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He watched me carefully in the mirror. “I’m sorry if what I said upset you.”
“No, no,” I quickly stated. “I was just thinking about how I’ve never been asked out before.”
“What?” he exclaimed, stopping his combing mid-stroke. “How could someone as pretty as yourself never have been asked out before? I would’ve thought for sure you’d have a line of men trying to get your attention. Unless you prefer women, which is totally fine. Whatever floats your boat.”
“It isn’t that.” I chuckled. “My parents died when I was about to be a teenager. I was shuffled around a lot of foster homes with my older brother, Evan. We stayed in our school district, but no guy wanted to go out with a girl who was damaged goods.” Not to mention my brother probably would’ve beaten anyone up who came near me. He was very protective of me… then.
“I’m so sorry, Miranda.” Austin put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.
“It is what it is,” I said, shrugging off his gesture, uncomfortable discussing this topic. People would give me their pitying looks when I spoke about my past, and I didn’t want to see one on his face. “Are we almost done?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Yes.”
He went back to combing my hair out in silence. Nothing like revealing your tragic past to shut a guy up.
“All finished.”
“Thank you,” I replied, running a hand through my smooth, soft hair. It had been too long since it felt like this.
“You’re welcome. Miranda?”
“Yes?” I turned around to face him instead of looking at his reflection.
“With or without what happened to your parents, I still would’ve asked you out had I known you when you were younger.”
Suddenly, I had a frog in my throat.Don’t cry, don’t cry.I held back the avalanche of tears that threatened to pour out of my eyes. As crazy as it might seem to someone else, it meant a lot to me that he said that. Looked like there were still some decent guys out there.
“Thanks,” was all I managed to get out before turning my head away.
“How about I go and grab us some lunch? I have leftover homemade chicken pot pie. Afterward, you can take a nap. Work for you?”
“Mhmm.”
He left, and I turned back to the mirror. Gazing at myself, I wondered why someone as handsome as Austin would want to help someone like me. I looked anorexic, which to some was attractive, but not to me. My light-brown hair hung limp with no shine or volume even after all his care, and my hazel eyes had dark bags underneath them.
I was a mess, yet he was being so nice and attentive. I didn’t think men like him—men who took care of others and expected nothing in return—existed in this world. All those I had encountered in my past wanted something. Or, in Declan’s case, demanded more and more until I had nothing left to give.
“Miranda, I have the food ready. I’ll come get you in a moment,” Austin called out.
Not wanting to make him do more work, I rose carefully from my chair and went out into what must’ve been his bedroom. I had been unconscious when he brought me up here and very self-conscious when I came in to get dressed so I hadn’t really taken in the decor. It was very manly. All the wooden furniture was made out of logs. It almost made me feel like I was camping.
The room was spacious, comfortably fitting a king-size bed, a nightstand on either side, two dressers, a dark-brown leather love seat next to a fireplace, and directly across from me, in front of a big picture window was a couch and coffee table. He had placed laden plates that had the most delicious smelling food on them, as well as napkins, and silverware on the table, which I was happy about. Eating in the spot where I slept was a bit of a pet peeve of mine because, without fail, I’d leave crumbs and find them when I was trying to sleep.
“Miranda, I said I’d come get you,” he admonished me from where he was standing by the couch.
To my surprise, a dog sat next to him on the floor. She didn’t look large like a Great Dane, but she wasn’t a small thing either.
As if she knew I was thinking about her, she turned her gaze up to me.
“Hello there,” I said cautiously while waving my hand at the pup. “I didn’t want to inconvenience you and I see we aren’t alone. Who is this?” I inched forward a few steps.
“This here is Champ. She’s my girl and helps me with herding cattle,” Austin said affectionally as he rubbed her head. “I owed her a petting from earlier.”
“I like her coat, especially the bit of brown around her eyes.” On her stomach and chest area, she had blonde hair, dark brown around her eyes, and black fur on her back.
“So, do I. She’s an Australian Shepherd and that breed of dogs always have beautiful coats, or at least I think so.” He smiled from ear to ear.
I walked a bit closer to the food, and she sat up eyeing me. It was a little nerve-racking. Normally, I wasn’t afraid of dogs, but Champ looked like she was very alert and protective of her owner, and I feared if I got much closer, she’d attack me.
