Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Overwhelmed by the shock of energy that Theo Mallin emitted.
I got myself together enough that I could speak, though the words were low and jagged, “Theo, absolutely not. I know you’re trying to help us and all, but this is ridiculous. I have no idea what a house call costs, but I’m sure it’s plenty. Save your favors for someone who’s earned them.”
Someone who meant something to him.
Someone who wasn’t a stranger passing through.
And that’s all I would ever be.
A stranger.
Something intense traipsed through those dark eyes. “We take care of those who come to this town and are in trouble.”
“Bye-bye,” Finn giggled, and I glanced back to find the old man was already slipping out the main lobby door before I could stop him.
I turned back to Theo.
He loomed over me.
Tall and powerful and rippling with that unnerving strength.
An alarm blared in my consciousness.
Warning me that this man was dangerous to everything I was fighting for.
“I’m not in trouble.” It gritted out through clenched teeth. Pure defense. Because I got the sense Theo could read me like I was a page that had been written in his book. One that was tattered and torn and barely clinging on.
“Think your car sitting on the side of the road says otherwise.” He pushed away, that easiness riding back to the surface when he did.
I opened my mouth to give him every reason why the things he was doing were highly inappropriate when Nelly cut me off. “You’ll have to understand, our Piper here is used to doing everything on her own. I’m afraid I’m not of much help in my old age.”
She said it like she was on her deathbed and was a burden I had to drag around, rather than her being an intrinsic part of this team.
I couldn’t do this without her. She was the strongest person I knew.
She’d also been pressing me to make a change.
Urging me that we couldn’t go on the way we’d been.
But what else were we supposed to do?
She knew what happened the last time we tried.
“People don’t pay for strangers’ doctor visits, Nells.” I hissed it under my breath.
“You’re in luck, Pipes. Today they do.” Theo cocked his head.
A shiver sprinted down my spine.
Why did he have this effect on me? Why did my flesh feel as if it were electrified and there was a low hum that buzzed in my belly?
I nearly scoffed at myself.
As if I didn’t know my type.
As if I didn’t know what I was drawn to.
Panic churned. I had to get away from this man. Put a thousand miles between us. Because I’d never had such a strong reaction to a stranger before. To anyone, for that matter. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”
He took a step forward.
The air thrashed and the ground trembled beneath my feet.
The man a ball of energy that snapped and flickered, drawing me into his orbit.
Angling his head toward me, he lowered his voice. “We all need someone to take care of us sometimes, Piper.”
His potency smacked me in the face. The mossy woods and crisp snow and the leather that was coming from the jacket he’d finally donned when we’d arrived at the motel. One that was roughened and distressed from years of use, as if it’d traveled a lifetime of miles with him.
“I was the one who stumbled on you tonight,” he continued. “So in my book, that means I am supposed to take care of you. Any decent person would have picked you up and given you a ride. Plus, it’s a lot closer for my uncle to come here to check you out rather than driving all the way to his office in town, so it wasn’t out of his way. Besides, I can promise you, he would have been pissed if I hadn’t called him. So, I’m going to need you to swallow that pride and accept it, yeah? None of it was a big deal. Now let’s get you a room.”
He turned away while my head spun. Trying to catch up to this whirlwind of a man.
“I can get my own room,” I rasped, needing to put an end to whatever this was.
I couldn’t keep accepting his generosity. Whatever this overbearing care was that he offered. As if he somehow believed that we’d become his complete responsibility.
I needed to get away from him.
Never see him again.
Because he was dangerous to my sanity. To my reserves. To the purpose that drove me forward.
I could feel it like a threat simmering all around me.
How easily he could get under my skin. I couldn’t let him.
He had the audacity to smirk back at me. “I might need to pull a few strings.”
My mouth dropped wide, and I watched in horror as he strode for the counter across the massive lobby.