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“You are a city guy.”
“We had little creatures. Mice and rats. I can handle that.”
“What if it’s like a raccoon.”
“Trash pandas. Not a problem.”
“What if it’s a bear?”
“If there is a bear under your bed, I am definitely going to leave a bad review. But it’s not a bear. I think we would have heard him come in.”
“Ghost bear,” she whispered, and he could sense her smile even though he wasn’t looking at her.
“Why don’t you stay here while I go look?”
“Hell no. There could be something even worse under your bed.”
“You know, you’ve got nerves of steel when it comes to litigation and even dealing with unruly people who challenge you with a gun. You handled that situation like a boss.”
“I can deal with people. I can deal with legal situations. You can’t threaten a bear. You can’t reason with a ghost. That doesn’t work for me.”
“Fair,” he agreed as he inched down the hallway and felt her shuffle along with him. There was a scratching noise coming from her room. Most definitely a little woodland creature. He’d have to scare it off and get it heading for the door.
“There’s nothing there,” he reported to her shaking shadow in the bedroom doorway. “I can still hear the scratching, but I don’t see any kind of animal.” He was on his hands and knees, checking under the bed. “Maybe it’s below the floorboards.”
“I never thought I would miss that hotel. You think it’s too late for us to go check back in?” She nibbled on her thumbnail, and he drank her in. The flutter of her worried eyes, the jittery posture. It was all very intoxicating.
“We’re staying here.” He chuckled out the words. “You can take my room if you want. The bed is a little lumpy, but I don’t mind crashing on the couch.”
“You think that animal can’t find its way under your room too?”
“It’s probably a chipmunk. They are adorable.”
She clutched her brush tighter and scowled at him. “Nothing that can scurry across your face while you are trying to sleep is adorable.”
“Well, it’s too late to pack up and leave. We’re going on our wild and crazy road trip in the morning. But we need to sleep here tonight. So how can we make that happen?”
“That’s my line,” Cleo argued. “You’re starting to sound like me. When I can’t get two parties to agree on something, I always ask how we can make that happen.”
“And your answer is?”
“I much prefer to be the one asking the questions.”
“How about we both sleep in my bed but if a bear ghost—”
“Ghost bear,” she corrected.
“My mistake. When the ghost bear does come, I will sacrifice myself, and you’ll have enough time to get away.”
“Is this an elaborate scheme to get me in your bed?”
“I don’t need schemes,” he winked.
“Okay, how about when push comes to shove and the ghost bear is upon us? You’ll break our verbal contract.”
“You’ve said a lot of cutting things to me since we met,” he said, taking her hand in his, “but doubting my ability to protect you is downright cruel. I hope you know if it ever came down to it, I’d save you.”
She blushed but didn’t pull her hand away. “I’ve already saved you from a guy waving a gun in your direction,” she reminded him.
