Page 18 of Securing His Family

“Do you need some help?” He walked over to her, and she caught a whiff of his nautical scent. It was masculine, and she wanted to bury her nose against his neck and inhale deeply.

Whoa, slow your roll, girlfriend.

Never before had she wanted to get as close to a man as she did Reed. Granted she didn’t have a lot of experience with men. Having a child, not to mention not a lot of money, didn’t allow her to have a good social life.

“I’m good. Almost done. Why don’t you go out and get our food.” She needed him away from her so that she could take a few minutes to get her rampaging hormones under control.

“Okay. You want a coffee or a cold drink?”

“Tabitha knows what I like.”

He stared at her for a long moment, her hands were still immersed in the hot dishwater. She was sure she looked super attractive with her pink rubber gloves. Strands of hair escaping from her ponytail and her face red from a combination of hot water and a blush.

“Take as long as you need, Ren,” he said softly, and then he ran a finger along her cheek in a soft caress, her skin tingling.

The second he walked out of the kitchen area, she blew out a breath and gripped the side of the sink. How was she going to get through a walk with him if a simple touch had her weak at the knees?

Perhaps it was time to think about her needs for a change.

* * *

The breeze was cool against her skin and a shiver rippled down her spine. She should’ve grabbed a jacket, but she hadn’t expected the wind to be so strong.

“We can go back if you want and sit at one of the tables,” Reed said, obviously having seen her shudder.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be okay. It’s probably the change from the warm kitchen to coming outside.”

“Wait right here.” Reed took a step then turned back. “Can you take these for a second?” He held out the bag with their food and drinks.

“Sure. But where are you going?”

“My car,” he said as he rushed off leaving her standing in the middle of the sidewalk. They hadn’t walked too far from the café so she could see quite clearly what he was doing. He’d gone to his car and had gotten a jacket out of it.

Why was she not surprised that he was prepared. Was the military like the Boy Scouts, always prepared for anything? They would probably have to be because it wasn’t like any situation the military went into to was straightforward.

He jogged back to her and held out the jacket. She took it and before she could think about putting their food on the ground, Reed grabbed it. She slipped the coat on immediately surrounded by his nautical scent. Would it be wrong if she snuggled down into it? Somehow she controlled the urge. “Thanks.”

“No worries.” He held out his spare hand. “May I?”

Who asked if someone could hold another person’s hand? Reed did, clearly. She stared at it knowing that the second she accepted his hold, the dynamics of their relationship would change. Was she ready for that? Yes she was. “Sure,” she said and slid her hand against his welcoming the touch.

With a small smile, he entwined his fingers with hers, and warmth flowed through her. They didn’t say anything as they made their way to the small park down the road from the café. Once they were seated on the bench, and ate their food, she allowed herself to wonder why he’d asked if he could talk to her.

“You said you had a couple of things you wanted to discuss. What are they?” she asked.

“I did. I wanted to let you know that the guys and I talked this morning and we came up with a plan to watch both you and Charlee until we know for sure what Patrick wants.”

Lauren shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re all doing this. Tabitha said this was probably going to happen, but I didn’t believe her. What about your other jobs? I don’t know everything that you do, but I do know that you go away sometimes, Tabitha’s mentioned it before.”

“We don’t have anything pressing right now, and if something comes up, we’d make some contingency plans. But yours and Charlee’s safety are a priority for me. We’re also digging further into Patrick. Steve agreed that something seemed off with what Wilt had discovered when he did the background check on him.”

Lauren took in everything Reed said, trying to make sense of it. “Why would Steve think there was more to the report? I know you were surprised that Patrick appeared clean, but he had a couple of tickets, so he isn’t perfect.”

“You’re right it wasn’tclean, but something seemed off, and we’ve run enough of these types of checks to recognize when something doesn’t appear as it should.”

“I still don’t understand how you all think there could be more to him than what you’ve found.”

“Call it instinct. Many times while we’ve been on missions our instincts have saved us from danger. Nothing might come of it, but something might, and we’d rather be a hundred percent certain about someone than only ninety percent.”

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