Chapter 18
The two farm hands left, as Sterling frowned over at Joel, hoping for further details.
“I asked her to buckle up,” he explained, “and she seemed surprised when I was so insistent.”
Sterling gave him a look.
“So, when I explained why, it didn’t go over too well. I didn’t think about trying to soften the message or to couch it any other way,” he admitted. “So it was just a reminder that this sniper guy could be out there—anywhere, at any time—and could easily try to run us off the road.”
“Got it,” Sterling noted, “and I certainly understand, but I guess she didn’t like the reminder, huh?”
“Nope, she definitely didn’t like the reminder,” he agreed, with a smile. “We had just visited the injured eagle, so it was kind of an abrupt segue back into our reality. I probably could have found another way to say it, but it didn’t occur to me right then.”
“So, you’re beating yourself up as well, huh?” He laughed. “Aren’t you two a pair?”
Joel shook his head. “I know she’s struggling, so I should have been smarter than that.”
“Sounds like she had a really stressful day.”
“Yeah, and, until she’s officially done and has her credentials, it’ll be that way.
… Even then, I think she’s planning on going right to work as soon as she can, assuming the job offer comes through as promised.
I’m not even sure there’s an option to have a few days off—just because the hospital is so short-staffed and busy right now.
And that sucks in a big way if you ask me,” Joel shared, with a snort.
Sterling looked over at him. “Are the two of you doing okay?”
“I think so. We were hoping to go out for a date night here in a few days, but, if that doesn’t happen now, we can always do it later, after we get this resolved.”
“Might be good for her, you know, to do something normal?”
“Absolutely, my thoughts exactly, but we both know that just because it would be good for her doesn’t mean she will be relaxed enough to go.”
Sterling frowned, then nodded. “We can talk to her a little bit, see if she’s open to it, because I think it would be great, … assuming you found a safe place where you aren’t sitting ducks.”
“Exactly,” he noted, with a nervous laugh.
As she came back to join them again, now showered and changed, she offered to help make a salad to go with dinner.
“Are you okay that I’m staying here?” Joel asked Chelsea.
She looked at him in surprise. “Of course I am,” she frowned, with a look around the room. “Are the two guys eating here tonight with us? Or are they gone now?” She turned to Sterling, manning the broiler inside, watching the steaks carefully. “Do you still have other men working here?”
“The rest went back to the Haven to help out for a while. We still have our two guys,” he shared, “and they’re more or less taking shifts right now.”
She frowned and asked, “Shifts for what?”
He raised an eyebrow and hesitated. “Security,” he finally shared.
Her lips went taut, and she nodded, adding, “I’ll be right back.”
Sterling looked over at Joel and whispered, “I see what you mean.”
“Yeah, it’s not exactly a topic she’s accustomed to dealing with.”
“Nobody ever is,” he stated.
“Not until it’s in your face, and then you’re not even capable of thinking like these assholes,” Sterling pointed out.
“That is a concern.” Sterling looked back to where she had disappeared. “Vixen, the eagle that I rescued, was doing okay.”
“Lovely. That’s always a good thing to hear.”
“It is, and I think it did Chelsea some good to do something more positive.”
As soon as the steaks were ready, Chelsea rejoined them, and they sat down to a full meal. When she was done, she stood and offered, “I’ll do the dishes, and then I’m heading up to bed.”
Sterling nodded. “You go for it. We’ll just set up a security schedule for here.”
She stopped, had an odd expression on her face, yet nodded without saying anything.
Sterling watched her leave and cocked an eyebrow over at Joel.
Joel sighed. “She left without doing the dishes too.”
“I noticed, but I don’t think she did it on purpose.” Sterling chuckled, and the two of them got up and quickly took care of the dishes.
“I’ll go up and talk to her,” Joel announced after they were done.
“Yeah, let me know how that works out for you,” Sterling muttered. “It seems like, … she’s almost at her breaking point.”
“I know, and we don’t need that right now.”
Joel walked up to her bedroom and knocked on the door, and when she called out, “Come in,” he opened the door and poked his head around the corner.
She smiled at him. “I’m fine.”
“Are you?” She nodded, and he shook his head. “You walked out without doing the dishes.”
She looked at him in shock for a minute and then slammed the book closed that was in her lap and groaned.
“It’s fine,” he told her, “but it’s also a sign that you are not so fine.”
She stared at him. “I, I—”
He stopped, held up a hand, then walked over and sat down on her bed. “We know you’re overwhelmed,” he began, “and we know you’re struggling with all this. We’re just worried about you.”
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” he assured her. “I just wanted to confirm that you’re okay, that you’ll get some sleep tonight.”
“The stress is killing me,” she murmured. But then she sat up straighter as she studied him, a ghost of a grin across her face. “You could help out with that stress.”
He nodded. “You want to go for a walk—somewhere?”
“No, I was thinking of something a little closer to home.”
He frowned. “Watch a movie? … Exercise?”
“Well, that’s getting closer, I guess.” He stared at her, as she burst out laughing. “I get it. You are probably not used to this, but—”
“But what?” he asked warily.
She smiled broadly, grabbed his T-shirt, and leaned in closer to him. “Am I the first woman to hit on you?”
And, with that, she pulled him much closer and laid a searing kiss on him.