Page 72 of Let Me Be the One

“You have dry clothes, honey?”

She paused in the process of using the towel to squeeze rainwater from her hair. “Why are you calling me that?”

Grateful that her voice now sounded steadier, he asked, “Honey?”

She nodded.

He hadn’t even thought about it. Treating her gently, reassuring her, had been foremost in his mind. “I guess because it scared me, finding you out in the storm like that.”

Blotting the dampness from her face gave her a second to hide. When she lowered the towel, she appeared resigned. “How did you even know?”

“Glory tried to reach you.” He took the towel from her and briskly dried her arms. At least her teeth were no longer chattering, but shivers continued to chase over her skin. “When she couldn’t, she called Addie to see if you were there—since you often have dinner with us. Because it was storming, Addie ran over to make sure you were okay, and you were nowhere to be found but your car was here. She called me, I called Kam.” He lifted a shoulder. “Kam and I both came straight home.” And good thing. What if they hadn’t? Would she still be in a tree? What would the Garmets have done?

What had they intended to do?

Groaning, Callie dropped against him, her face ducked beneath his chin. “So much trouble for me.”

“Hey, you’re worth that.” And more. “We look out for each other around here. Addie knew how careful you were being and she said you never leave the door unlocked unless you’re right there. Only this time, you weren’t.”

“She’s right. Both Liam and I were in the yard after we finished cleaning out the gutters and downspouts. With the first raindrop, I insisted that he head out for his date.” She paused. “Did you know he had a date? I was so excited for him. All he does is work.”

Tanner smiled at her enthusiasm for Liam. “He’s determined.”

“I know. I worry about him.”

Of course she did. Because she cared, about everyone and everything, and he’d left her alone.

Before he could get annoyed with himself, she got back on track. “After Liam left, I went to make sure the animals were in their shelters. That’s when I realized one goat was missing.”

And of course she’d acted on instinct, immediately going to investigate.

“I thought I’d find him in the yard, but he wasn’t there. I looked everywhere.” Her shoulders tensed, her voice lowered. “The back gate was open.”

He’d bet money that neither Callie nor Liam would have left it like that.

As if he’d said it aloud, she shook her head. “We were nowhere near that gate, Tanner. If the goat got it open, I don’t know how. I fastened it the way you showed me.”

“How about we figure that out later?” Goats could be clever when they saw something tasty on the other side of a fence. Usually, though, they tended to stick together.

“Poor Glory,” she said, switching tracks yet again. “I shouldn’t have left my phone inside, but I didn’t want notifications going off while I was working with Liam.”

“I’m sure by now Kam has told Addie, and Addie has told Glory, so she knows you’re okay.”

Her groan was more humor than misery. “It’s like a sick phone game with me at the center of it all.”

No, it was like a woman alone who had a history with aggressive assholes, and now had two of them living next door to her. “Come on.” With an arm around her, he led her to her bedroom. “Get changed into something dry, okay?”

Looking miserable, she nodded.

As he started to step out, he noted the way she wentrigid, bracing herself to be alone. Fuck it. He couldn’t do it. “One more favor?”

She closed her eyes. “What?”

“Don’t complain when I stay right here while you change.”

That had her eyes flaring wide. “Here?”

Truthfully, he said, “I need to be close to you.” He would never forget the fear he’d seen in her face as she’d clung to that tree. “I’ll turn my back,” he offered. “How’s that?” The subtle easing of her shoulders told him he’d made the right move.

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