“I have to head out,” he said, his gaze steady, his eyes deep blue. “You still have my card, right?”
“Yes.”
“But, you’re not planning to call even if your life depends on it?”
The comment made her smile. “If my life depends on it, I might call.”
“How about we turn might to will, so I can get out of your hair and you can rest?” he responded, his Southern drawl more pronounced.
“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to rest,” she admitted.
“Give it a try. You’ll heal better if you do.” He touched her cheek, his fingers brushing lightly down her jaw. Such a simple gesture, but longing shot through her, so intense that it filled her heart and her throat. “You’re going to have a bruise there. You’d better put some ice on it.”
She nodded, afraid if she spoke, he’d hear everything she was feeling. He frowned. “Maybe I should stick around until Randal gets back.”
“I’ll be fine.” She forced the words out, because she really needed him to leave.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then, I’ll see you next week.”
“Wait!” she nearly shouted as he turned away.
He swung back around to face her again. “You changed your mind about wanting me to stay?”
“No, I...” What? She couldn’t think of one good reason for calling him back. Except that she was scared and that as soon as left, she’d be alone again. “Just...thanks.”
“Anytime.” He walked down the hall, offering a brief smile as he stepped outside and closed the door. The house felt emptier without him in it, and that wasn’t a good thing.
Tessa had been doing things on her own for so long, she’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone around. Seth made her remember.
After Logan finished dusting for prints, she’d face the attic head-on, drag her suitcase to her room and start packing, because she couldn’t stay. Not just because of the danger that seemed to be dogging her, but because of Seth.
He was his own kind of danger.
The kind that could fill a woman’s heart, seep into her soul. Make her want things that she shouldn’t want. Long for things that were out of reach.
Tessa didn’t want to go down that path again.
She didn’t want the heartache it would bring.
Sometimes, though, she wanted more than a big old house and an oversize dog.
Sometimes, she wanted forever with someone she loved.
FIVE
“It’s a little late for a phone call, isn’t it?” Seth’s older brother Grayson mumbled into the phone as Seth paced the living room of his small apartment.
He glanced at his watch.
“It’s eleven o’clock,” he responded.
Not such a bad time. Unless you lived on the East Coast like Grayson did.
“It’s two in the morning here,” Grayson growled, then mumbled something Seth couldn’t hear.
“Sorry, bro. I always forget about the time difference.”
“You still remember the cookie I stole from your lunch box when you were seven. There’s no way you forgot the time difference.”
Seth laughed and settled onto the sofa. “True.”
“So, I guess you have a reason for waking me from a sound sleep?” Grayson’s voice had already lost its edge, his normally good humor seeping into the words.
“You were the only one left on my list.”
“What list?”
“The list of people I can call at any time of the day or night.”
“So, what you’re saying is that all of our siblings have spouses and kids at home and you didn’t want to wake them. Mom and Dad would go into cardiac arrest if the phone rang before dawn. But, since Honor and our kids are away for a week, you figured it would be okay to wake me,” Grayson grumbled, but Seth knew his brother well enough to know that he was relieved to be getting the phone call. It had been a while since Seth had spoken to anyone in the family because he hadn’t wanted to explain the extent of the reinjury to his shoulder. He also hadn’t wanted to hear the lectures on doing too much too soon.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time Honor wants to go help a friend through a difficult pregnancy.” Grayson yawned and fabric rustled in the background. “So, what’s the reason for this early morning phone call?”
“Does there have to be a reason? Maybe I just wanted to check in.”
And maybe he’d also wanted to remind himself that he had family that he loved, a life that he loved. That things weren’t quite as lonely and empty as the apartment had felt when he’d returned home to it.
“You mean the way that I wanted to check in a couple of dozen times this week during normal, decent hours?”
“You called me three times, Gray. That’s not even close to a couple of dozen,” Seth pointed out.
“And you didn’t return my calls.”
“I’ve been busy. Work. Therapy. You know the drill.”
“How’s the shoulder?”
“Better.”
“Work?”
“Boring until I get off of desk duty.”
“That only leaves your love life. So, who did you meet?” As per usual, Grayson cut right to the heart of the matter. A lawyer who worked in the small town where they’d grown up, he didn’t believe in the fine art of small talk. Especially not when it took up time he could spend doing something else.
Like sleeping.
“I didn’t meet anyone,” Seth said, because Tessa didn’t count as part of his love life, and he didn’t need his entire family discussing the new woman in his life when he didn’t actually have one. Although, he had to admit, a woman like Tess might tempt him to look for the things he’d had with Julia. Things he’d missed but hadn’t thought he’d ever have again.
