Chapter 4
Chapter Four
R iley wanted to take back her teasing as soon as she’d said it. It was a wonder she hadn’t burned into ash the moment she’d walked through the door tonight. How many times was she going to put her foot in her mouth?
You’re family. I love my family.
No.
I knew I’d have you eating out of my hand.
Why didn’t she just prostrate herself on the floor and admit that she had a crazy crush on him? It would have been less embarrassing than everything she was spilling now.
Before Antony could punch her in the face, Riley cleared her throat and jumped to her feet. “Let’s, uh, while that’s kicking in, I’ll start cleaning.”
Antony’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Seriously, Ri,” he said hoarsely. “I don’t want you going through my things.”
It was so stupid. These conflicting emotions.
Riley knew she was pushing him. In fact, she knew that the harder she pushed, the less likely she ever was to have a chance with him. But Antony needed help, and there was no one else to give him a swift kick in the tush.
She swallowed hard. Did she give in and let him wallow? Or did she kiss any possible future goodbye and keep digging in her heels?
Griffin, good boy that he was, shifted slightly, resting against Antony’s good knee. The battered man didn’t even seem to notice the dog was there. But dang it, she’d worked hard training that dog for quite some time, and when a wounded animal needed someone to reach out in Seagull Cove…Riley was the one to do it.
“I’m not planning to dig through your things,” she said in a firm, but kind voice. She almost giggled inappropriately at the fact that she had automatically shifted to the tone she used with angry animals in the shelter. “Antony, I know you want me gone. But I’m not leaving.” She pulled her hand away, hating how much it hurt to do so, hating what she was giving up. “You’re healing, whether you want to admit it or not. You’re capable and strong and plenty of good things, but you aren’t superhuman. Your body needs to progress at a pace that is less than you’re asking.” She took another step back, creating more distance between them as his eyes hardened. “When you’re ready, I’ll leave. But until then, I’m here to help.”
Spinning on her heel, she started for the hall again, begging the heavens to keep Antony in his seat. When she reached the bathroom door without incident, she thanked whatever sumo wrestler guardian angels had stepped in and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
But when she flipped on the light, her stuttering heart sank. Pinching her lips together, she marched back out to the front room only to come to a screeching halt.
Antony was resting his head back against the wall as if he were too tired to carry on, his hand resting on Griffin’s head. Griffin was resting his chin on Antony’s knee, looking up with mournful eyes. The two looked like the weight of the world was on their shoulders and they were about to crumble from the pressure .
Antony cracked an eye. “Are you going to shout at me about the mess?”
Riley huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “No. I’m going to ask what you need to make that bathroom usable to you?”
The floor had been covered in towels, which at least showed Antony had at least a few supplies in this dank place. But it was also clear that getting in and out of the tub/shower combo had been almost more than he could handle. Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t gotten a disease from the dust and dirt caked around the edges, which said his immune system had recovered quite nicely.
He smirked at her. “There’s nothing you can do, Ri. Let it go.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You realize that you’re challenging me right now?”
Antony frowned. “If you threaten to give me a bath, I really will call the police.”
Dang her light skin. Blushes had plagued Riley since she was a girl. Oregon was the perfect place for naturally pale people, and Riley had fit right in. But by the look on Antony’s face, her curse let him see exactly what was going through her head at the moment.
“I’m not giving you a bath,” she snapped.
Antony grunted and closed his eyes again. “Your loss.”
“Loss of jail time,” she muttered, grinning sarcastically when he peeked at her again. “The point is, you can’t use it as is, Tone. You’ll end up with mold from that kind of water spillage. The mildew alone could kill you, and there’s no way mopping up that kind of water is going to be easy every time you go to wash.”
He shrugged, apparently having decided to simply ignore her, rather than growl and snap. “It is what it is. It’ll do.”
Yeah. It was a good thing she’d decided to give up any future with him. The Antony she’d once known obviously no longer existed. This one was going to drive her crazy.
Making the internal commitment to fix things, Riley turned around and went back to the bathroom. Tonight, she’d clean. Tomorrow, she’d come back with industrial supplies. That man had no idea who he was messing with. Riley had never met a beast she hadn’t tamed. Antony Harrison and his disgusting apartment weren’t going to be any different.
Pulling on her gloves, Riley grabbed her strongest cleaner and started in the back corner.
Two hours later, she stood in the doorway, grinning at her work.
