“For ruining your clothes. And your face.” I point my finger at him. “I’ll dry-clean it.” I instantly fix myself, “I mean your clothes, not your face.”
He looks down at himself as if only now noticing what a mess I’ve made.
“Don’t even worry about that,” he rasps and swallows hard. During all that, I forgot that he was in danger too, yet he stood between me and that bear.
“Thank you. For saving me,” I say sincerely. “I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t show up.”
He glances around, looking totally unbothered. “It’s nothing. It’s just my job.”
“Yeah, I forgot.” Suddenly, I feel like an idiot for going all sentimental and crying my ass out on his chest. Yes, I’m very grateful to him for stepping up, but as he said, it’s just his job, and we are not exactly buddies.
Taking a deep breath, I turn around and try to pry the door open again.
“It’s stuck?” he asks from behind me. So close.
“Yes,” I reply, nearly rolling my eyes at the obvious.
“Let me see.” He walks past me and tries the same thing I did with no results. His jaw clamps shut, and he puts more force onto the hold. His forearm strains and his veins pop, creating the perfect arm porn that mesmerizes me like a snake until I see the handle in his hands. Separated from my car.
“Oh,” he says, rolling his lips. He inspects the handle for a few moments. “It’s an old can; you should have gotten rid of it a long time ago.”
I forcefully grab the handle from his hand, sending him a death glare. “We were fine.”
His lips twitch, making me mad since I don’t find the situation as amusing as he does.
“C’mon.” He nods toward his cruiser. “I’ll drive you to town.”
I longingly look at my dear reliable car I’m about to betray and leave in a ditch, then I remember the bear, and the idea of leaving my Classic Mini here seems a lot less awful.
Looking down at myself, I shift my eyes to his. “I’ll ruin your fancy cop car.”
“I’ve had worse in there,” he replies with a chuckle. “Do you need anything from yours?”
“Yes,” I sigh, looking back at my loyal little bug who betrayed me by jamming the dang doorknob. “Everything.”
His brows go up. “You’ll get ‘everything’ tomorrow when I tow it back. Do you need anything for today?”
“Yeah.” I start moving through the mud, but he stops me with a raised hand, looking at my bare feet.
“Tell me what, and I’ll get it for you.”
Chewing on my lips, I choke down a sniffle, threatening to make me whiny again. Instead, I point at the front seat. “The purple duffel bag.”
I have no home, so I carry all my belongings with me. Even though Alicia told me to stay, I still snuck out with my bag in case I needed it. How did I reach the point where I’ve built numerous homes for people and ended up homeless myself?
In the meantime, Kenneth walks to the passenger side and tries to pry it open. When I hear a screeching sound, I make a move toward him, crying out in fear, “Wait! You’ll ruin that handle too!”
“How do you want me to get the bag out then?” He blinks at me in confusion.
“Let me try.” I walk to him, glancing at his now totally ruined shoes, and try the handle. Of course, it’s locked from the inside. “Do you know how to pick a lock?”
“No,” he says, clearly a bit shocked I dared to ask. “Do you?”
“Yes,” I sigh and look at him. “Do you happen to have a hairpin?”
He gives me a death glare.
“I guess not,” I reply and longingly look at the bag with all my stuff inside.
