Page 50 of Legacy of Lies
Chapter 12
She couldn’t breathe.
Garrison’s powerful hands clenched and stretched, over and over. A muscle popped in his hard jaw, in time with his hand movements. When he stepped toward her, she flinched away.
“Son of a bitch, I’m not going to hurt you. Let me see your arm.”
“It’s fine. Let’s just ... God, I don’t know.”
He gripped her elbow and hand, and she gasped. Strong but gentle, he eased the sweatshirt fabric up her arm. She couldn’t move, but he wasn’t hurting her. His thumb brushed over the tender, red skin, and like an idiot, she felt a surge of desire settle deep in her belly. Totally inappropriate response to the entire situation.
“You have ice?”
“I don’t need anything.” She extricated her arm. Damn it, he stood way too close for comfort. “Let’s just forget this whole unpleasant incident.” Besides, she had a life to plan that didn’t involve sticking around Copper River. That life didn’t include anything more than a passing interest in Garrison. The sooner he left, the sooner she could move that plan forward.
No chance of entanglement. Maximum chance of the plan succeeding.
“What?” He rocked back on his heels.
“Which painful part would you like me to repeat?” The chill in her tone was the only way she could keep from breaking down in front of this man.
He shook his head like a man waking up from a trance. “What the ... You actually believe you don’t need any help?”
Sadness needled between her ribs like an icepick. She couldn’t take a deep breath without it hurting. “Doesn’t matter. Please go home to your family, Garrison.”
“I want to be here.” He lifted his hand as if to touch her again, checked himself, and ran his hand through his short hair. “And you shouldn’t be alone with a guy like that coming by.”
“I’ve managed so far.”
“Obviously.” The sarcasm dripped like acid from his tongue. “Look, let’s at least get some ice on this arm.”
He ignored her protest as he stalked into the kitchen. The sounds of the freezer door and cabinets opening drifted back to her as she stood, stunned, in the living room.
When he returned with a Ziploc bag full of ice, he grasped her hand and led her to the couch. With infinite tenderness that belied the red color of his face and tension in his frame, he draped the ice over her purpling arm. She gasped at the cold.
“Sorry.” One side of his mouth quirked upward. “It’s cool.”
She couldn’t help but smile in return, damn it. “Supposed to be. It’s ice.”
Uneasy quiet stretched out around them, broken only by the clunk of ice shifting in the bag. Her heart rate had finally returned to normal, though little flutters of excitement skittered through her as she sat hip to hip on the couch with him. He still had her arm resting on his hard thigh, her hand much too close to a certain bulge.
Adjusting the ice to keep the bruised area covered, his businesslike demeanor gave no indication he knew or even cared about her proximity to any part of his anatomy.
“Why did you come here tonight, Garrison? Really?” Her voice sounded hollow in the stillness of the room.
“Because you didn’t return my calls. And then when I stopped by yesterday, you kicked me out.” His self-deprecating smile lifted her spirits a bit. “So, persistence in the face of certain defeat.” He shrugged. “Guess I’m no better than Hank, huh?”
“You’re a much better man than he is. There’s no comparison.”
He shifted a quarter turn to face her.
She tried to ignore the heat from their thighs pressed together.
His gold-glinting gaze held her in place. “I’m really here because I wanted to check on you. That’s it. Honest. And I’m glad I came back.” Pressing his mouth into a line, he added, “We also didn’t get a chance to regroup on how Zach is doing.”
“You’re here for another teacher conference?” That certainly slapped a girl out of her mooning.
“No. Not really.”
