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Chapter 27
Dani
Now
“Dani?”
I raise my head off the arm of the sofa. The woman shakes my shoulder again, pulling me out of sleep with a blue and white teacup in her other hand.
“Here, honey,” she says, offering it to me.
I sit up and take the cup from her. “Thank you.”
The fragrant tea fills my nose with a steady, warm aroma. I look up and I see Fox lying there on the table in front of me with his eyes still closed, his body bruised and bandaged.
“Is he okay?” I ask, my voice cracking.
She sits down next to me on the love seat. “He’s one tough son-of-a-bitch, that’s for sure,” she muses. “He was talking a few minutes ago.”
“He was?”
She nods. “Kept saying Dani over and over. I figured it out, told him you were fine, and he passed out again.”
I take a sip from the cup. The hot tea shoots through my body and I realize how cold I am. I look at Fox, nearly naked on the table.
“We should get him some clothes,” I say. “Do you have anything?”
“Should be some in his room.”
I pause. “His room?”
She points to the window behind me. I look out at the cabin across the driveway.
“He lives here?” I ask.
“For the last six months now.” She nods slowly, her eyes lingering on his face. “He showed up at my door one day with the local paper in his hand and my ad circled in red. My husband, Larry, died early last year and I was looking for someone to help out around here. He and I lived on this land over fifty years together.”
“I’m sorry.”
She smiles. “I knew there was something special about Fox the moment he stepped inside. Good kid, but he had that sad face on him. He offered to pay a little more in rent if I’d keep quiet if someone came around asking about him.” She chuckles. “I asked him if he planned on killing me in my sleep. He said no.”
I laugh. “I guess that’s why you weren’t surprised when he showed up at your door covered in blood?”
“Not really.” She looks at me. “Now, him showing up covered in blood with a big movie star under his arm? That’s a little surprising.”
I watch his chest rise and fall with his breath.
She eyes the stitches on my cheek. “He rushed out of here a few days ago after he saw the news. I guess that makes sense now, too.”
“He’s my stepbrother,” I explain.
She hums softly and sits back against the cushion. “The plot thickens…”
I set my teacup down. “I’ll go find him some clothes.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Thank you.”
