Page 140 of Daddy’s Fortitude

“Ammo is part of the JSI family,” Gwen told her. “Even if he doesn’t live near us, we always take care of our own. That means we take care of you too.”

But she wasn’t part of the family, and she never would be. However, she didn’t say that to Gwen.

Dominic gave her a smile, then left with Gwen. Ammo walked them out, and she sat back on the sofa, her legs unable to hold her up much longer.

At least there was some good news today. Ammo was out of jail. Gwen was on the case, and she was certain the other woman wouldn’t rest until Kelly-Anne and the sheriff were taken care of.

Which just left one thing.

For her to tell Ammo that he needed to leave.

40

Ammo stood in the doorway and stared down at Aimee. It was clear that there was something going on with her.

It could just be that she was really tired and that the stress of everything was getting to her. Her shoulders were slumped. Her head was lowered. She’d been shaking earlier, shivering with cold when it wasn’t a cold day. That all pointed to her not having enough sleep or food.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something else might be going on.

Maybe it was just concern over what Kelly-Anne might do next. He could understand that, too.

But she shouldn’t have to worry about any of this, because he was going to take care of it all. He was going to look after her. Perhaps now wasn’t quite the right time to inform her about his change in feelings. Well, it wasn’t really a change, more that he was willing to acknowledge them now. Before he’d been in denial.

No, he needed to take care of her first, then he could tell her what was going to happen in the future.

Right now, she needed some food and sleep. She didn’t look like she could cope with much more at this moment.

“It’s time for a nap, sweetheart.”

Her head rose and she gaped at him in surprise.

“But it’s only lunchtime.”

“We’ll have some food, and then you can have a lie down. You look dead on your feet. Is there anything you feel like for lunch?”

“I don’t know if I can eat.” She rubbed at her stomach. “I feel like I’m a mess of nerves and anxiety right now.”

“Still be best to get something into you. Your blood sugar’s probably low, and that’s why you’re feeling so shaky. Things feel worse when you’re hungry and tired.”

Her blood test results hadn’t shown anything to be concerned about, thankfully. So the reason she’d fainted was likely due to stress and exhaustion.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I think there’s some canned soup in the cupboard. I could warm that up,” she suggested.

Ammo waved a hand at her. “Stay where you are. I’ve got it.”

Walking into the kitchen, he found the soup and put it on the stove to heat up before putting some bread in the toaster.

He needed a shower and about a gallon of coffee to stay awake himself.

Ammo heard her walk into the kitchen and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Thought I told you to stay where you were.”

She held one arm across her stomach, giving him a nervous look. “Yeah, I just . . . I guess . . . I . . .”

Suddenly, he got it. She probably didn’t want to be on her own. She looked so lost and alone.

His indigestion started to play up.

He held out his arms to her. “Do you need a hug?”