Page 32 of Refuge for Cherilyn

Shaw folded his arms across his chest and she felt a flutter in her stomach as his pecs flexed with the movement. “Do you want to go somewhere else?” She felt paralyzed. “Cherilyn, tell me what you want.”

In barely over a whisper, she asked, “Do you want us to leave?”

“The truth?” She nodded to him. “No. I don’t. I like having you here.”

“Even Lara?”

He closed his eyes, sighed, and opened them again. “Yes. Even Lara. And if Maisey is right about her hearing, things may get a lot easier very, very soon.”

She feared the answer, but it needed to be asked. “So what are we doing here?”

“Uh, I’m not sure what you mean, but if you mean what I think you mean, I’m trying to figure out a way to get someone to watch the girls so I can take you out on a proper date. That’s if you want to go, of course.”

A tremor of excitement rushed through Cherilyn’s whole body. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? Look, we’ve been thrown together in a very weird way, but I really do like you. But I told you that already. Why wouldn’t I want to be seen with a beautiful woman?”

Her mind raced. What would that be like?a real date? She’d never been on one. With Frankie, there’d been no dating. He’d pick her up and they’d go to the bowling alley, or downtown to a diner with his friends, or to his mom and dad’s house. And they usually wound up in the back seat of his car, which was exactly how Maya had come to be. But a date? A real date? What would that even look like? “Whuu, um, what would we do?”

“Go to dinner. Go to a movie.” That was something she hadn’t done in years. Movies were something she truly couldn’t afford. “I’m sure we could come up with something. Cherilyn, the only way we’re going to ever figure out what we want here is to spend some quality time without the kids. It won’t work otherwise. We need adult time to figure out adult stuff. Does that make sense?”

“MOM! WAN MAISEY! POCCORN!” Lara screamed.

“Yes. It makes a lot of sense. But who’s going to be willing to put up with that for a couple of hours?”

“I’m the one asking you on a date, so you let me work that out. I’m pretty sure I can. Go see to her. I’ve got to start getting ready for work. But know this.” The short distance between them was swallowed with three steps of his long legs, and he cupped her jaw in his hands. “You’re going to get through this, and when you do, I’ll be right there on the other side, just like I am now. See to Lara and we can talk again later.” Without warning, he pulled her face closer to his and kissed her forehead.

That simple act told her all she needed to know. She could be happy with ShawHarrison.

The question was, could he ever really be happy with her?

CHAPTER5

The rifle wasas clean as it was ever going to get, so he loaded it into his truck. It was old, but it was more accurate than any weapon he’d ever owned. The shotgun, however, wouldn’t be going with him. It was staying there, locked in his bathroom, and he’d give Cherilyn the key to the room so she could get to it. He’d stacked three boxes of shells on the vanity countertop, so he was pretty sure she had what she needed, and Lara wouldn’t be able to get to it.

An extra pair of boots, pants, a shirt, socks, and a jacket went into his duffel, and he dropped that on the back seat of the super cab. All three of his huge, insulated tumblers were sitting on the countertop by the coffee maker, and once they were filled up, he’d put those in the truck too. As he came in and out of the house, he could hear Cherilyn and the girls talking and laughing in the bedroom the kids had claimed. For reasons he couldn’t explain, their voices brought him a sense of peace. Maybe it was because for so long he’d hoped he’d have a family. Or maybe it was because he’d always hoped his house would be a place of love and laughter. He’d had that hope once, but Morgan had shattered it, and Candace hadn’t made it a bit better. In the past twenty-four hours, it had seemed like more of a possibility, and he was surprised at how happy that prospect made him.

Everything was loaded and it was time for him to head out. CaptainLarrison would be checking on him in a couple of hours, and he had to be out somewhere, doing something. He peeked into the room and caught Cherilyn’s eye, then tossed his head toward the living room so she’d follow him.

When he spun around, she was already standing there. “I’ve gotta go on duty. Listen, the shotgun is in my bathroom, along with three cartons of shells. Do you know how to use a shotgun?”

“I live in WhitleyCounty. What do you think?” she answered with a grin.

“Just as I figured. It’s a twelve gauge, so be careful. Packs a wallop. And here.” He pulled a chain out of his pocket, then dropped it around her neck. The key on it sparkled in the light. “The key to my bathroom. I locked the door so the girls can’t accidentally get to it, but that’ll get you right in.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Here.” Shaw held out a cell phone, and she took it from his hands. “It’s not activated, so you can’t make or receive calls on it except nine-one-one. It’ll still call there. I charged it, so if you need to use it, do. And I’m hoping to get Aaron to come by here at some point and check on you.”

Her cheeks flushed red. “You don’t have to do that.”

“No, but I want to. There’s no telling what I’ll get into, so I want to know somebody is checking on you. Tomorrow I’ll take you to my parents’ house and introduce you and the girls to them. They can check on you too. Keep the doors locked and the shades drawn. I know it’s depressing with the pretty weather and having to be inside like a vampire, but the idea here is to keep you safe, and that’s what we’re going to do, no matter how depressing it is. Got it?”

“Yes. Got it. Whatever you say. I trust you.” The crystalline color in those eyes told him she wasn’t being a smart-ass. If he said do it, that was what she’d do, and that was all he wanted.

The idea of leaving them there alone while he was at work terrified him, but he had to have a job. God, he hoped she'd eventually be able to go back to her regular life with her kids, and he dared to hope that he would be part of that too. Nothing about her screamedfake, and he wanted badly to ask her if she felt anything for him. Shaw had a stop he had to make. He needed some answers, and he knew just who to ask.

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