Page 163 of Cautious Love

He frowns. “Yeah, I told you I would.”

I bite my lower lip, making the pain discourage my tears.

“Do they need to keep you overnight?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“Okay, we can’t go back to your place, so I’ll take you home and we’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll get the papers,” he says and walks out of the room, looking for a nurse.

I’m right back where I started, beat up, without a home, and now I don’t even have my clothes.

But maybe, if he’ll listen, I might have Ledger, and he’s all I need.

Ledger comes back with a nurse and a clipboard. She gives Ledger care instructions and has me sign a couple of things.

They roll me to the front doors and he stoops down, picking me up before I have a chance to stand.

“You don’t need to hurt your feet anymore,” he says.

I stare at his profile as he carries me, and that knot in my chest loosens.

He sets me in the truck and we head home,home.His home. But it didn’t take long for it to feel like mine too.

We pull into his garage, and he shuts off the truck and closes the garage door before he gets out.

“Ledger, I —”

“We need to —”

We say at the same time and I press my lips together.

“We need to talk,” he says.

“Yeah, I think we do,” I whisper.

He gets out of the cab, and I open the door, but he meets me there, helping me out and carrying me into the house.

“Where’s Dozer?” I ask as he sets me on my feet.

“He’s at the station, and we’re going to have to leave him there for the night, or rather, the morning. I have … well, I’ll explain that in a second,” he mumbles.

Hobbling to the couch, I drop with a sigh.

“I’m sure you’re tired, but we only have a couple hours.”

“Okay,” I say, and the words feel heavier than they should, probably because I’m holding too much in.

He grabs us a glass of water and sets it on the coffee table next to the still unfinished puzzle.

“Why do your hands look like that?” I ask him.

He won’t look me in the eye, and my stomach clenches. “Grey is back, but he won’t be bothering you again.”

“I knew it was him,” I rasp, as my hands shake and I shove them under my thighs. I can’t breathe.

Ledger’s hands come around mine. “Look at me,” he says.