With a Grain of Salt (Lindell Book 3)

Chapter 32

Claire

My day was surprisingly pleasant. I only got puked on once by a sick puppy, and we somehow managed to get out of the office on time.

I spent so much time trying to focus on work that the day went quickly.

It wasn”t until I went to grab my jacket and reach for my keys like I do every day that I remembered I didn”t have my car.

”Something wrong?” Kristina asks when she finds me in the back room with my head pressed to the wall, a litany of choice language on my tongue.

”I don”t have my car,” I mutter.

”I figured that”s why that gorgeous bartender of yours was waiting in the parking lot.”

I can”t help the smile that spreads across my face at the mention of him. I”m so relieved I don”t even have the wherewithal to deny ownership.

”You better get out there before Corbin convinces him to foster the elderly beagle mix that was brought in this morning.”

I give her a quick smile and rush out the door.

Just as Kristina predicted, Corbin is standing beside Walker”s truck, rocking back and forth.

”His sight isn”t very good, but he found that bowl of food quickly this morning. He”s got a lot of life left in him,” my boss says.

”I”m not really in the position to take care of an animal, man,” Walker says, but I know Corbin, and anything other than a hard and fast no is a maybe, and a maybe might as well be a yes. It”s how Chase ended up with Nanuk.

I wouldn”t put it past Corbin to drop that dog off at the bar tonight right before closing.

”There”s my girl,” Walker says when I pull open the passenger side door.

I frown at him and he frowns right back, not impressed that he missed me walking up and didn”t get the door for me.

”Try Boone,” Walker says as he reaches for the button to the window. ”If anyone needs a furry companion, it”s that grumpy bastard.”

Corbin waves before walking away, but Walker”s attention has already been diverted to me.

”How was your day?”

”I didn”t ask you to pick me up,” I say.

”You didn”t, but I figured--”

”Thank you,” I interrupt, a little sad that he automatically thought I was going to complain about it. ”It”s very thoughtful of you.”

”Anything for you, baby.”

That”s four. One more and I might start to argue that maybe keeping him would be in my best interest.

My cheeks heat, forcing me to look away from him.

”Come here,” he says, holding his arms open as if there isn”t a console in the middle of the seat.

He sees me eyeing it and in the next breath, he flips the thing up, unconcerned for the change that flies into the back seat from the cup holder.

I look back there to make sure none of it landed in Larkin”s car seat or within her reach. She”s pretty good about not putting stuff in her mouth, but it only takes one time for things to go awfully bad.

”Come here,” he says again. Rather than looking around and wondering who would see me, I go to him, letting him cup my face in that perfect way he does. I find myself lifting my mouth to his, meeting him in the middle rather than making him come all the way to me even though I know he would.

I expect something a little sultrier than what he gives me when he pulls back after one tempting sweep of his tongue against mine.

”You drive me utterly insane,” he whispers when he pulls his head back, eyes still locked on my lips for a long moment before he meets my gaze.

I chew the inside of my cheek to keep from making confessions I know better than to voice.

”Do you need to stop anywhere in town before we go pick up Larkin?”

I have a few things in mind that we could do before getting her, but none of them are very responsible.

”Can”t think of anything,” I tell him.

”That”s a shame,” he whispers, making me smile to know that his head was in the same place as mine. ”I missed you today.”

I swear this man could charm the pants off a nun, but the sincerity in his voice, telling me that he really did miss me, is what I focus on.

”I missed you too,” I confess, my breath catching when he seems surprised for me to say it back.

”What”s your position on fucking in a truck?” he asks out of nowhere.

”Usually on all fours,” I say with a smile.

He huffs a quick laugh before his eyes grow dark. ”I don”t want to hear about you fucking other guys.”

”I had a life before you declared me yours.”

There”s something about the sound that bubbles in his chest that makes me think of him as a feral animal that has a hard time controlling his actions right now. I haven”t fully decided if he came after me that I”d stop him.

That”s not a hundred percent true. I might tell him to wait before asking whose house is closer, mine or his.

”You keep looking at my mouth like that, baby,” he warns as he presses a rough palm to the front of his jeans.

”Sorry,” I tell him as I pull in a deep calming breath, but, honestly, it’s getting hot in this damn truck.

I reach for the controls on the dash.

“Heat’s not on, Claire. That’s just you and me.”

“The windows are getting foggy,” I say, adjusting the defroster and hoping I got it right. The buttons in this vehicle are a lot more sophisticated than the ones in mine, which reminds me to ask about my clunker of a car. ”Did you hear anything about the car today?”

He clears his throat, pressing his palm once more to his jeans in an effort to adjust himself before shifting to sit straight in his seat. ”I haven”t. Figure it might take a few days.”

”Sounds expensive,” I mutter, my good mood taking a dip.

”Boone is a reasonable man. He”s angry at the world, but he doesn”t take it out on others.”

I pull my seatbelt across my body before Walker pulls out of the parking lot.

Kristina honks her horn as she drives past us, a smirk on her face telling me she saw just about everything that went on in here. I”m just grateful the truck is up high and she wouldn”t have been able to see him adjusting himself.

”I love the blush, Claire,” he says as he pulls out onto the main street. ”But you shouldn”t be embarrassed for being turned on right now. I”m a pretty sexy guy.”

”Self-esteem is great, too,” I tell him.

He winks at me when I look over at him, and I vow to not think about any of the negatives in my life as he carries me across town to pick up Larkin. I”ll have plenty of time for that once I”m alone and unable to fall asleep later. There”s no sense in ruining this time with him when there”s nothing I can do about any of it right now.

