Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
S hiloh was as ticked off as she was flattered.
She knew she had friends. She knew the McCoys were like brothers. She knew if she ever truly needed help, there would be people there.
But she hadn’t expected such a show of emotion from Tate…or from Granger.
Tate had been in her life for years, but he was the dork. The player. The guy no one took seriously. Yet only a few minutes ago, he’d been willing to stand up for her in a way that Shiloh had never experienced before.
And she hadn’t missed Granger either.
His protectiveness, the depth of his emotions, which were normally kept buried under his single father/responsible adult mask.
She’d noticed him trembling when she revealed her bruises, and she’d seen him start to step between her and Tate. His jaw had clenched so hard at one point that she was surprised he hadn’t broken a tooth.
If there was ever a woman surrounded by good men, it was Shiloh…though Serenity probably counted in that circle as well. Luca would burn the world for her.
But a tiny part of Shiloh was rebelling against the smothering.
A tiny part wanted to prove she was capable of protecting herself, that she wasn’t the victim that her mother had been, that Shiloh had learned to stand on her own two feet and could not be moved.
For now, Shiloh was keeping the voice controlled. But she didn’t want to fall into complacency. Her mother had allowed others to always take control. Shiloh would never follow in those footsteps, but she also understood the logic in letting the men help right now. Grady’s expertise was needed as a policeman, the twins were good muscle and protection, and Granger was…well…Shiloh wasn’t quite sure what Granger was.
But she was excited to find out.
Granger, who was driving her to the station in his truck, glanced her way. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“Did you want me to be chatty? I can talk the ear off a squirrel, if you want.”
Granger chuckled. “While, I can’t say I’m surprised?—”
“Hey!” Shiloh smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand.
“I’m more worried about what you’re holding back,” he finished, still grinning. The smile fell. “Seriously, Shiloh. Are you okay? You didn’t tell me that Arthur left bruises.”
Shiloh turned to look out the window and shrugged as if it were no big deal. When they’d started to form, Shiloh had had a deep moment of weakness. She’d sat down on the edge of the tub and bawled.
Then she’d stood up and decided that Arthur would never touch her again.
And she would be remiss if she didn’t admit that Granger jumping in as a fake-boyfriend had been the main reason Arthur hadn’t hurt her even worse when he’d shown up the second time.
But this time, Arthur hadn’t hurt her body. He hadn’t left bruises, at least not on her arms. This time he was leaving bruises on her mind.
Fear, a sensation that was somewhat foreign to Shiloh, was knocking on the door of her brain, and she was working hard to keep it at bay. But it was difficult.
Shiloh jumped when a hand took hers.
She looked over to see Granger frowning as he adjusted his grip on her hand. “Is this okay?” he asked softly.
Shiloh’s shoulders dropped, and she let the heat of his skin warm her all the way through. “Absolutely,” she said, a little too agreeably. Granger was going to assume she just jumped at every man for sure.
Giving her a curt nod, Granger went back to watching the road, his thumb slowly rubbing along her knuckles, causing the heat to slowly build in a delicious way that made Shiloh want to cuddle in for the night.
All too soon, they were at the station, and Shiloh was forced to let go of Granger’s hand so they could get out of the truck. To her delight, however, he came around and took her hand again to go into the building.
“If I go too far, you’ll let me know?” Granger asked right before he opened the front door of the station.
Shiloh squeezed his hand. “I’ll let you know. But I have to admit that I’m surprised at how quickly this happened.”
Granger shrugged and pulled the handle. “When I decide on something, I don’t beat around the bush.”
Shiloh walked past him. “I like it,” she teased, giving him a wink as she sauntered past him into the front office area.
Stopping a few feet inside, she waited for Granger to join her, not quite sure where to go from here.
“Can I help you?” An officer was standing at the front desk, watching Shiloh and Granger.
“We’re here to see Officer Montoya,” Granger responded just as Grady came around the corner.
“I got ‘em, Derrick. Thanks.” Grady waved them back. “Were the twins with you?” he asked.
“Should be right behind us,” Shiloh said.
“Derrick?” Grady called out.
“I’ll send them back,” the other officer replied.
Grady tilted his head toward the hallway, and they worked their way back to a door that had his name on it.
“Looks like you’re official,” Shiloh teased, pointing to the signage.
Grady shrugged. “Tell that to the perps I bring in.”
Shiloh grinned and shook her head, following Grady inside with Granger on her heels.
“Hold up!”
Shiloh turned, and Granger held the door open as Tate and Jett hurried through the opening.
“We let Luca know what’s going on,” Jett announced as they came in.
Grady grunted. “The list of men I need to watch is getting bigger.”
“Luca said to give him a call,” Tate told Shiloh. “He’ll come out to the house whenever you need to go.”
“I’ll be at the house,” Granger said quickly. “Maybe Luca could help out at the office?”
Tate nodded. “Between the three of us, I think we can handle that.”
“I’ll let him know,” Jett agreed.
Grady sighed as he sat down. “Okay, let’s get to the actual legal side of this, shall we?”
“Having one of the men with me isn’t illegal,” Shiloh argued. She turned to her friends. “Nor is it completely necessary. A restraining order should do a lot to keep Arthur off my back.”