There was something so satisfying about turning mess into order. The bathroom couldn’t be called pretty by any means, but at least now it was disease free. The massive pile of rags, dirty towels and paper towels was a testament to Riley’s particular brand of elbow grease.
“I guess scooping poop all day comes in handy.”
She spun, her heart leaping into her throat before landing with a plunk in her stomach.
Antony’s grin wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t quite as dark as before. “Didn’t realize you frightened so easily.”
Riley huffed and bent over, grabbing her bucket of supplies, which had been severely depleted. “I’m going to run these out to my car.” Rising, she paused. “What garbage can do you have access to?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Tilting her head, Riley stared him down. “Did you look at anything before you signed the lease?”
He shrugged again. “I walked in the door.”
Another mental lightbulb flicked on, and Riley found her resolve softening. She was going to be dancing a very tight line here. Antony needed help, any idiot could see that…but apparently, he also needed space.
Her ability to give him both was going to be tricky, and for the first time since arriving, Riley began to doubt she was the right woman for the job.
“Well…” She shifted her burden. “I’m sure we’ll figure it all out.” She took a step, but stopped. “Excuse me.”
Antony juggled himself on his crutch and turned his body just enough to let her by .
Biting back a smart remark, Riley squeezed through the opening he’d created, ignoring the heat of his chest as she brushed past him, and practically sprinted for the door.
Great. On top of everything else with this apartment, there had to be something wrong with the heating and cooling. All it had taken was a slight brush of Riley walking by with an armful of laundry, and Antony was ready to burst into flames.
He paused before following her. She was moving too fast for him anyway, but it occurred to him that he’d felt a similar heat when he’d grabbed her arm.
Frowning, he looked down and studied his palm. He’d grabbed her with his good hand. The unscarred one. How did he explain that away? His ruined hand might have been having some kind of weird reaction to her skin, but his good one?
Griffin huffed.
Antony’s gaze went to the dog. “Me too, buddy.” He sighed. “Me too.” Shaking his head, Antony started to walk, but halted again quickly, his eyes being drawn back to the bathroom.
It was clean.
He hadn’t known it was possible.
The cabinets were still cheap and the tub was still small, but it was clean. No dirt, mud, cobwebs or questionable stains were anywhere in the vicinity.
“How did she do it?”
Griffin yipped softly, his nose nuzzling the back of Antony’s good knee. Antony shook his head, too caught up in the miracle to pay attention to the dog.
“Griff!”
Riley’s voice jolted Antony out of his own head, and he looked back down the hall.
“Here boy,” Riley called from the front room. “Dinner! ”
Griffin began to move, then stopped and sat. Looking up at Antony, he whined.
Antony immediately dropped the leash. “Go on. Go get dinner.” The dog was gone, and Antony chuckled. If he had a beautiful woman calling him to dinner, he’d probably run too.
His crutch thunked against the floor.
Or maybe he wouldn’t run.
He hobbled to the front room. His eyes were heavy and his stomach was empty, but seeing Riley on the ground, scratching Griffin behind the ears brought out those stupid butterflies again.
She’d been so clear earlier. She thought of him as a brother. Which was good. It wasn’t like Antony wanted her to like him as anything else. Riley was one of Aspen’s best friends and they’d all known each other since they were kids, but…
A flash of phantom heat went across his chest from where she’d touched him.
Just what was going on? Maybe Riley was right. Maybe he really was catching some kind of disease from staying in this dump.
“Good boy,” Riley cooed, giving one last rub down before standing. She looked exhausted, but there was a bright smile on her face that only egged the fluttering in his stomach on. “I’ll just grab the rest of that garbage.” Without another word, she went past Antony and took care of the remains in the bathroom.
He watched her go back and forth, finishing what she started. It was something he’d always admired about Riley. She was a go-getter. She dug in her heels and got things done. Her and Aspen had been massive pains in the neck, but Riley’s approach had always been a little softer than Aspen…at least until today.
Tilting sideways, Antony put his shoulder against the wall, feeling weary and hungry. He didn’t dare look at the empty cupboards. If Riley figured out he had nothing to eat, she’d throw a fit.
His lips twitched at the thought. It actually might be funny to see what lengths she would go to to see he was fed tonight .
Clearing his throat, he shook his head. No. Definitely not. He was not going to find Riley funny. Or attractive. Or…anything. She was a young woman, his sister’s friend. She was like a sister.
