Safe With You (21 page)

Surprisingly I woke up early the next morning. 
So early that Wyatt was still asleep next to me with his arm slung over my waist and his head on my chest.  The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the house, and I had my reason for being awake.  I wriggled out from under Wyatt, wanting to steal a few minutes alone with Lana before everyone else got up.  I padded downstairs in my pajama shorts and tank top, stopping to peek in Lindsay’s room.  She was sound asleep on her side hugging her pillow tightly to her chest.

The coffee smell grew stronger as I approached the kitchen.  Lana was at the table, already dressed reading the newspaper.  “Good morning,
Taryn,” she greeted me.  “Dominic went out for a run already.  And I know Lindsay is still sleeping.  Where’s that sexy man of yours?”  I smiled, “Still sleeping too.  I think this is only the second time ever I’ve been up before him.”

She got up to pour me a cup of coffee.  “Well, what has you up so early today?”  I added cream and sugar before sitting down across from her, cupping my hands around the warm mug.  “I wanted to ask you abou
t your neighbor, Grady Hawke.”

“Ah, so you’ve met Grady already?”  I nodded, “Just briefly outside yesterday.  It was really a weird conversation.  He obviously knew Lindsay and seemed actually kind of pissed off that I didn’t know who he was
.”  Lana raised an eyebrow, “Lindsay never told you about him?”

“No. 
Never.  But I saw their picture in the hall.  That’s him in the picture with Lindsay, right?”  She smiled sadly, “Yes, that’s him.  I don’t know why Lindsay hasn’t told you about him, but I can’t if she hasn’t.”  I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, securing it with the band I had around my wrist.  “I understand.  She’ll tell me if she wants to.  I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t … dangerous or anything.”

Lana laughed loudly, “Yes, I suppose to someone who doesn’t know him, he would look like a convicted felon.  But that boy has a heart of gold.  You don’t need to worry about that.”  I breathed a sigh of relief, “Good.  I mean, my brother is actually a convicted felon, so I don’t have any room to judge, but I just want to make sure Lindsay is okay here.”  Lana leaned forward to pat my hand.  “She will be.  I believe Lindsay is right where she belongs now.”

I helped Lana make buckwheat pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and the delicious smell eventually drew both Wyatt and Lindsay downstairs.  Dominic returned from his run and took a quick shower before joining us as well.  After eating and getting dressed for the day, we had just enough time before we left for Wyatt and me to take a walk down to the lake.  We found a spot on the public beach to sit together and watch the swimmers and boats.

“It’s really beautiful and peaceful here.  Just like at your parents’ house.”  I said.  “Yeah, a lot different from being in the city…I forgot to tell you, my dad called the other day and he and my mom are toying with the idea of moving to Florida when he retires in three years.”  I frowned, “Really?  What about the house?”  He shrugged, “I guess they’ll sell it.  My dad grew up there too, so I’m sure it will be hard.  But they’re tired of the
cold winters.”

“We can’t let th
em sell it to some strangers.  We can buy it.”  He looked at me surprised, “We could buy it?  What would we do with it?  Rent it out?”  I rolled my eyes, frustrated that he wasn’t catching on to my brilliant idea.  “No, silly.  We can live there.”

“But you grew up in the city.  You’
ve never lived anywhere else.”

“Exactly.
  I don’t want to live there forever.  I’ve never felt more at home than when I’m walking barefoot in the grass and sitting with you by the pond.”  His lips quirked up.  “I absolutely love it there, and it holds so many good memories for you and for us.  We have to keep it in the family.”  He grinned at me and pulled me onto his lap, nuzzling my neck.

“I love it when you talk about us
as a family.  My parents would love it if we lived there.  I know they were sad to think of leaving the only place that holds memories of Derek.”  I hugged him tightly, “You’re just as much my family as my parents and Lindsay.  I want to make our own little family, and I want to raise our kids where you were raised.  We just have to make sure they don’t get in as much trouble as you did,” I teased.  We snuggled on the beach a little while longer before heading back to pack up.

We called a cab to take us to the airport, and Lindsay and I said a tearful goodbye.  I made her promise to call or text me every day, and I told her I would be back to visit in October over my mid-semester break.  It was hard to leave my best friend there, knowing she was going through something that she wouldn’t talk to me about.  But I had to trust that she would work through it and ask for help if she ne
eded it.

It was a quick flight home, but I was able to finish the book I was reading on the plane.  The ending was ultimately happy, but it still made me cry.  Wyatt, who was used to my tears over romance novels, just asked the flight attendant for a tissue and put his arm around my shoulders.  Dominic sat on my other side and looked at me like I was
an escaped mental patient.  “I will never understand you, Tar-Bear.”  I smiled at his use of my brother’s nickname for me and patted his arm.  “That’s okay Dom, I know you love me anyway.”

Bedtime Story

The apartment felt too quiet and lonely that evening with Lindsay gone.  Even Dominic was out, having finally got up the nerve to ask Selena on a date.  I got ready for bed in the bathroom and slipped on one of Wyatt’s t-shirts to sleep in before joining him in bed.  He was reading something on his iPad and raised a questioning eyebrow when I climbed in bed without a book.  “Not reading tonight?”

“No, I finished my book on the plane and I don’t feel like starting anything new yet.”   He pulled me close to snuggle against him with my head on his chest.  “You could tell me a story,” I teased.  He chuckled but put down his
iPad on the night table.  “All right.”

