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She grinned. “I grew up with brothers. Am I offending your sensitive ears, Ranger Parrish?”
“Hell, no,” he said. “I’m a fan.”
“Good. There,” she said, surveying her work. Satisfaction warmed her belly, because she’d gotten to help him. And he’d called her pretty. And said he was a fan of the crazy crap that came out of her mouth. “All done.”
He rose and peered in the mirror. “Perfect, Shayna,” he said, their gazes meeting in the glass.
And she could’ve sworn he said, “Perfect Shayna,” without any hesitation between the words. Especially when he looked at her like he was doing right now.
As if she had on far too many clothes. And Jesus did she suddenly agree.
“Any time you need patched up, consider me your girl,” she managed, still meeting the heat in those brown eyes.
Brown eyes whose reflection looked her up and down. “Don’t you mean woman? Consider you my woman? You know, when I need patched up.”
Shayna released a shaky breath. “Yeah. Exactly.”
He gave a slow nod, then turned to look at her directly, bringing them toe to toe. “Then, consider me your man when you need muscle. Now, how about I go move your car and help you build a desk?”
With Shay’s assistance, Billy built the desk and the chair, helped her reorganize his guest room so everything fit, and disposed of all the cardboard packaging. Then he’d put her behemoth photo printer in place and watched as she began to impose a Shayna level of order on all her things.
Which was to say, it wasn’t very fucking orderly.
Of course, that drove Billy nuts. But he ignored it for the most part because he was enjoying spending time with her. She was funny and made him laugh and she was just…really easy to be with.
Having her around this weekend had made him realize just how much he was usually alone. And that it was actually nice to have some company around his place.
It wasn’t going too far to say that he’d had more fun with her setting up her room than he’d ever had in this house since he’d moved in. Doing a whole lot of nothing special. And that was all due to Shayna.
That was all to say nothing of the million little ways she’d communicated consideration for him beyond patching up his fugly skin.
Her whole thought process around the desk situation told him—without judgment—that she respected that he was more concerned with neatness and order than the average bear. And when they made lunch together, he realized that she’d replaced some of the food and drinks she’d used since she’d arrived. He hadn’t expected or needed that, but he’d appreciated it. Even the fact that she’d fought with him about helping with his shoulder spoke of someone who cared, even if admitting his weakness in needing help frustrated him, too.
They sat at the breakfast bar talking long after their sandwiches and salads were gone.
“So what kinds of investigations do you do as a P.I.?” she asked, turning on her stool toward him, just a little.
“Background checks are the bread-and-butter of my work, which is probably true for a lot of P.I.s. But I do a lot of surveillance work as well. Infidelity, workers’ comp, some collection of evidence for litigation. And when I think I might have what it takes to be helpful, I take on missing persons cases.”
Shay really listened when he talked. Like she was taking in everything he had to say. Ryan had been that way. You always knew you had his full attention, and it made you feel like you could always count on him having your back.
The comparison between the siblings was oddly comforting. Probably because Billy missed being out in the field with his brothers like a sonofabitch.
“Which is your favorite kind of investigation to do?” she asked.
He didn’t have to think that hard about it. “Missing persons cases are the most meaningful thing I do these days.”
She tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. “Do people come to you instead of the police, or after the police have given up?”
“Usually after the police have given up. Or in a situation where the authorities aren’t responsive.”
“Wow. That sounds like a lot of responsibility, Billy. Being someone’s last hope.”
“It is. But it’s also good feeling like what I do matters.” A knot lodged unexpectedly in his throat. Because in the Army, he used to live and breathe that feeling. And now he was sometimes fucking desperate for it.
Shay nodded. “Can I ask you something that might be kinda personal?”
Billy scratched his chin. “Uh, go for it.”
