Page 23 of Broken Bodyguard
Troy groaned softly, but when he turned to Grace, he had the biggest grin. “I absolutely did.”
The rest of the morning disappeared like that: warm, homey, sun-dappled moments that burrowed straight into my long-term memories. For lunch, Troy made lunch meat sandwiches that provided yet another chance for him and Grace to connect. And after lunch, they finally got suited up to head outside.
“You coming with?” Troy asked.
“I think I’m going to curl up by the fireplace and read.” I bit my bottom lip, almost embarrassed to admit it. I knew how much of an introverted homebody I was, which was why fall and winter were my favorite months of the year. Not that I didn’t love spring and summer for their own strengths, but I was a supreme fan of coziness, books, and everything seasonally appropriate. Add in a totally unnecessary throw blanket and I was a happy woman.
Troy looked like he was fighting a smile as he nodded. “Yeah. That’s exactly what a cute ass elementary teacher would say.”
I scrunched up my face. “You said the A-word.”
Troy looked down at Grace but she didn’t seem to notice. “Okay, got a free pass on that one. Let’s go outside, Gracie-bell!”
He had a nickname for her now. Be still my heart. I watched them through the window as they stepped tentatively into the snow. Troy had her hand in his as they ventured into the side yard, right near the firepit where I’d straddled the steel of Troy’s legs just last night. My eyes fluttered shut as the memories returned. Was there really such a problem with just getting one taste of him?
I sank onto the couch nearest the fireplace, determined to forget about all things Troy. Once I’d found my place in my paperback, I quickly got lost in reading. Time melted away in a blissful state. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard the muffled sounds of crying.
My skin prickled and I sat up. That had to be Grace—unless I was imagining it. I set down the book and hurried to find my boots and coat. As soon as I opened the side door a moment later, the crying grew louder.
Outside, Grace sat in an Adirondack chair at the firepit. Troy knelt in front of her, cradling her ankle in his big hand as he inspected her leg. I hurried over to them, kneeling down to eye-level with Grace.
“Are you okay honey?” I asked her. Looking at Troy, I said, “What happened?”
She drew a ragged breath, her eyes rimmed with redness.
“We were playing hide and seek,” he said. “She hid by the wood pile and hurt her leg.”
I stroked Grace’s head and she looked up at me. “I got a boo boo.”
“Do you think your leg is okay?” I asked her.
She nodded emphatically, but Troy looked concerned. He gingerly tested bending her knee followed by extending it.
“Nothing hurts, right?” he asked her.
“I think she was just scared,” I said softly. The way she’d been crying, paired with her lack of reaction as Troy inspected her, told me that. I could identify Grace’s cries in a line-up at this point. Each one meant a slightly different thing.
“Those logs tried to get you, didn’t they?” Troy asked, coming to standing. He helped her to her feet, and within a few moments, she was beaming up at both of us, wisps of her blonde hair escaping her knit cap.
“Mommy, can we take Toy home with us?”
The question knocked the wind out of me. I had no idea how to answer that. My gaze snapped up to find Troy’s, and he had a mischievous grin waiting for me.
“I, uh…well, Troy has things he needs to do after we’re done at the cabin,” I started to explain. Sometimes, I was glad my daughter was three. She didn’t have any idea how bad I was fumbling over the question.
But Troy, on the other hand, could see and understand it all.
When her face started to fall, I hurried to add, “I’m sure he’ll come visit someday.”
Grace’s brows furrowed together as she wiped a hair from her face. “But Toy will be good, right Toy?”
His brows shot up and he nodded, the start of a smirk on his lips. “Oh yes. I’ll be good.” He stepped closer, adding in a low voice for only me to hear, “Unless you don’t want me to be.”
Heat shuddered through me. He held my gaze, his arm brushing against mine as he followed Grace toward the house. A waft of his cedar cologne reached me, and I almost needed the sturdiness of his arm to ensure my knees didn’t buckle.
Between his thoughtfulness, the safety he provided, and his level ten handsomeness…I was a goner. The man slept thirty feet from my room and each night that I went to bed without more of those hot kisses seemed like a wasted opportunity.
Maybe that needed to change.
