her being in that dump, much less being there alone when she wasn’t fully recovered.
“I—I—can’t. There are things I need to do.” She pulled out of his grasp and began making her way back toward the bedroom.
“What kind of things?” he
asked, following behind her. There was a distinct spring in her steps now that she’d eaten. He was happy he could do that for her. “What do you have to do that can’t wait until tomorrow, Tashi?”
She continued walking without even as much as a turn of her head to acknowledge that she’d heard him. Her silence intensified his curiosity, but remembering how she’d withdrawn into her shell when he’d asked about her parents a few minutes ago, he decided not to push any further.
“Thanks for bringing my backpack,” she said, picking it up from the bedroom floor and setting it on the chair.
“It was open, and I noticed your camera, laptop, and wallet inside it. I didn’t want to leave it at your apartment—just in case—”
“I know. It’s not a safe neighborhood. There’re a lot of break-ins.”
“Someone broke into your place before?”
“No. I keep my windows and doors locked all the time. You did lock up, right?” she asked looking up at him with panicky eyes.
“I did.” As he stared at her, Adam had the feeling that her concern went a lot deeper than someone breaking in to steal her clothes, furniture, and the few personal items she might have.
She searched through the compartments of the backpack. “You didn’t happen to grab my cell phone, too, did you?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think…”
She bit her lower lip as if that bit of bad news was particularly distressing.
“I’m sure it’s fine, and if not, I’ll buy you another one. I’d be happy to replace your fridge, too. You can’t live without—”
“It doesn’t matter. He’s never going to call anyway,” she said, staring across the room as if she’d just lost her last bit of hope.
“Who? Who’s not going to call, Tashi?”
“Nobody. I’m ready to leave.” She glanced down at her bare feet. “Do I have shoes?”
“No. I carried you out of your apartment that night and didn’t think of grabbing those either. I wasn’t thinking of anything that night but bringing you here so Erik could examine you. I’m sure I can find a pair of my mother’s you can borrow, or I could just carry you again,” he added on a smile.
