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Her thin shoulders round. “Ah. That explains it.”
I don’t think it does but I don’t push her. She seems so fragile. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since I met her yesterday. She’s just so…I don’t know exactly. There’s just something about her.
“Was your phone in your purse?”
“No, it wasn’t.” She holds up the phone case that was sitting beside her.
“How about you go ahead and and see if you can call your credit card companies and stop the cards? And I’ll finish up here and take you to the station to do your report and we’ll get your hands and stuff cleaned up.”
I don’t even wait for her to answer, just walk off and start taking information from the witnesses and keep a wary, sharp eye on her slight frame.
She finally shakes herself and picks up her phone to start making calls, her slender hands still shaking but her chin up and her color slowly returning to normal.
A smile curves my lips and a strange sort of pride fills me. She’s a little dented, a little dinged but I can see the strong woman inside of her trying to rise up. Trying to bring her back to life.
I don’t know what kind of life she’s had so far, what kind of people have hurt her but I can see it in her eyes, in her stiff posture when you try to help her or to get close to her and I feel it when she tries to push anyone who helps her away. Like she’s afraid to rely on anyone but herself.
I can’t stop thinking about her and those soft, shattered gray eyes that can barely meet mine. I could hardly sleep last night because I wanted to call her and make sure she was alright. I wanted to hunt her down and tuck her into bed next to me so that I knew she would be safe and happy, protected from anything that might hurt her.
I haven’t had feelings like these in a long time. Hell! I’m not sure I ever have. The feelings I had for Penny’s mother were nothing like this. A pale imitation of the raging need and overwhelming desire to care for and protect Sarah.
I shouldn’t let myself be anywhere near her. She’s just a tourist and she’s going to leave. I know it. I can see it in her eyes. The problem is…I can see the hurt and hunger in her as well. She needs me, needs someone to take care of her and make her feel alive again.
Just like she’s woken all the bits and pieces of my heart that I thought were permanently broken, I can see the damage to her soul. I need to fix it. Need to make her whole again.
And if she leaves after that, I’ll live with it. I’ll get up every day and pray that she’s well wherever she is. I’ll think of how beautiful and sweet she is and how fragile she was when I met her and I’ll thank God that for a damn brief, happy moment, I got to hold her. Care for her.
And it will have to be enough. I won’t push her to stay when she clearly needs a chance to fly, to experience some good out there and lift that pretty face with the rosy-pink lips to the sun and smile.
I finish up my interviews and walk over to her, my hand touching the small of her back, my eyes drinking in the guarded, wary look in her silvery gaze even as she nods her head and mouths, “Give me a minute.”
I nod my head, fighting a grin as she negotiates with whoever’s on the phone. She’s a fighter, a scrappy little woman that’s been hurt and is trying to find her way in the world.
I like it. Like her too damn much. I know I’m about to get hurt way worse than with my ex but if I can heal her heart, I’m willing to take that pain. To help her live again with the wonder and joy I saw briefly on her face last night. The awe that filled her face was a wonder to see. A stunning picture that’s freeze-framed in my mind.
That’s the look she should wear every day of the rest of her life. And I intend to help her find it.
CHAPTER 7
Sarah
I huff and glare at the dashboard of the jeep that Leon’s driving, his big, tanned hands sure and steady on the wheel.
“I can’t believe that they can’t get my cards out here for a few days and that when I told the hotel that, they made me leave. Just because I had to tell them the card on file was going to be changed.”
He nods his fair head and smirks. “Definitely not the best place to stay.”
“And nobody else has any openings until two days from now. When my cards come in.”
“I know. It’s a real shame.”
I glare over at him. “You know…your tone doesn’t sound like you think it’s a shame.”
He glances over at me and those bright blue eyes of his make my belly free-fall, like someone throwing themselves out of a plane. He shoots me a soft grin laced with a bright happiness like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Dave never looked at me like that. I wonder if the women he cheated with got to see that kind of smile.
My gut twists when I think of some nameless, faceless woman getting the sweet words and soft smiles and touches that I should have had. I was his wife.
“I’m not unhappy. That place was the pits. You’ll be much more comfortable at my place.”