“Really?”
I asked excitedly peeking up at him.  He ran his fingers through my hair as he began what has come to be my very favorite bedtime story of all time…

***

Once upon a time I was put on an assignment to trail a Senator’s twenty one year old daughter from a distance, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled.  Babysitting some spoiled bratty socialite was not what I had signed up for when I left the Marines to go into private security.  However, my boss was old friends with the Senator, and I knew it was an honor that he had picked me.  From what my boss had told us, she was in no real danger.  Her father was a popular Senator contemplating a run for the White House, and he just wanted extra assurance that his daughter was safe in case this information was leaked.

After two weeks of watching her every day from 3:00 pm to midnight, I knew my assumptions about her were wrong.  I had learned that she was nothing like I expected – she was reserved but friendly to the people she knew, she didn’t go out partying like her roommate did, and she preferred jeans and t-shirts to the skimpy styles so popul
ar with other girls her age.

My partner
often complained about how boring this assignment was.  I felt that way too in the beginning, but somehow I found myself waking up every day looking forward to the moment when she walked into Starbucks.  Today was no exception, and I found myself checking the time more than once when she was late.  I knew nothing was wrong or I would have gotten a call from my partner, who had the morning shift.  My anxiousness had nothing to do with worry for her safety and everything to do with my unexplained need to see her.

I saw her run by the window before she ducked inside and out of the rain, and I felt an unexpected sense of relief that I tried to ignore.  I held back a smile and focused on reading my newspaper when I saw she was wearing tight jeans tucked into a pair of rain boots with ducks on them.  She looked like she should be bailing hay on a farm instead
of in the middle of Manhattan.

Starbucks was packed by this time, and her favorite table by the window was already taken.  I saw her scanning the room and averted my eyes before hers landed on me.  She had caught me watching
her a couple of times, though I did my best to avoid it after that first time.  It had been my third day on her detail and she was sitting at her table reading a book, her long light brown hair loose and wavy.  She was so intensely focused on her book, that I was caught off guard when she suddenly looked up straight at me.  I could see her eyes were light, but I couldn’t tell the color from across the room.  She held my gaze, captivating me, for several seconds that seemed like forever, before looking back down to her book, her hair falling over her shoulder like a screen between us.  This city was filled with beautiful women, but this girl captured my attention like no one had before.

After she placed her order she moved over to wait for her drink with her back to me just a few feet from where I sat.  She was tall, maybe 5’8” and thin and had the sweetest ass I had ever seen, especially in those tight jeans.  I shook my head at myself.  What the hell was I thinking?  She was twenty-one, 7 years younger
than me, and I was on the job.

Just then some asshole came over and put his hand way too low on her back for my liking.  It was obvious that she knew him, but I could see the annoyance on her face that she was trying to hide.  I listened to her brushing him off and chuckled.  She may look sweet and innocent, but she could stand up for herself.  Then he grabbed her wrist.  Oh. Hell. No.

***

I leaned up on my elbow with a huge smile on my face.  “I love this story!  Is it about anyone I know?”  Wyatt smirked at me and shook his head, “Nope, it’s a completely made up story.”  I rolled my eyes and nibbled his ear, “Uh huh, sure.  Let me guess, you save me, I mean the fictional girl in your
completely made up story, from her mean ex-boyfriend and use your sexy charm to persuade her to sit at your table.”  A rumble came from his chest as I continued nibbling my way down his neck, “Ssshhh, this is my story.”

***

The feeling of her delicate hand in mine was still there hours later, as if I had been burned by her touch.  I had to intervene when that guy had grabbed her wrist, and I could rationalize inviting her to sit with me because there were no other tables.  But then I had flirted with her, and held her hand just a second too long.  For that short period of time I forgot who I was and who she was.  I couldn’t let that happen again.

Just like I did every day
, I had followed her from Starbucks to her afternoon class, then to her therapist’s office and the library before heading back to her apartment.  I didn’t know why she visited a therapist, and I hoped that nothing bad had happened in her life.  When midnight rolled around and she was safely tucked away in her apartment for the night and her bedroom light was out, I made the short walk back to the apartment I shared with my partner.  My employer owned several apartments around the city that were used by the employees, and the one we were staying in was close to her place.  It was small but furnished nicely and was fine for two single guys.

I quickly changed into workout clothes and headed down to the gym in the basement of the building.  I needed to be exhausted by the time I went to bed if I had any hope of getting
her out of my head and sleeping tonight.

Sleep did come quickly when I finally got to bed, but unlike every other night since my brother’s death
, I slept peacefully until the sun rose.  While I waited for my partner to finish up in the shower and head out for his morning surveillance, I sat on the edge of my bed with my head in my hands.  If you had told me yesterday that I would be upset by the absence of nightmares, I would have said you were fucking crazy.  But this morning I would have given anything to have the nightmares back, instead of the sweet dreams of her that had given me my best night of sleep in over a year.

***

Wyatt was still reclining against the headboard, and I shifted so I was straddling him.  “You dreamt of me?”  He swept my hair behind my shoulders and pulled me down to kiss me deeply, murmuring against my mouth, “Every night.”  I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder, “Keep going.”

***

I got to Starbucks well before she would arrive at 3:30.  I needed some time to think before I saw her today.  Not that there was anything left to think about since she hadn’t left my mind since she walked out of here yesterday.  I had spent the morning jogging around the city, trying to push away the thoughts of her that kept creeping into my mind.  For the first time in over a year, I actually felt alive.  And that feeling only came when she was near.  Why did the one person who could pull me out of the darkness have to be the one girl I couldn’t have?

Maybe I was finally losing it.  After all my years in the Marines and everything I saw there, after losing my brother and with him my own will to live, after spending the last year just going through the motions.  Maybe after all that, I was actually losing my mind.  That was the only reason I could come up with for what I was about to do.

***

“Was this the first day
you waited for me with my coffee?” I asked, remembering his nervous smile when he asked if I would sit and talk with him.  “Yup, that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.”