Page 36 of Return to Me Always

"Ben, sorry to barge in on you like this," Tyler started.

"Um, yeah, you know you're wanted for murder, right?" Ben looked like a scared rabbit, still glancing back and forth between Tyler and me.

"Aye. And you know of course we didn't do it, right?" Tyler said.

Ben's eyes narrowed slightly. "I knowyoudidn't do it. But I don't know anything about—"

"Kathryn Ryder," Tyler interrupted. "And of course she didn't do it either. We've obviously been set up."

He squinted now at Tyler. "Right. And how?"

"It's a bloody long story, mate." Tyler sighed with impatience. "Look, I'm terribly sorry for busting in here like this, but we could really use your help. And we're short on time."

Ben nodded his head repeatedly like he was debating what to do. I could sense Tyler's edginess as he waited for his friend to come to some kind of decision.

Still bobbing his head up and down, Ben took a slow breath and let it out. "Okay. What do you need?"

Tyler relaxed next to me. "Thank you, Ben. I knew I could count on you. I know it's a huge favor to ask of you. But I wouldn't do it unless I was desperate."

"Right. I know, mate. So what can I do then?"

"First, I promised Ryder here a shower," Tyler said, jerking his head toward me.

Ben's eyebrows shot up at this request, but he quickly recovered. "Right. Right. Let me show you upstairs."

I followed Ben up the hardwood stairs, impressed at how nice his house was. With a nervous energy, he led me to a bedroom that had a cozy little bathroom just inside.

He pointed to a fluffy blue robe hanging on the wall and said, "I literally washed it this morning. I'm a wee bit of a neat freak."

"Me too."

Ben gave me a warm smile. "Sorry if I was rude before. I was just taken by surprise."

"I get it," I said, realizing that this Ben guy seemed really nice. "But you weren't rude. And I'm sorry for bothering you at all."

"Nae bother. Really. I hope when you're done, we can talk more."

"Definitely." I headed into the bathroom, seriously ready for that hot shower. "Is there a place I can wash my clothes?"

He squeezed past me and opened a cabinet along the wall. "See that?" he asked, pointing to an opening along the bottom. "That's the laundry chute. Drops right into the washing machine. I'll get it started for you."

"Oh, wow. I can't thank you enough."

He grinned again. "Enjoy that shower, Kathryn."

"Kat. You can call me Kat."

"Right, Kat." And with that, he was off, and I was about to enjoy the best shower ever.

For a guy, Ben had a surprising amount of shampoos, conditioners, body washes, and lotions. I felt a little funny about using his stuff, but I figured he probably wouldn't care. And what else was I going to do?

When I was done, I felt like a new person, especially because of the heavenly scent taking over the bathroom. Once I had the comfy robe on, I opened the door to let out some steam and sat on the edge of the bed for a minute, enjoying the feeling of finally being clean.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and figured it was probably Ben coming to check up on me. But my breath caught when Tyler came into the room, fresh from a shower himself and looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Hey," he said, giving me a grin.

I didn't think my heart could beat any faster. And suddenly, I felt a little shy. Maybe it was because I was in a robe and nothing else. "Hey."

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