Page 35 of Laying it Bare on the Run

“No apologies, you have nothing to be sorry about. You are doing great for just having gone through what you have. But I just want to get you home.” He kissed my cheek and then settled back in his seat to start the car.

During the short drive home my insides swirled nastily. Part of me truly believed Cannon could keep me safe but at what cost. My thoughts drifted back to my brother and a hiccupped sob escaped my throat.

Cannon gave me a quick glance before pushing harder on the gas pedal.

After we pulled into his driveway, Cannon rushed around to my door to take me into his arms. Then he led me up to the door and on inside.

In the entry way, we kicked off our shoes. “Do you want to go take a shower? Wash the day away. I’ll start supper while you’re in there.”

I closed my eyes briefly, hating how weak I was about to sound. But inside I was still freaking out and was craving some peace. “Would you sit in the bedroom while I shower?”

Cannon pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on top of my head. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do, Harper. But you really just want to be able to help me with supper, huh?”

A half sob half laugh escaped my lips. “Thank you.”

The two of us headed down to his sister’s old room. Cannon dropped to the mattress and leaned back while I continued into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. After stripping out of my clothes, I stepped into the shower. Even though he was in the next room, uneasiness crept over me and I hurriedly scrubbed the horrible incident from my skin and hair before rinsing and wrapping a towel around me. Then I glanced around the bathroom. Well, shit. I hadn’t brought in any clothes to change into. Pulling in a deep breath, I headed out to the bedroom.

Cannon sat up at my entry and his eyes widened for a moment before he schooled his expression. “I can give you some privacy to change.”

“I forgot to grab clothes. Besides, you’ve already seen me naked.” I walked over to where he had set the packages earlier and ripped one open. “I guess I need to open all of these since I’m not sure what’s in each.”

Cannon joined me at the side of the closet. “Hopefully I managed to snag the ones with clothes or shoes.” He gave me a silly grin.

The first one I had grabbed contained yoga pants and a couple shirts so I snatched a pair of black pants and a light blue top.

Cannon held out the one he had opened. “Now I’ve been reminded that you have been going without these.” His eyes held barely banked heat but he blinked them a couple of times and then focused on opening another package.

Did he not want me like that anymore? I swallowed down that pang of sadness. “Can you just toss the stuff onto the mattress? I’m going to go get dressed.” Grabbing a pair of panties to add to the stack, I headed into the bathroom to pull on the clothes, hang up my towel, and brush my hair. When I returned to the room, Cannon smiled at me.

“Do you want to put away your clothes while I fix dinner? You won’t be missing out on anything. I was just going to rewarm our dinner from last night.”

“I’ll put them away later. Not that I’m using this space anymore anyway.” I paused.

“No, I want you in my bed with me. That hasn’t changed.” He smirked.

I released a huge sigh. The reaction I had wanted. But my elation was short lived. “I’ll come out to the kitchen with you. I don’t want to stay in here alone.”

“You don’t have to be afraid here, Harper. But if you feel better not being in a room by yourself, that’s fine.” He held his hand out to me. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

When we reached the kitchen, we filled two plates with leftovers and then warmed them in the microwave. Sitting at the bar, we ate in companionable silence before cleaning up.

While we were finishing up loading the dishwasher, Cannon turned to me. “Are you ready to head to bed? I know you have to be emotionally drained but I wasn’t sure if you were ready to go to sleep yet. Or we could watch some television for a bit.”

“I don’t know what I feel like doing. I’m fidgety and my nerves are still unraveled. I think I would like to just crawl in bed but I don’t know that I’d be able to fall asleep.” And a huge part of me wanted to get lost in Cannon again.

“I have an idea.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the back door. Then we slipped out onto his deck. “You like the outside. And we didn’t get to sit out here yet today.”

The scents of the woods and the sound of the water gently rolling over the rocks filled my senses. It didn’t completely erase all of my tension but a small wave of calm rushed over me, easing my anxiety a bit. “This is perfect. Thank you for thinking of this. I had wanted to come out earlier today but was waiting for you to get home and then I was going to suggest it after we had eaten. But then insanity ensued and my mind transformed into a jumbled mass of disarray.”

Tugging me over to the swing, he sat down at an angle, and pulled me in between his legs. He couldn’t move the swing in this position but I was content just to be in his arms and out in the fresh air. Then he wrapped his arms around my stomach and placed his chin on top of my head. “Are you okay like this?”

“More than okay. I really needed this. Actually I just needed your arms around me.”

“Well, it’s no hardship holding you, Harper.”

While the swing barely swayed back and forth out in the night air, my thoughts swirled about in my head, rolling over top of one another. I was thankful for his protection and desire to make sure I stayed safe, but I inwardly cringed when I thought about what could happen to him if he were to face Waik. I not only cared about Cannon, I was starting to fall in love with him.

I wasn’t sure how long we were outside before my eyes started to drift closed and Cannon ran his lips along my temple. “Are you ready to head inside? I don’t know how comfortable it would be to fall asleep out on this swing.”

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