“Sure you didn’t,” his brother responded. “Who is she? Where did you meet? And how long before you introduce her to the family?”
“I guess being woken up at 2:00 a.m. has caused your ears to stop working,” Seth retorted. “I said that I haven’t met anyone.”
“My ears might not be working, but my brain is. You haven’t called anyone in the family for a couple of weeks, you didn’t return any of my calls. Now, you’re keen to get in touch. Woman trouble. That’s the only explanation.”
“Not trouble—”
“I knew it!” Grayson cut in. “Who is she?”
“She is my physical therapist, not my love interest, and she’s in some serious trouble. I was at her place before I called you. I guess I just needed to hash the situation out, try to get a handle on what’s going on so that I can help her.”
“Are the police involved?” Grayson asked, all the amusement gone from his voice. No more joking or teasing. That was one of his best qualities—his ability to focus on a problem and work through it, to see the deep issues rather than the surface ones.
“Yes.”
“Then maybe you don’t need to be.”
“I walked into the situation, Grayson. I’m not planning to walk out. Tessa needs someone besides the police on her side.”
“And you want to be that person?” A simple question, but there was something in Grayson’s tone that raised Seth’s hackles.
“I told you, this isn’t a love-interest kind of thing,” he snapped.
“Right. Then what is it?”
Good question. One that Seth had absolutely no intention of trying to answer. “I called for some advice, Gray. How about you stop imagining things that aren’t there and give me some?”
“Sure. I can do that. You talk while I make coffee. Maybe by the time you finish, I’ll have a clear enough head to help.”
He frowned, his hand tightening on the phone.
“You still there, Seth?” Grayson’s sharp question pulled Seth back from the past.
“Where else would I be?”
“In my reality, answering the question I just asked.”
Seth would have been happy to answer if he’d heard it.
“What question?”
Grayson mumbled something under his breath, then sighed. “I asked if your physical therapist actually wants your help, or if you just want to give it.”
“I don’t think Tessa wants anyone’s help. Not even the police.”
“Then maybe you should butt out.”
“Like you butted out of Honor’s life when she was in trouble?” Grayson had been anything but willing to turn away when his neighbor and her young daughter had needed his help. Now, they were happily married with two more children.
“And we’ve circled right back around to where we started. Woman trouble.”
“It’s too late at night to get into an argument—”
“So, now that my coffee is kicking in, you don’t want to discuss things.” Grayson chuckled. “I never pegged you for a coward.”
“Let’s stick to the facts, okay?”
“Fine, but you already know the facts. You know where to look if you’re going to find Tessa’s attacker—her past. You’re going to have to start there.”
He was right, of course. Seth had known that before he’d even called, but he and his siblings had always been close. When they had problems they turned to each other. That was the best part of family, and it was what he’d had with Julia. Until he’d failed her in the most basic of ways. “I can dig into Tessa’s past all day long, Gray. That won’t keep her safe.”
There was a heartbeat of silence, and when Grayson spoke, the humor was gone again from his voice. “It’s not your job to keep her safe, Seth. It’s God’s. If you want to help, great. But don’t take the entire responsibility on your shoulders. That’s way too heavy a burden to bear.”
“I know. But I appreciate the reminder.”
“Even though you’re not going to listen to it?”
Probably not.
“How are Honor and the kids?”
“Changing the subject?”
“Yes.”
“At least you’re honest.” Grayson laughed.
He spent the next fifteen minutes regaling Seth with tales of married life and parenthood. He made it sound chaotic, exhausting and pretty near perfect.
By the time Seth hung up, he was smiling. He was happy for Grayson. For all of his siblings. They’d found love, and they were making it last.
Seth had found it and lost it.
God’s plan was always best. He knew that. Sometimes, though, knowing and believing weren’t the same.
He climbed into bed fully clothed, closing his eyes and listening to the howling wind. He needed to sleep, but all that came were memories of the last time he’d seen Julia. Twenty-five and full of life, whispering in his ear that she’d be waiting when he got home.
His chest felt tight with the memory, and he threw his arm over his eyes, his shoulder protesting. He’d done too much, picking up Tessa’s oversize dog and lugging him in and out of the house. Tessa wouldn’t be happy when she saw him at his next appointment.
Not when. If.
Seth had a feeling she’d run if she had a chance. Leave town and try to outsmart whoever was following her.
His cell phone rang, and he grabbed it from his nightstand, his pulse jumping with anticipation. “Sinclair here.”
“Seth?”
Tessa.
His heart jumped in acknowledgment, his hand tightening on the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just...”
“What is it, Tessa?” he prodded, keeping his tone light and easy. Tessa didn’t seem like the type to panic over nothing, or to call someone at nearly midnight unless she was panicking.
