Page 23 of Cautious Love

I glare at him through the window, and the tiny bit of pride I still have makes me keep my mouth shut, but the way my ribs are throbbing, that pride is about to crumble into dust.

“I couldn’t afford another night at thebeautifulinn. So here I am.”

“Do you need some help?” he asks.

“I don’t want your charity,” I mumble and turn away, trying to hide the heat I can feel rising on my cheeks.

“Fair enough, but you already got it. Aside from that, I’m not going to let you sleep out here by yourself. Remember there’s a gang of thugs that jumped you in this very parking lot, on top of the ex-boyfriend who you recently got into ascufflewith.”

I roll my eyes and try not to laugh. There is a massive elephant standing next to my car, and both of us are ignoring it. Yet it’s comforting knowing he knows the truth, and I didn’t have to tell him. At least someone knows.

“I’ll be fine,” I rasp.

Ledger sighs and rubs his hand over his mustache. “Look, the sheriff in me is saying you can’t park and sleep in your car. The man my mother raised is saying to help the woman out, and I’d have to agree with her.”

“Sounds like you have more issues than me.”

The corner of his mouth tips up, and I don’t know why it feels like a victory over the stern sheriff, but it does.

“You have two choices, Shiloh. You can crash in my spare bedroom, or I’ll pay for a night for you at the inn, though I’m not sure that’s a safe option either, and I will send a cruiser down there to check things out.”

I shake my head and focus on my fidgeting hands. “There you go ruining my street cred again.”

“Consider it a favor,” he grumbles. “So, what’s your choice? I’m not leaving you here, and if you don’t make one, I will make it for you.”

“You are decisive, aren’t you?”

“Sure, but I’m also impatient.”

“How do you know I won’t just ransack your house and escape in the middle of the night like the criminal I am?” I ask him.

His face is half shadow from his hat, and I wish I could see his eyes.

Why though?

Maybe it’s because I want to make sure I’m safe with him, even though beingunsafewith him never crossed my mind.

He huffs. “Because I don’t think you’re that stupid, and you know I know enough to put you in jail. But you’re not a prisoner and I’m not your keeper. I’m helping you, take it or leave it, but you have to take one.”

“I —”

“Get in the truck, Shiloh,” Ledger commands, his voice deep, leaving absolutely no room for argument. And strangely enough, I manually roll up my window and get out of the car.

He grabs my bags and tosses them in the back seat of his truck before opening the passenger side door for me.

I wince stepping up and he holds my hand snugly as I drop into the seat.

“I could have driven myself.”

“And I could be in bed asleep if I wasn’t busy saving you from yourself,” he grumbles.

“I mean, you’re the one stalking me, so.”

“If this is what you consider stalking, then I probably have some work to do.”

“Thinking about changing careers?”

He huffs. “I’m thinking about a lot of things.”