Chapter 19 #2
Graham started shaking his head. “That’s another thing. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be working at the clinic alone at night.”
“They have a great security system. You said so yourself.”
“Sure, in a normal situation, it’s fine. But this isn’t normal. You’re a target.”
I went to the kitchen counter to pick up my purse. “I don’t want to leave Roxie in a lurch. She hired me to work nights. She has days covered. I’ll have to look around town for another day job.”
“Under the circumstances, I think she’ll let you work days,” Graham assured me as we went out to his truck.
“Graham, it’s not my style to ask for favors. It just isn’t.”
He opened the passenger side door for me and gave me his hand to help me up. “Something tells me you won’t have to ask.”
I frowned. “You didn’t ask Hart for a favor, did you?”
“I didn’t have to. I know Roxie.”
“Well, so do I. She’s a businesswoman. I respect that about her. She’ll do what she needs to do for the business, which means she won’t be handing me a day job when she already has that position filled.”
“Hey there, Miss Laverne,” I called out as I opened the screen door to her newly painted house.
Miss Laverne was wiping her hands on a kitchen towel when she met us in the parlor.
“Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes? Come to the kitchen table.
I just made up a batch of cornbread to go with a stew I’m fixin’ for Jerome and Delilah Wylie.
You know she had hip replacement surgery last week, and DoorDash is mighty expensive. ”
I had no idea who the Wylies were, but I nodded anyway. When I looked around the kitchen, I could see that Miss Laverne had made a lot more than just a pot of stew and cornbread. There were Tupperware containers everywhere.
“Miss Laverne, why don’t you let me drive you over to the Wylies?” Graham suggested.
Miss Laverne laughed. “How about I say no because there’s no way I could get on up into your truck without a crane?”
I giggled. “He could drive you in your car. Anyway, you're going to need his muscle to carry all that food into their house. Are you sure they have room in their fridge and freezer for all this?”
“I’m no fool. I called Delilah. She told me they have a freezer in the garage to handle the venison when Jerome goes hunting, but he hasn’t tagged a buck in over five years.”
“Well, let me get this packed up for you,” I offered.
“That would be wonderful, Joy. I’m going to go get changed into my visiting outfit. Even with my apron, I managed to make a mess of this dress,” she chuckled as she zipped out of the kitchen.
“That woman is something else,” Graham grinned.
“And that’s why I want to make sure she doesn’t become a target.”
Graham sidled up to me and caught me up in his arms. “I’m going to take care of both my girls. Trust me, okay?”
Graham’s hazel eyes shone a deeper shade of green as he made that promise. A girl could fall in love with that color of green.
“I trust you,” I whispered.
He dipped down for a kiss. It was a tender caress that softly wove its way around my heart, tugging me closer to his.
“I thought you were going to have this packed up by the time I got changed?” Miss Laverne teased.
Graham smiled against my lips as we both listened to the older woman’s sass.
He let me go and turned to her. “You look mighty pretty, Miss Laverne.”
I caught her blush. Who could blame her? When Graham Wallace turned on the charm, all women within a ten-mile radius melted.
“Are you taking the crockpot with the stew, or are you planning on putting it in a different container?” I asked.
“No, I want to take it in the crockpot. That gives me a reason to go back and check on them.”
“Smart thinking,” Graham winked at her.
We got everything packed and loaded into the car, and I watched as the two of them left for the Wylies. That gave me the first alone time I’d had since getting the flowers. I needed it. I headed upstairs for a quick shower and a change of clothes.
By the time I got out of the shower, it felt like the temperature had spiked another ten degrees. Just walking across the hall from the bathroom to my bedroom, I was beginning to perspire. It was definitely shorts weather.
I pulled out my cut-off jeans and a red top that wasn’t really all that racy.
Not when I compared it to what my cousin Emmie had bought that day when we’d gone out shopping.
She could wear the really sexy tops that you could get away with wearing without a bra.
Me, not so much. So, I’d bought a bra the same color as the top. When I looked in the mirror, I grinned.
Yep, this will knock Graham’s socks off.
Biker boots would be perfect to go with it, but it was too damned hot, so it was going to be flip-flops. With that thought, I opened a window, turned on the overhead fan, and flopped down onto my bed.
I stared up at the ceiling and started to think.
I couldn’t stop the grin that took over my face as I remembered Graham saying I was his woman. Should I take umbrage with such a neanderthal comment? Hell no. It felt right. It felt good. Damn good.
But then there were the goddamned flowers, and I shivered. I reached for the edge of the blanket and pulled it over my body, trying to warm myself. It wasn’t nearly as good as wrapping myself in Graham’s arms, or even his blankets that smelled like him, but I was willing to make do.
I thought I had put everything behind me. The fear and paranoia, second-guessing every damn thing that I was feeling. Was I making a mountain out of a molehill, or was something bad really going to happen?
I mean, right now, Graham is on my side, but what happens when things just turn creepy and nothing really happens? What then? Will he just think I’m some kind of paranoid nutjob?
I pulled the blanket even tighter.
I heard the sound of Miss Laverne’s car as it pulled into the driveway. Time to get my shit together.
I headed downstairs.