Page 66 of Scent of Fear

“I’m not leaving.” He held up his phone to show her the pizza he planned to order. “What do you like on your pizza?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Libby, starving yourself isn’t going to help your grandfather.” He scowled at her. “What do you like?”

“Pepperoni and mushrooms.” She rubbed a hand over her stomach. “I feel sick, but that could be because I’m hungry.”

He placed the order, then crossed over to sit beside her on the sofa. “Let me take a look at your arm.”

She showed him the long scratch marks made by Bryce’s teeth. “I’ll clean this up for you, okay?”

“I can do it.” She looked stubborn, but he was already striding into the kitchen for water, soap, and towels.

The scratches weren’t as deep as he’d anticipated, but she still might have needed antibiotics. Without a car, they would have to walk to the hospital. Or wait until morning.

“Thanks.” Libby tugged her arm free. “I’ll be fine.”

Her listless tone bothered him. He set the items aside and turned on the sofa to face her. “Listen to me, I need you to look on the bright side.”

“On the bright side of my grandfather being in jail?” Libby asked.

“Yes. He’s not dead, and if you ask me, I believe he’s relieved to have the truth out there.” Shane took both of her hands in his. “Come on, Libby, your grandfather needs that sunshine personality of yours to help him through this.”

“I know.” She tipped her head back to look up at the ceiling for a minute. “I know you’re right. And that nobody should get away with a crime like this without some sort of punishment. It’s just...”

“You love him. But we will also be there for him, Libby. Both of us.” He wanted to tell her how he’d fallen in love with her, but obviously, the timing wasn’t great. He glanced around her small home. “I’ll sleep here on the sofa until we hear what’s going to happen.”

“You would do that for me?” Libby asked, her dark-brown eyes clinging to his. “Even though I’m the granddaughter of a bank robber?”

“Armored truck robber,” he corrected with a wry grin. “And hey, I give your grandfather a lot of credit for not spending the money and for turning his life around.”

A reluctant smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I can’t believe Grandpa slept every single night with almost two million dollars under his bed.”

“Exactly. Can you imagine the willpower he must have had to accomplish that?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I admire him. He never took the easy way out.”

“Grandpa always told me money can’t buy happiness,” Libby said, her expression thoughtful. “And I always figured that was an easy thing to say if you didn’t have any money to begin with. But now I realize he was right. Because we were happy. We didn’t need a million dollars. We had all the love and caring we needed with each other.”

“Your grandfather is a smart man.” He thought about the multimillion-dollar estate he and his siblings had inherited when their parents had died. The money had been more of a pain in the behind than anything, and he had been grateful for how Maya and Chase had restructured the estate to support the ranch and their mission of offering search and rescue missions.

And in that moment, he knew if he had to choose between his inheritance and Libby, he’d walk away from the Sullivan ranch without a backward glance.

Libby was more important than anything.

“I love you.” The words popped out of his mouth before he could call them back. When her eyes widened in shock, he quickly added, “Sorry, I know this is too soon for you, and rotten timing overall, but I wanted you to know. You don’t have to say anything now,” he quickly added. “I should have kept my big mouth shut. We’ll have time after we know about what will happen to your grandfather to discuss the future.”

“Oh, Shane.” Libby’s eyes filled with tears, and for a horrible moment, he thought she was going to tell him she didn’t feel the same way. “That’s the nicest thing you could have said to me.”

“Which part?” He was confused over why she was crying. “That I should have kept my big mouth shut?”

That made her smile. “No, silly, the part where you told me we can wait until we know what’s happening with my grandfather before we discuss the future.”

“Oh, well of course.” Relief hit hard. “I understand how much you love him.”

“I love you, too, Shane.” She shifted closer to him on the sofa. “You put your life on the line for me and my grandfather.”

“You put your life on the line for Bryce,” he reminded her. At his name, his shepherd lifted his head to look at them, then lowered it again as if he couldn’t be bothered to move. “I couldn’t believe you risked getting bitten to save him.”

“I’m not afraid of Bryce.” This time, Bryce rose at the sound of his name and padded toward them. Libby leaned forward to pet him. “I have to say, Bryce is an amazing dog. I can understand why you use him and the other dogs to help find people.”

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