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Aaron’s socks were a mess, but he couldn’t wear his boots without them, so he sat down on a bench and put his boots back on before they headed to their patrol car, then drove back to the station. As soon as they pulled up at the back of the precinct, Aaron got out. “Tell the chief I’ll be back shortly.”
Yancy nodded. “Let me know when you get back to the station and I’ll swing by and pick you up.”
“Will do,” Aaron said, grabbed his hat from the backseat where he’d tossed it, and ran into the station to get a clean uniform, then back out to his car. He could have showered on site, but he also needed to clean the cut on his forehead, so he grabbed a handful of tissues and began wiping the blood off his face before driving back to Dani’s.
Dani was feeling good about the day.
Sean had installed a Ring doorbell on the front door, a security camera inside the hall aimed at the front door, and another one outside the back door beneath the porch. He’d set up the Ring app on her phone, showed her how to access and use it, and then showed her how to view the cameras via her laptop. He’d also left a small package for Aaron, along with a note. She felt safe again.
But she’d also heard a lot of sirens today, and Aaron’s safety was also on her mind. There was some weird connection between them that she hadn’t identified, but she liked him a little too much for her own well-being. Everything had gone quiet after the last siren blasted through town, which made her anxious again. That could be a good sign or a bad one. She just wanted him to be safe.
In an effort to focus on something more positive, she began poking through the refrigerator and freezer for ideas for supper when she heard a key in the door. It was too early for Aaron to be off work, and she wonderedwhat was wrong. She stopped and went into the hall just as Aaron walked in.
Aaron was thinking he should have given Dani a call to let her know he was coming as he shut the door behind him. He hung his uniform on a hanger, and then he saw her, eyes wide with a thousand unspoken questions and a slight look of panic on her face as she approached. She slid her hand up the side of his face all the way to the cut. Her hand was soft and warm, and he remembered how it had felt to hold her when she was crying.
“You’re bleeding…and you’re wet. Are you alright?” Dani asked.
“It’s just a scratch,” Aaron said. “A six-year-old child got separated from his parents. He was deaf, which made the search a little complicated. Thanks to Cameron and Ghost, we found him. He’d fallen into the creek but had managed to grab hold of some low-hanging bushes. I went in after him. I need to shower and change clothes so I can get back to the station. My shift isn’t over for a couple more hours.”
“When you come out, I’ll clean the cut before you leave,” she said.
“You don’t have to do that,” Aaron said.
She gave him another look. “I’m not doing it because I have to.”
He grinned. “You sound like Mom.”
“Except I’m not your mom, and you won’t be the first little boy I bandaged up on the playground,” she said, and smiled.
His gaze moved from the dimples to the shape of her mouth. “I’m not a little boy, and I’m happier than I should be that you and I are not at all related.”
Shock rolled through her as she watched him grab his uniform and walk away. Her heart was pounding, and there was a knot in her stomach.
Okay. I didn’t see that coming.Then she sighed.Or maybe I did and was just afraid to look.
She stood for a few moments, trying to remember where she’d put the first aid kit when she unpacked, and then remembered leaving it on a shelf in the utility room and went to get it.
Once she was satisfied that everything was in it, she laid it on the kitchen table and sat down to wait for Aaron to come back. She could still hear the water running, thought about it sluicing down that long, beautiful body, and sighed.
“God, Dani. Get a grip.”
She looked down at her fingernails, rolled her eyes, and bit off a hangnail on her thumb, then got up and began emptying the dishwasher. Banging doors dulled the sound of the shower, which was good. If she couldn’t hear it, then she didn’t have to think about him wet and naked.
The dishwasher was empty and pork chops were thawing in a pan on the counter when he came backinto the kitchen, holding a handful of tissues against his forehead.
“The hot water made it bleed again,” he said. “I don’t want this uniform bloody, too.”
“Sit here,” Dani said.
Aaron pulled out a chair from the table and sat as she opened the first aid kit.
“Let me see,” she said, and gently removed the tissues to get a better look at the cut. “Yikes, Aaron. That’s more than a scratch.” She got cotton balls and some antiseptic. “This is going to sting,” she added, then began to clean out the cut.
“And you were right,” he said, wincing slightly.
“I’m so sorry.”
Without thinking, she moved between his knees for better access, unaware Aaron was fighting the urge to grip her waist and pull her onto his lap.
