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He drew in a breath and continued. “The point is, I can’t predict what’s going to happen, as much as I try, and I still have some hang-ups.”
“What are those?”
Troy shook his head, not wanting to get into it. “Little things, but with people I just try to meet them as they come and take each day one at a time. Just because I won’t be here forever doesn’t mean I’m not sitting here holding your hand.”
Megan smiled and looked down so that a lock of her red curls fell in front of her face. “I guess that’s true.”
Troy picked up her hand in his own and brought it to his lips, planting a delicate, gentle kiss on her soft skin.
Megan looked up and pulled her bottom lip under her perfect white teeth before giving her other hand to him.
“So tell me what happens next.”
CHAPTER21
Megan’s pulse hammered in her chest as Troy navigated his truck out of the parking space and drove toward her apartment.
This was new territory.
She wasn’t a child and knew what she was getting into and knew this had been a possibility, which meant she had taken care to clean up her apartment just in case he came back. Of course, she hadn’t had the same anticipation as she did now.
She watched him as he drove, alternating between dark and illuminated as the streetlights cast their glow when they passed before plunging him back into darkness. In the few moments she could see him, she tried to memorize as many of his features as she could. He had a strong jaw but was clean-shaven, and his dark brown hair was cut short. In the dark, his brown eyes looked black and were clear and alert as he drove. While his eyes were alert, his body language was relaxed, with one hand on the bottom of the wheel and the other relaxed in his lap. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was super chill, but his eyes gave him away.
She could see the anxiety. He didn’t fidget like she did, or stutter like when she got nervous. His hand on the wheel didn’t have any raw edges or chewed cuticles, but what he said resonated with her. He knew what it meant to be anxious and yet it didn’t manifest in him. She would’ve thought he was placating her, but it all rang true.
To lose a brother during an accident and a parent to cancer would impact someone, but he had said there was more. It didn’t seem fair to see that much hardship. In her own job, Megan saw terrible things.
She did her best to fix them, helping people whenever she could—not just in their emergency, but after, just like Mr. Chapman. Whether it was collecting cans at Thanksgiving, toys at Christmas, or collecting money at the annual station pancake breakfast, she wanted to help those who had experienced tragedy. Her thoughts went to the wreck on the mountain and the man in the woods. She would call Ash in the morning to see what had happened.
She was glad Troy had been there with her. He had known how to act, but to her surprise hadn’t tried to stop her from running to help like she had first expected his male ego to do. When the chips were down, he had let her help and protected her from the attack.
Megan shuddered with the memory of the wide staring eyes of the crazed man. Like a shark, there was nothing behind them to stop him from attacking. Like all his humanity was gone.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing much.”
Troy slid her a glance and a sly smile. “Sounds like overthinking.”
“Not really. I was thinking about work actually.”
“Hopefully not an accident.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Am I that bad of a driver?”
“No, of course not. It’s just an occupational hazard.” Megan knew better than to spoil the mood, and besides, he was already parking outside the old bank building where she lived. She might not have a lot of experience, but even she knew getting heavy on a date was a no-no.
As before, Troy was out in a flash and heading for her door when she opened it. She gave him a smile as she stepped down and got out her key.
The wind ramped up just as she unlocked the door where they had met earlier, and once up the steps, she fumbled with the key at the door, feeling her heart race.
She had never made it this far before. This was her personal space, welcome to only her closest friends, and now she stood here with Troy behind her. She could feel his presence, his strength.
Feeling like she was on some invisible precipice and guarding herself against overthinking, she opened the door and stepped inside.
Troy was tall, probably around six feet, but he might as well have been a giant in her narrow entryway.
