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After turning back to him, I saw a flash of defiance in his eyes. “It’s none of your business,” he said before I even had a chance to speak.
“Like hell it’s not,” I barked. “What the fuck happened, Augie?”
“I moved some furniture around. That’s all.”
My jaw dropped. “That’s all? This place looks like it’s been gone over by a crazy person.”
Suddenly, I had a thought that made my blood run cold. “Did you get broken into again? Jesusfuckingchrist, were you here when it happened?” I reached both hands up to grip his face and make sure he was looking at me so I could see the truth of his response.
“No. No, of course not. No,” he said. And I believed him. Before I could stop to think about what I was doing, I pulled him against my chest and wrapped my arms around him. I felt my heart hammer and my stomach twist at the thought of someone putting Augie in danger.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. “Thank god. Baby, are you okay?”
I felt Augie’s body shudder against me, and I pulled back to inspect him again. Just before asking if he was hurt anywhere else, I noticed tears threaten to spill out of his eyes. I wanted to reach a thumb out to swipe at them, but I held myself back for fear of embarrassing him.
“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” I asked as gently as I could. He shook his head. “Then what is it?”
“You’re the first person who’s asked me that.” His words came out in a small rough voice that broke my heart.
“Surely that’s not true. What about your grandfather? He was here last night; he had to have seen all of this mess. Didn’t you tell him what happened?” I asked.
“He knows.”
That’s all he said, but it was enough. Anger spiked at the knowledge that his grandfather hadn’t comforted him. I remembered the bandage and stepped back so I had room between us to inspect his hand. The bandage was mangled as if he’d tried to apply it himself and couldn’t quite reach.
“What happened?” I asked again.
“I told you, just some glass. I was trying to clean up, and I wasn’t paying close enough attention.”
“Where are your supplies? I’ll help you get it cleaned up. Looks like it wasn’t an easy job with just one hand,” I said with a frown.
Augie looked up at me, seeming to weigh the pros and cons of letting me stay to help him.
“Yeah, okay. Through here. In the kitchen,” he said before turning to lead me through the debris.
The house was a lovely old two-story farmhouse with wide plank wood flooring and a warm butter-yellow color on most of the walls. I thought about all the work it would take to replace all the broken items and make it a home again.
“I’m so sorry, Augie. This is awful,” I said softly as we entered the kitchen. “What did they take?”
“You mean besides my peace of mind?” His attempt at humor fell flat, and I finally knew why August Stiel had hired Landen Safekeeping.
When those assailants had broken into his home, they’d taken more than his possessions.
They’d ripped away his sense of safety and destroyed his self-confidence.
Chapter 17
Augie
Something about having Saint in my house was both nerve-racking and soothing. He made me feel safe despite the chaos everywhere, but I was still on edge around him for some reason. Like all the hairs on my body were on high alert and my heart was prepared at any minute to be launched skyward.
I’d spent the entire weekend alternatively obsessing over him and trying not to think of him. Was it any surprise which I spent more time doing?
So having him in my home had my entire body vibrating with awareness.
“Do you want a beer or something?” I asked.
His blue-gray eyes looked up at me from where he’d taken a seat at the kitchen island, and I stopped what I was doing to stare at them. Something about the soft lights in my kitchen made those eyes speak to me in a way nothing else did. He was curious and concerned, and his entire being was focused solely on me.
The realization was intoxicating, and I found myself taking a step toward him before catching myself and shaking my head.
“Beer, yeah?” I asked again before turning to the fridge and pulling out two bottles. I didn’t wait for his response but opened them anyway and set one on the counter in front of him before taking a sip of the other.
I walked to the drawer with the first aid supplies and pulled them out before walking back to the island and taking the stool next to him. He gently took the supplies out of my hand and moved his beer away to make room for the kit.