He holds my hand all the way to Madison”s house, and I don”t bother to ask him to wait in the truck when we get there like I did with Nora this morning. Chase is his friend, and it would be awkward if he stayed out here.

He keeps an inch or two of distance after he opens my door for me, and I can tell it takes a lot of restraint on his part.

Chase opens the door for us with a wide smile on his face after Walker knocks, welcoming us inside.

”They”re in the playroom,” Chase says when I walk past him.

Walker stays back, chatting with his friend when I go in search of Larkin as if I know where the playroom is.

”Momma!” Larkin screams from the second floor.

”Be careful,” Madison urges when Larkin looks like she”s going to fly down the stairs to me.

My sweet little girl slows her feet to stay safe, but her smile grows and grows with every step.

She”s always happy to see me, but there”s an excitement in her eyes when she clears the stairs and runs up to me.

”Nanpup puked on Cole, and then Cole puked!”

Madison looks green with disgust when I look up at her in horror. Puke is the absolute worst.

”He ate a roll of toilet paper. I called the clinic and they said he”d be fine.”

”Geez,” I tell her. ”Rough day?”

She shakes her head. ”Not really. Cole just has one of those stomachs. He can hear someone making a gagging noise and it sets him off. I don”t mean to rush you off. We can chat a little more tomorrow when you pick her up, but we have an event we have to get ready for,” she says in a way that makes me feel like a friend that she can be straightforward with rather than someone she feels like would get upset if she told the truth.

”Oh, sorry! Let me get out of here. You’re sure you”re fine with keeping her? We haven”t even discussed prices yet.”

”Go home,” Madison says, waving me off. ”I would ask that tomorrow you bring her some trolls. She”s rather disappointed that she didn”t have any today.”

”Of course,” I tell her. ”Have a good evening.

Walker watches me, his conversation with Chase never stalling as I walk toward him.

”Walkey!” Larkin screams at the top of her lungs as she runs across the foyer to stand in front of him.

She tells him the same thing about Nanuk and Cole, laughing even harder at the disgusted face he makes.

”Let”s go, troublemaker,” I say as I approach her.

Walker stands to the side, watching me get Larkin in her car seat as if he”s studying for a test I”m going to make him take at a later date.

He waits until I”m done and in the truck before closing my door and walking around the front of the truck.

The entire drive back is Larkin talking animatedly about her day and how much she loves it there. It makes me feel a lot better about my decision. I don”t think she had a bad time at Nora”s house, but Nora doesn”t have kids her age or a dog that licks her face.

Walker pulls up to the spot designated for my duplex, and it only takes half a breath for me to realize the difference.

”Someone put a wreath on my door,” I say, unclipping my seatbelt but making no move to get out of the truck.

It”s not one of those cheap wreaths you”d get from a big box store that leaves little fake pine needles everywhere. This one is made from that pretty mesh material, and it sparkles in the low light from the setting sun.

”Weird,” he says before climbing out of the truck and making his way around to my side.

It”s the strange look on his face that”s a mix of excitement and apprehension that makes me narrow my eyes at him.

I climb out of the truck, taking his offered hand to make sure I don”t face-plant at his feet.

I step around him when he opens Larkin”s door and helps her out.

She makes a beeline to the front door, making “oh” and “aw” sounds at the way the pretty thing sparkles.

”Momma! Look! Pwetty!”

”It is pretty,” I tell her, pulling the keys from my pocket and unlocking the front door.

I see the glow of lights in the first inch of the cracked door, but it doesn”t register what it is until it”s already too late and Larkin is running into the house and squealing in delight.

I don”t know how to feel right now. My daughter”s joy brings me happiness but at the same time, this is taking meddling a little too far. Not to mention the fact that someone had to access the sanctity of my home to set this up.

I only have to glance at him once to understand that he”s the one who did this, and it isn”t until the smile spreads across his face that I realize this is his response to my complaint this morning about the Christmas tree. I called at lunch and by some miracle, I did pay the storage bill last month so I didn”t lose all the things I brought with me from El Paso. It”s not even my stuff but things it was expected of me as Hux”s wife to remove from his housing unit after his death.

”I don”t know if I should be irate with you or if I should tell you thank you,” I say honestly.

“Say thank you now, and when we have a moment alone, get angry,” he suggests. I can tell by his tone it isn”t because he doesn”t want me to get upset in front of Larkin. It”s because he wants to be able to respond differently than he can with her present, and, honestly, that should make me mad, but for some reason, it doesn”t.

I look back at Larkin. If the pretty tree with the sparkly lights isn”t bad enough, there are multiple gifts under the tree as well. I should be grateful. I know that I should. Deep down, there’s a part of me that tells me to ignore my pride, but history tells me not to let people run all over me. I struggle between the two. It makes me feel inadequate, the same way the damn battery for the ride-on car made me feel.

Guilt swims inside of me for how kind he’s been but, at the same time, I should be able to do something like this for my child.

I shrug him off when he reaches for me, the familiar burn of tears making me even angrier.

”Please leave,” I whisper, not wanting to take my anger out on him when it”s about so much more than that.

He doesn”t argue, and, a moment later, the front door is closing behind him.

I fight the urge to run after him when his truck cranks and feel even guiltier when he doesn”t gun the engine like he”s mad I asked him to leave. Maybe he realizes that my brand of crazy isn”t worth getting tangled up in.

I smile at Larkin when she looks back at me and I”m grateful she”s distracted enough not to notice the tear that makes its way down my cheek.