have no one?”
I sighed. “I can take care of myself.”
“How is it that someone like you ended up all alone?”
His words caused a hollow feeling inside me. It kind of felt like a giant pocket of air that kept expanding until there was nothing left but the pressure of emptiness inside me. “It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“I’m tired,” I said. I leaned farther into the seat and looked out my window at the passing buildings. The sun was low in the sky and I knew in just a few hours, darkness would blanket the town, covering up all traces of sunlight. I wasn’t sure I was ready for the darkness.
The last time I went to sleep in the dark, I woke up tied to a chair in the middle of a raging fire.
“Look. Let me take you to my place tonight. In the morning, I can take you to the bank and to whatever motel you want. It’s only one night.”
I felt myself beginning to succumb to his words. I knew I would sleep better if he were close by. I tried not to think about that too much because I didn’t like it. I really was tired. My body was sore and all I really wanted was to take some pain meds and curl up beneath a blanket. A soft one.
“Fine. I’ll stay.”
He smiled like a cat that ate a canary.
“But if you try to kill me in my sleep, I will come back as a ghost and make your life a living hell.”
He did that immediate brake thing again, using his arm to keep me from flying forward. I let out an exasperated sigh. “You are a terrible driver.”
“Katie, look at me.”
The command in his voice was undeniable.
I looked up.
He regarded me with somber eyes. “I swear to you I will never hurt you.”
Deep down I knew it. It was almost like an instinct. Like when you meet someone and right away you know they are a liar. Or that right away they give you the creeps. Well, with Holt—the minute I saw him, I knew. I knew he was a good guy. My subconscious called him a superhero. He wasn’t a liar or a creep—I would sense it if he were. Wouldn’t I?
You didn’t know someone was trying to kill you, an evil voice in the back of my head whispered.
I told it to shut up.
I glanced back at him again. He was rubbing his stubbly chin with his hand, regarding me in a way that showed the doubt in his eyes. He was nervous. It was kind of cute.
“If you slam on the brakes one more time, I’m going to insist on driving.”
A slow smile spread over his face. “No women are allowed to drive this truck.”
I lifted a single eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Damn straight.”
And just like that, I was going home with a hot fireman stranger.
5
I didn’t realize the enormity of going home with him until he pulled in the concrete driveway beside his single-story home. It was a cute place—with a front porch that cried out for rocking chairs and extended the entire length of the front of the home. It was a newer built home, the siding a blue-gray color with wooden shaker-style shutters on each side of the window in a deep-brown shade.
The front door was white, and I knew if it had been my house, the first thing I would have done was paint it to match the shutters.
But this wasn’t my house.
My cute little house was no more.
“Everything okay?” Holt asked, turning to face me when I made no move to climb out of the truck.
“I like your house.”
“Thanks. I haven’t lived here very long. The inside’s pretty bare.”
“Like a clean slate,” I murmured without thinking.
“More like a bachelor pad.”
I glanced at him, feeling my lips pull into a half smile.
He didn’t say anything else but got out of his monster-sized truck. I opened the door and stared down at the ground hesitantly, thinking about how far up I actually was.
“Going down?” Holt said in a distinguished tone. He held out his hand and I didn’t hesitate placing
I sighed. “I can take care of myself.”
“How is it that someone like you ended up all alone?”
His words caused a hollow feeling inside me. It kind of felt like a giant pocket of air that kept expanding until there was nothing left but the pressure of emptiness inside me. “It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“I’m tired,” I said. I leaned farther into the seat and looked out my window at the passing buildings. The sun was low in the sky and I knew in just a few hours, darkness would blanket the town, covering up all traces of sunlight. I wasn’t sure I was ready for the darkness.
The last time I went to sleep in the dark, I woke up tied to a chair in the middle of a raging fire.
“Look. Let me take you to my place tonight. In the morning, I can take you to the bank and to whatever motel you want. It’s only one night.”
I felt myself beginning to succumb to his words. I knew I would sleep better if he were close by. I tried not to think about that too much because I didn’t like it. I really was tired. My body was sore and all I really wanted was to take some pain meds and curl up beneath a blanket. A soft one.
“Fine. I’ll stay.”
He smiled like a cat that ate a canary.
“But if you try to kill me in my sleep, I will come back as a ghost and make your life a living hell.”
He did that immediate brake thing again, using his arm to keep me from flying forward. I let out an exasperated sigh. “You are a terrible driver.”
“Katie, look at me.”
The command in his voice was undeniable.
I looked up.
He regarded me with somber eyes. “I swear to you I will never hurt you.”
Deep down I knew it. It was almost like an instinct. Like when you meet someone and right away you know they are a liar. Or that right away they give you the creeps. Well, with Holt—the minute I saw him, I knew. I knew he was a good guy. My subconscious called him a superhero. He wasn’t a liar or a creep—I would sense it if he were. Wouldn’t I?
You didn’t know someone was trying to kill you, an evil voice in the back of my head whispered.
I told it to shut up.
I glanced back at him again. He was rubbing his stubbly chin with his hand, regarding me in a way that showed the doubt in his eyes. He was nervous. It was kind of cute.
“If you slam on the brakes one more time, I’m going to insist on driving.”
A slow smile spread over his face. “No women are allowed to drive this truck.”
I lifted a single eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Damn straight.”
And just like that, I was going home with a hot fireman stranger.
5
I didn’t realize the enormity of going home with him until he pulled in the concrete driveway beside his single-story home. It was a cute place—with a front porch that cried out for rocking chairs and extended the entire length of the front of the home. It was a newer built home, the siding a blue-gray color with wooden shaker-style shutters on each side of the window in a deep-brown shade.
The front door was white, and I knew if it had been my house, the first thing I would have done was paint it to match the shutters.
But this wasn’t my house.
My cute little house was no more.
“Everything okay?” Holt asked, turning to face me when I made no move to climb out of the truck.
“I like your house.”
“Thanks. I haven’t lived here very long. The inside’s pretty bare.”
“Like a clean slate,” I murmured without thinking.
“More like a bachelor pad.”
I glanced at him, feeling my lips pull into a half smile.
He didn’t say anything else but got out of his monster-sized truck. I opened the door and stared down at the ground hesitantly, thinking about how far up I actually was.
“Going down?” Holt said in a distinguished tone. He held out his hand and I didn’t hesitate placing
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