“I just heard from Bentley’s vet. She wants to keep him for a few days while the surgery site heals.”
He doubted that was the reason she’d called, but he went with it. “How is he doing?”
“As well as can be expected. Amy did find a bullet in his haunch. It caused a hairline fracture in his hip. She thinks it will heal faster if she keeps him kenneled for a few days.”
“She’s probably right. Did she give the bullet to the police?” As he spoke, he got up, grabbed his handgun from the safe in his closet and shrugged into his side holster.
“Yes. So far, it’s the only evidence Logan has. There weren’t any usable fingerprints on the attic doorknob, and nothing in the woods,” she said with a sigh. “I wonder if he’ll find anything on the photo.”
“It’s possible,” Seth said as he left his apartment. “Most criminals make mistakes, leaving evidence behind that they didn’t mean to.” He got in his truck and turned on the engine. The windshield wipers swiped at the frozen rain as he pulled away from the complex.
Something was bothering Tessa and it had nothing to do with evidence or her dog. He wanted to know what it was, and the quickest way to find out was to head over to her place.
“Is that why you called, Tessa? Because you’re worried about the lack of evidence?”
“I... Yes. I’m sorry for calling so late about something so inane. I shouldn’t have.”
“I gave you my card so you could call if you needed me.”
“I don’t,” she said quickly.
He wasn’t sure why that bothered him, but it did. “Then, what do you need?”
Peace?
That’s the answer Tessa wanted to give Seth, but how could she explain calling him in the middle of the night for something he couldn’t give her? Something she couldn’t even give herself?
“I need some information.”
“About?”
Hiding. Leaving town and disappearing.
It sounded so silly now that she was about to say it. She rubbed her forehead, trying to ease her pounding headache. “I... This isn’t really the time to discuss it. I really am sorry that I called you, Seth. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Stop apologizing, Tessa. It’s annoying,” he growled, but there was a touch of amusement in his voice, and she could almost see his smile. She wished she could tell him she needed him there, in her living room, telling her face-to-face that everything was going to be okay.
But he shouldn’t be what she needed.
She pressed her forehead to the cold glass of the living room window, her eyes nearly watering from pain. Outside, ice pinged off the ground and stuck to tree branches. “I’ll stop apologizing when you stop being so likable.”
He laughed softly, the sound seeping through the phone and straight into a cold dark place in her heart. “What’s wrong with being likable?”
“Nothing.” She sighed. “Look, it’s late, we’re both tired...” Her words trailed off as headlights splashed across the road in front of her house, and a dark truck appeared. It slowed as it approached Tessa’s place.
“Tessa?” Seth’s voice sounded far away, fear making her lightheaded.
“Someone just pulled up outside my house,” she whispered, as if whoever was in the truck could hear her through the glass and over the storm.
“That would be me.”
“What?” She ran to the door, the phone still pressed to her ear as she opened it. “I told you that I didn’t need you to come,” she snapped into the phone.
“You told me that you di
dn’t need me,” he replied. “That doesn’t mean you don’t need company.”
She disconnected, watching as Seth got out of the truck and strode across the yard. He bounded up the porch stairs, the vibration of his feet on the wood seeming to echo through her aching head. She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, but nothing would help the pain. Except for sleep, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to relax enough to get that.
“You’re pale,” Seth said without preamble, nudging her back inside.
“It’s the lighting.”
“Right. Come on. You need to sit down.”
“Do you know how many times tonight you’ve told me to sit down?” she huffed.
“Obviously not enough, since you’re still standing,” he muttered, his hair dark from melting ice and rain, his chin scruffy from the beginning of a beard.
He looked good.
So good that she dropped onto the sofa just to put a little distance between them.
Her head throbbed and her stomach churned at the sudden motion, and she leaned back and closed her eyes.
“You okay?” Tessa felt Seth’s fingers at the pulse point on her neck.
“Don’t worry. My heart is still beating. I’ve just got a bad headache.”
His fingers slipped from her neck to her shoulder, then fell away completely. The floor creaked, but Tessa was too afraid of losing what little she had in her stomach to open her eyes.
Minutes passed, the silence of the house settling around her. She was too exhausted to move, her head heavy and aching, her body numb from fatigue and grief and fear.
The floor creaked again, the cushion shifting as Seth sat beside her. “Here. This should help.”
He pressed two tablets into her hand and dropped a cold cloth on the back of her neck.
“Thanks.” She forced her eyes open.
He was so close she could see the small tracks of the stitches that had closed the wound at his hairline, and the faint white edge of the scar on his jaw. “How did you do it, Seth?” she asked.
Defender for Hire Page 5
