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She nodded and watched him get back in his vehicle and drive away, then faced Cade. The hard set of his jaw broadcast his anger. She hated that he was so affected by her mess. Needing to reassure him, she rested a hand on his arm.
The lines on his face relaxed and the corner of his mouth hitched up.
Butterflies erupted in her stomach. Holy hell, this man did things to her she never expected.
“I wish I’d been here when that little weasel popped up.”
“You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”
Mrs. Collins stepped outside and frowned. “Are you okay?”
Laura stared up at Cade, their eyes locking, and nodded. “I will be.”
And no matter how much Isaac terrorized, as long as Cade stood beside her, she knew it was true.
9
Stepping into the old Victorian house behind Laura, Cade’s temper had finally cooled. He wished he could yell or scream or actually do something to keep Isaac away from Laura, but his hands were tied.
Worse yet, so were Laura’s.
Mrs. Collins led the way into the cramped kitchen and put the baskets she’d hauled around town where they belonged. “I wish I’d been outside with you, Laura. I’d have given that young man a piece of my mind.”
Laura sighed and plopped onto the stool in front of the mobile island. “I appreciate that, but there’s nothing you could have done. Isaac will always find a way to barge into my life. I can’t run away. I can’t hide. I have to figure out how to live knowing he might be lurking around the corner.”
Cade shook his head, his irritation climbing back up. “He shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near you. He deserves to be in a jail cell.”
“He’ll get what’s coming to him,” Mrs. Collins said with a sympathetic smile. “People always do. But for now, I need totake advantage of the sunshine and get to work outside. Those weeds won’t pull themselves.”
“Would you like some help?” Cade asked, while silently hoping the answer was no. Gardening wasn’t his thing, and no way he’d want Laura out in the hot sun after the day she’d had. But he also didn’t want to leave her alone, even if she were mere feet away on the other side of a wall.
Mrs. Collins waved away his offer. “Nah. The garden is my happy place. You two stay inside. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Look around the house if you’d like. Maybe discuss all the wonderful ways you can transform this old place into exactly what I envision.” She offered them a wink before heading outside.
Laura chuckled. “She’s a firecracker.”
“Hmm,” he said, agreeing but unable to speak. He was too anxious, too worked up. His nerves demanded he move, do whatever he could to take care of Laura. An instinct that confused and scared the hell out of him. “Can I get you anything? Maybe some tea or something to snack on before Jude gets here?”
“Tea would be wonderful. I spied some in the cabinet to the left of the stove along with some mugs.”
He went to work heating water and preparing tea. Silence fell between them, but there was nothing awkward or strained about it. Despite the stress surrounding them, Laura was easy to talk—or not talk—to. Easy to be around. Easy to love.
The thought made him flinch as he carried the mug of hot tea to her, spilling scalding liquid on his hand. Good. He deserved the pain. Deserved to be reminded Laura was off limits. Matthew would have his head if he found out the depth of his feelings for Laura, no matter how well intentioned.
Laura was forbidden fruit.
“Are you okay?” she asked, accepting the mug and setting it in front of her.
“Yeah, just distracted. I have all this nervous energy swirling around and I don’t know what to do with it.”
Wrapping her hands around the mug, she took a quick sip then swished her lips to the side. “How about we get out of our heads for a little bit?”
“How do you propose we do that?”
She shrugged. “We could take Mrs. Collins up on her offer. This house is beautiful, and I’d love to see more of it. I know you’ve got most of your plans made, but it wouldn’t hurt to see if anything else could be done with this space.”
He’d walked through the home multiple times, but there was no harm doing it again. Especially if he was with Laura. “All right. Where do you want to start?”
“Might as well head up to the third floor and work our way down.”
