He was sitting by the door, the dog in his lap as his long legs splayed across the wooden floorboards. The light on the nightstand sent a soft glow over the room.
He eyed her in the silk pjs, then ran a hand through his hair. “Didn’t you ever call a plumber about that? I told you I don’t do drains or toilets.”
“Actually, I did, Mr. Know-It-All. He plunged it and put some gooey stuff down the hole—which I could have done—and it worked fine for about two weeks. The sink and tub both started backing up again after that and now, since I’ve been gone for so long, they seem to be even worse.”
He thunked his head back against the wall and Salisbury glanced up at his face. “It’s your long hair. It always jams up the pipes. I imagine no one ran the water while you were away so the pipes are dried out. Nothing’s flowing right.”
She knew the feeling. Her body and mind weren’t either.
The itch to touch her short locks made her fingers twitch. She’d already brushed out her braid and the unbalanced look of her head in the mirror made her want to do that side again. Like all her other issues, the doctors had assured her this obsession with her hair would wear off eventually.
She purposefully gripped the walker with both hands and refused to look at her reflection. “So can you fix it or what?”
He hefted Salisbury out of his lap and slowly got to his feet. “I’ll look at it tomorrow in between installing your new security system, keeping your parents at bay, helping you with your physical therapy, and oh, yeah, trying to figure out who shot you.”
“Snarky much?” Her fingers went to her hair, twining in the longer strands and twisting, twisting, twisting. “Sorry I asked. I’ll have Daddy do it.”
Zing!That got him. He pinned her with a challenging glare, opened his mouth, and…
Snapped it shut again.
He clenched his teeth, making a muscle in his cheekbone jump.
His gaze slid to the chest of drawers. His voice came out low and gentle. “I don’t want to fight with you, Shel. I don’t want to…do what we did to each other all over again.”
Her zing boomeranged right back to her. She hadn’t expected him to say that.
For a moment, she stood in silence, wondering if she should come clean. The words hopscotched around on her tongue, but when she opened her mouth, they wouldn’t come out. “I…I don’t want that either.”
Without another word, he helped her to bed, but the whole thing felt awkward, like he was holding something back.
In their previous life together, they’d had few secrets from each other. If he’d acted like this, she would have called him on it, forced him to say what he was thinking.
I can’t demand he tell me his secrets if I can’t open up and admit mine.
She kept her silence, telling herself that she would confide in him tomorrow when they were both recharged and their tempers weren’t so frayed.
As Colton tucked her in and made sure she was comfortable, Salisbury jumped on the bed and lay next to her. She patted his firm little body. “We’ll get some dog food tomorrow,” she promised him. “It won’t be as good as Momma’s pot roast, but maybe we can add some of the drippings to it for you.”
Colton shook his head at the dog. “You’re getting soft, Sal.” He snapped his fingers. “You’re on guard duty tonight. Earn your keep, y’hear?”
Salisbury panted and wagged, then tucked his head into the covers.
Colton flicked off the lamp and headed for the door. “G’night, Shel.”
“Colton?”
He turned back. “Yeah?”
“I meant it. You know, about being glad you’re here. I know you have a life in DC now. Friends, a job, probably a girlfriend or six. But…well, it means a lot to me that you came.”
She wanted him to deny the girlfriend part, tell her it was good to be home, and that she was more important than his new life.
He didn’t. In the shadows, she saw him nod his head slightly. “Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”
As her heart sank a little, she heard him gathering linens from the hall closet. For the next few minutes, she listened to his almost silent movements across the hall. His presence soothed her, and maybe there was a chance they could work together even if he did leave once this was all over.
She fell asleep hoping for the best.