Tate snorted, and Granger shifted his weight.
Sighing, Shiloh turned to Grady for support.
He shrugged. “It can help, and it means the precinct is keeping an eye on you. But I can’t guarantee that Arthur won’t try to break it. Not everyone is scared by a piece of paper.” He sat a little straighter in his seat. “However, it helps, and it means if he does anything else, I can actually take real action.”
“Fine.” Shiloh plopped herself in a chair across the desk from Grady. “Let’s get this taken care of. I have a life to live…one without Arthur looking over my shoulder.”
Granger had never been more grateful for good friends in his life than he was that afternoon.
It had taken nearly two hours for them to finish at the station, and Serenity was leaving the shop, taking Zane with her.
“Just drop me off at the office, and I’ll get my car,” Shiloh said as they walked into the evening air.
Granger stopped beside his truck. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Shiloh put her hand on her hip and cocked it at him. “I’m exhausted, I’m ready to throat punch someone, and I need food. It’s a very good idea.”
Granger tried to hold back a grin, but he couldn’t help it. “Are the throat punching and food related to each other?”
Shiloh threw up her hands. “Deny a girl her afternoon snack and see for yourself.” She started to turn away from him, but Granger gently grasped her forearm, careful not to be rough.
He wasn’t about to be categorized with the same adjectives as Arthur.
“Hey, now,” Granger lightly scolded. “Give a man a chance to take care of you, huh?”
Shiloh raised a single eyebrow. “That’s against my nature, Granger. You should know that by now.”
He nodded and dropped his hold, stepping back to give her space. “I need to pick up Zane, but I’d rather you weren’t alone for the evening. Will you come with me and let me feed you dinner after I pick up my son?”
Shiloh watched him, and Granger worked not to squirm under her stare. He wasn’t going to force anything on her, even if he was tempted to.
He wanted her to willingly see that she was in danger. The restraining order hadn’t been delivered yet, and who was to say that Arthur hadn’t left any other nasty surprises in Shiloh’s path?
But if she wasn’t willing to listen to him, Granger would simply call the twins. They’d left about twenty minutes ago to close up their own business for the day, but Granger was sure they’d help.
He didn’t want to call them, but he would.
“You’re willing to feed me?” she asked.
Granger nodded. “Yes.”
“What about dessert?”
Fighting a smirk, Granger stepped forward, towering over her tiny frame. Now that he wasn’t fighting his attraction to her, he kinda adored her flirting skills. “What exactly did you have in mind?” he asked, leaning down so they were nose to nose.
Shiloh’s eyes flared, then she smiled in return. “I think you’re on the right track,” she whispered.
Granger straightened, reluctantly breaking their little spell. “Whew.” He wiped his forehead for dramatic effect. “I’ve never been that fond of gummy bears, myself, but I always keep them on hand for Zane.”
Shiloh whacked his chest, but her smile said she was far from upset. “Tease.”
This time, Granger didn’t hesitate to take her hand. “I learned from the best. Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
“I’ve been saying that for ages!” Shiloh cried, climbing into her seat.
Granger leaned in close, snapping her seatbelt for her, then stole a quick kiss on his way upright. Holding the door in one hand, he winked. “I always prefer dessert first.” Before Shiloh could say anything, he shut the door and sauntered to the driver’s side.
If there was a little extra swagger in his step, Granger wasn’t about to stop it. Yeah…he still felt rusty when it came to dating and banter, but he also hadn’t realized just how much he had missed it until Shiloh brought it back into his life.
Ella had once been fun to tease and…
Granger took a deep breath and shoved his ex-wife out of his head. She wasn’t here. Shiloh was. Now that he’d finally separated them in his mind, Granger wasn’t going let himself do any comparisons.
Both women deserved better than that.
“Think Serenity’ll give him up?”
Shiloh’s question caught Granger off guard, and he jerked his head toward her. “What?”
Shiloh snuggled deeper into her seat. “Zane. He’s an awfully cute little man, and Serenity is a sucker for big brown eyes.” Shiloh’s head tilted toward Granger, and he noted the lines of fatigue at the corners of her own brown eyes. “Although Zane’s are more hazel like yours. Still…they’re brown enough.”
Granger turned to the road, blinking several times as he tried to process what she was saying. Did Shiloh like brown eyes? Or hazel ones? She said Serenity did, but what about her?
“Don’t worry.”
Granger gave her a sharp look.
“I like hazel eyes, too,” she said in a low tone. “Maybe I’ll keep both of you.”
The woman was going to be the death of him. Granger opened his mouth to respond, but a quick glance said that Shiloh was falling asleep.
Snapping his mouth shut, Granger tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his protective instincts kicking back into gear. If Shiloh was falling asleep around him, it was a sign that she trusted him.
And Granger not only wanted to be worthy of that trust, but he also was starting to understand just how precious his cargo was. He couldn’t seem to help the picture that formed in his mind, declaring that once they picked up Zane…their little troop would be complete.
The feeling was warm and mushy and something that Granger would never, ever admit to his friends, that he was feeling.
But it was there.
And secretly…he didn’t mind it one bit.