Page 76 of Body Shot

“I will.” No way am I letting her deal with this herself.

“You don’t even know them,” she protests, picking up her purse and keys.

“I know you. That’s enough. Maybe we can get you over there quick enough to take care of things and still get that work done you wanted to.”

She eyes me, pausing at her door, clearly struggling with accepting help. Finally she says, “Thank you.”

18

BECK

I hustle Hayden out to my Jag. Once I’ve started the engine, I ask, “Where do they live?”

She gives me the address and brief directions and I zoom down her street, turn onto Grand Avenue, then onto I-5.

“Um, you’re a fast driver.” She grips the armrest.

“I’m agooddriver.”

“Okay, yes.”

“I kick Cade and Marco’s asses at the Speed Bowl on a regular basis.”

“The Speed Bowl?”

“Go-kart racing.”

She laughs. “Oh my God. You’re crazy.”

“Crazy fun, baby.” I’m happy I’ve made her laugh despite her obvious worry about her aunt. “I’ll take you there next week. We’ll race.”

She sighs. “Much as that sounds like fun, I have a stupid busy week next week.”

“You need time for fun. We’ll find time. Maybe on the weekend.”

“You work on the weekends.”

“Yeah, usually, but we can juggle schedules if need be. We’ll figure it out.” She’s chewing on her bottom lip and I don’t like that. “Hey, relax.” I reach over for her hand to squeeze it. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t just leave things open like that. What are we going to do? When are we going to go? I need to know. I need to prepare.”

My heart does a weird flip in my chest. This really does make her anxious. And much as I want to give her new experiences and get her to loosen up a little, I do not want to make her anxious. “Okay, baby. Just let me nail things down at the bar and see when I can have time off. Then I’ll tell you exactly what we’re going to do and when we’re going to do it. And you can prepare for all the fun we’re going to have.”

“You think I’m crazy.”

“No, I don’t. I think you’re cute.

She gives a soft sigh. “I’m sorry. I know I’m kind of, er, rigid.”

“Not as rigid as I am when I think about you.”

After one shocked beat, she bursts out laughing. “Oh my God.”

Satisfaction settles warm in my gut. I made her laugh again.

“I’m just stressed with being busy at work, and then things with my aunt and uncle and . . .” She pauses. “I hate feeling like things are out of control.”

“Why are you looking after your aunt and uncle? Don’t they have kids?”

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