“So, I think that’s it for the night.” Riley’s voice was a little low, mimicking the fatigue Antony was feeling. But dang, those stupid butterflies were stomping around again. Did butterflies stomp? Maybe elephants was a better word.
And apparently neither butterflies or elephants knew the meaning of the term “sister.”
Riley bent her head until she caught Antony’s eye, then smiled. “You going to be alright tonight?” She glanced at her watch. “I know it’s late, but hopefully you can sleep in a little.” She clasped her hands in front of her waist. “Griffin sleeps really well. So, don’t worry about getting him up until you’re ready.”
Antony jerked. “You’re leaving him here?”
Riley rolled her eyes. “I told you he was yours.”
“Ri,” he ground out. “He can’t stay here.”
That stubborn tilt came across her chin, and she put her hands on her hips. Hips that were softly rounded and slim all at once.
Antony cursed in his mind. Was there anything that he wasn’t going to notice about her? Couldn’t the universe give him a break? He couldn’t even feed himself cereal without wincing at the feel of the spoon on his hand, and now he was starting to drool over his sister’s friend?
Really?
What had he done in a previous life to deserve this?
“Two weeks.”
Antony blinked. “What?”
Riley tilted her head. “Two weeks. You give Griffin two weeks. Get to know him. Use him. I’ll teach you about his training so you know what he can help you do, and at the end of two weeks, if he doesn’t make your life better, I’ll take him back.”
“Make my life better?” Antony growled. “Are you listening to yourself? How the—” He bit off the word he wanted to use. “How do you expect me to take care of a dog, Ri? I don’t have space for myself down here, let alone an eighty-pound animal.”
“He’s seventy pounds,” Riley pointed out sweetly. “And he’s been trained especially to make your life easier. He can fetch things for you. He can help you stand up from your chair when you’re struggling. He can help calm you when you’re angry or if you have an anxiety attack.”
Antony took a step forward. “Funny. I don’t see how he’s helped me at all tonight.”
She stuck her chin in the air again, refusing to back down, and another curse word shot through Antony’s brain.
He wasn’t going to win.
“Two weeks,” she demanded.
Antony closed his eyes and blew out a harsh breath. “I don’t have any food.”
“I brought everything you nee—” Riley stopped. “Wait. Do you mean you don’t have any dog food? Or any food at all? No delivery? No nothing?”
He threw his head back, angry at his choice of words.
Before Antony could say anything else, Riley marched across the room and began opening cupboards. When she was done, she put her hands on the counter and hung her head between them.
Shame, hot and thick churned in Antony’s belly. He didn’t care if she was supposed to be like a sister. Antony didn’t even want to imagine what she was thinking about him right now.
If ever a man had been humbled in life, it was Antony Harrison. And if ever someone had fought against that humbling, it was still him.
He used to save lives. He kept his country safe. Kept fathers playing ball with their children and mothers at home making chocolate chip cookies. His life made the American dream possible for everyone else.
He’d been willing to sacrifice everything. Everything .
Except his pride .
“Get in the car.”
The words were so soft, Antony almost didn’t catch them. “Say what?”
Slowly, Riley stood up and turned to face him. “I can either go get you food and bring it back, which will take a while. Or you can get in the car and come to my house. Restaurants are already closing, and the grocery stores won’t be far behind. You can grab a quick dinner, get a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow I’ll take you shopping before dropping you and Griffin back off.”
He opened his mouth, an immediate rebuttal on his lips, but when Riley stalked forward, he stopped.
“So help me, Tone, if you argue, I will punch you in the face.” Riley stood toe to toe with him. “I don’t care that you’re hurt. You will not continue to starve and ruin yourself because the world gave you a bad hand.” Tears filled her eyes, and she relaxed slightly. “The Antony I knew would have fought back. He would have found a way to keep going.”
“The Antony you knew is dead.” The words were out before he could think better of it. But they were true. Oh, how they were true. Antony didn’t know who he was anymore, and it scared him. He had rarely experienced fear in his life, but this had him shaking in his boot.
Riley nodded a few times, wiping at her cheeks. “And that’s why I’m here,” she said huskily. “Because someone has to help you find him.” Spinning on her heel, she gave a short whistle, pulling Griffin to her side, then opened the door and waved an arm. “Let’s go, Soldier. That’s an order.”