16. 16
Lisa shook with exhaustion by the time she’d finished answering questions from the police. She also emailed him a copy of the video from her doorbell and had let the EMT’s check her out. There was no blood, just a knot on the back of her head. The EMT’s recommended that she go to the hospital and let them check her out, but she refused. The police had long since hauled Randy out, though she’d answered questions for longer than she’d thought possible. Now, she still sat in the chair where she’d started out while Deke sat on the edge of the bed beside her and held her hand. Cowboy had tried to stay out of the way, but now paced along the side of the bed in front of where she sat.
“I think we should go in,” Cowboy said. “You might have a brain bleed.”
Lisa resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how overprotective he was being, especially after she’d had to almost twist his arm to get him to help her move in. Okay, it hadn’t been that bad, but still. She didn’t want to mess with it and turned to the EMT for back up.
“What are the symptoms for something like that?” she asked.
He listed several things that she didn’t pay much attention to, then she turned to Deke.
“You’ll watch for those right?”
“You bet.”
She turned back to Cowboy. “See, even if I do, we’ve got it covered.”
“That’s something else I want to talk to you about.” His gaze flicked from her, over to Deke and back again.
“Not now.” She didn’t give him a chance to start. “I’m not saying we can’t talk about it, but not today. I want to go home, take a shower and rest. Curl up on my couch or in my own bed and just be for a while without someone asking me the same questions a billion times.”
“Shit, how are we going to get you home? We should have thought about that and brought your car.”
“You’re on the bikes?” she asked. Excitement bubbling in her for the first time since she realized it was them bursting through the door hours ago.
Cowboy nodded. “We were on a ride and didn’t think about switching to cars.”
“I did, but the bike is faster, especially if there was some kind of closure on the interstate, I could take it up the shoulder or cross country if I needed to,” Deke spoke up.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind riding the bike back.”
Cowboy shook his head but didn’t tell her no. She wasn’t surprised he didn’t like it. She’d been begging him to take her for a ride for years, but he’d always refused.
She hadn’t asked Deke since she was a teenager. He’d refused then, but she’d expected him to. This time she didn’t ask, just shot Deke a hopeful look.
“If you’re sure you’re up for it, I’d be happy to take you. But don’t be afraid to speak up if you’re tired. I’ll call one of the prospects to come get my bike and trailer it back and I’ll rent a car to take you home. I can always take you out on the bike another time if you want to go for a ride.” Deke squeezed her hand to let her know he was serious.
She gave Deke a weak smile, grateful he’d added that last part about taking her for a ride. She wanted a ride but right now, she wasn’t sure she could stay on the back of the bike.
“Call the prospect. Do we need to wait for him to get here or can we get started on the way home now?”
“I’ll call the prospect and wait for him, you find a car,” Cowboy said turning for the door and stepping outside as he pulled out his phone.
“Thank you,” Deke whispered before kissing the end of her nose and pulling out his phone.
Content to let them do their thing and not have someone drilling her with questions for a couple minutes, Lisa closed her eyes and let her head fall back to rest on the back of the chair.
“Is there anything about today you want to talk about, to tell me, without your brother or the police grilling you over?”
Deke’s voice pulled her back from where she’d been lost in thought as she stared out the window at the lights speeding past. The car seemed like a bubble where they sat still, and the world moved so fast around them it was a blur.
“What?” she asked as his words processed in her brain, then before he could repeat himself, she answered. “Not really. Well. I feel stupid for answering the door. I thought it was Ava.” She turned to watch him, even though she couldn’t see much more than the outline of his face in the lights from the dash.
“I didn’t know she was going to spend today with you.” Deke glanced her way then turned back to the road.
“There wasn’t any big plan, just that she’d stop by if she got the chance. I don’t know if she ever stopped.” Lisa looked out in the near dark out her window then back to Deke. “I’m glad she didn’t stop while Randy was there. Who knows what he might have done to her. Then Cowboy would have really lost his mind.”
“We’ll get to Cowboy in a minute. I’m glad Ava wasn’t there or hurt either, but I need you to answer my question.” He reached over and put one hand on her knee. “Was there anything else that you didn’t want to talk about in front of the police, or your brother and I want you to actually think about it this time, not just put me off.”
Lisa thought about the question for a moment, really thought about it. She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before speaking again.
“The only thing I didn’t tell you already was the crap he was spouting at me. Crazy shit like we belong together. We’re fated, he knew it from the start. Then he went off about you. Apparently, he’d been watching the place for at least a day or two because he knew you’d been staying there. He was not complementary about you or how quickly things developed between us. He called me some nasty names that don’t mean anything.” She let out a humorless laugh. “If only he knew how long I’ve been trying to get you into my bed. He’d have had some even worse things to call me.”
Deke squeezed her leg, letting her know he was there for her. She covered his hand with hers, letting him know without words that she wanted him there and wouldn’t be letting him pull away.
“There wasn’t anything worth mentioning, nothing that will change the case and nothing worth stirring Cowboy up.”
“Well, it might not have just been Cowboy, but it’s probably a good thing I didn’t know about all that while the little asshole was still around. I might have ended up with an assault charge. Especially if the police were there when I found out. I might not have been able to resist teaching him some better manners. At the business end of my fist.”
“I appreciate the gesture, but it’s not necessary. I learned a long time ago not to let what random people say matter to me. I only care about the opinions of people I choose to let matter. And you and Cowboy are part of the latter group.” She squeezed his hand in affection.
If they hadn’t been in the car, and him driving, she probably would have stretched up and given him a kiss. Or at very least a hug. She didn’t know how far from home they were, but she hoped it wasn’t too far. She wanted that shower then to snuggle up to him and just be close for a while. His arms around her sounded like the best thing in the world right now. Though she couldn’t help but wonder how Randy had managed to use her phone to track her. Would she ever find out?