Page 11 of Her Noble Protector

She shivered. The control to the air conditioner was out in the living room and her bedroom was way too cold. Her wet hair was making her even colder. The duvet looked like it was a million miles away.

“You’ve got to say something, or I’m going to come in.”

She heard the worry in his voice.

“Please don’t come in,” she begged. “I slammed my bedroom door. Don’t come in. Promise me.”

He didn’t reply and she stared at the window, willing him to answer. Willing him to promise.

“Lisa, I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me. Just promise me you won’t come in. Promise me.” She hugged the blanket tighter around her.

“I promise. I won’t come in unless you ask me to.”

Lisa’s shoulders sagged in relief. She shivered again.

Get up. Get up. Get up.

She pushed against the wall to get to her feet. She needed to dry her hair. There was some juice in the fridge. Maybe some Sprite. Crackers. Anything. She didn’t recall eating for days. She could turn off the air conditioning. She took a small step toward her door.

“I started the book you were reading. I really like it.”

Lisa spun around so fast that she had to grab the dresser before she fell down.

What? What did he just say?

“I haven’t read Orson Scott Card before, he’s good. Do you read a lot of science fiction?”

She tried to grapple with what he was saying while she held the blanket to her without falling down.

What is he talking about?

“I told you to go away,” she husked out.

“I told you I wasn’t going to do that, honey.” Still tender. Still gentle.

She needed to make it to the living room to turn off the air conditioning. She needed Sprite. She needed crackers. Making it to the door, she slumped against it and her trembling fingers finally worked open the locks.

The thermostat control was way over near the couch. Food first. She heaved a deep sigh and made it to her kitchen. The sour smell coming from the bags on her dining room table was noxious, but she held her breath as she went by. She’d bought yogurt. Something else too that’d gone bad. Pulling the fridge door open took more strength than it should have, but at least there were green bottles inside. Her eyes teared up with relief.

A sleeve of saltines was open on the counter, so she knew they’d be stale. She opened the cupboard and pulled out the box and found a fresh sleeve. She carried her bounty to the couch and changed the temp in the house to eighty. Pulling the throw from the back of the sofa onto her feet, she opened her bottle of Sprite and took a long swig. The relief was immediate. Her stomach began to settle. Lisa leaned her head back against the pillows on her couch and sighed, then she put the bottle between her knees and wrenched open the crackers and sucked some of the salt off the cracker.

Heaven.

She bit into the cracker and realized she was hungry. Six crackers later, and half a bottle of Sprite and she started thinking. There was a man in her backyard. Not just any man, but a SEAL named Raiden Sato.

Lisa rummaged around her brain, trying to get a handle on what she thought about that, but she couldn’t. She put her soda and crackers on the floor and pulled her knees up, then rested her head on them. She needed to think. Her tummy felt a little bit better. Her gaze drifted around her house and her eyes watered.

It wasn’t her house. Her house was clean and it smelled good. Her house had the blinds open and… and… she liked it. She didn’t like it here. It was scary here, even though it was the only place that felt safe.

Her lip trembled at that thought; how could her home be scary and safe?

It’s not your house, it’s your head. Your head is scary.

More tears followed that thought.

She tried to remember a time when she wasn’t scared. When had she felt her absolute best? Tugging the blanket tighter around her, she looked at the painting on her wall. It was of the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska. She’d been there. She’d hiked there. Wild and gorgeous, it had always spoken to her soul. Could she really live a life without seeing it again?