Page 56 of Make Mine Sweet
When Tess and I reach the light from the porch, there’s a loud scramble at the dark end of the alley. Pretty sure our intruders left in search of a meal with fewer interruptions.
I exhale the last few minutes of stress from my body. Not what I expected, but a good outcome all in all.
Tess rests her forehead against my upper back, her hands still wrapped in my shirt. “Those were really small bears.”
She starts giggling, and soon, we’re both shaking from laughter. I turn around, lightly placing my hands on her hips while hers come to rest on my shoulders. My heart’s still racing, but it’s got a new source of adrenaline now.
“You were brave to take on two dangerous predators like that,” I tell her solemnly.
She rolls her eyes. “It’s so dang shadowy back there. What else was I supposed to think?”
“Could have been anything.”
She purses her lips at me but can’t maintain the frown. “This is your fault, you know. You’re the one who told me about bears and bobcats and snakes. You got in my head.”
I flex my fingers tighter on her hips. “Good to know I’m in your head.”
Her mouth curves up into a smile. “You were prepared to fight whatever was out here.”
“Seemed like the neighborly thing to do.” That, and the thought of anyone hurting her made me see red.
Now…I just see her. In my arms. Where I’ve been picturing her since we met.
The moment drags out too long, begging me to act on these impulses swirling through my head. But the second my gaze drops to her lips, she slides her hands from my shoulders to my forearms, taking a step back as though just now realizing how close we’ve been standing. I don’t want to let her go, but I’m not brute enough to hold tight if she’s pulling away. When I finally release her, my hands feel strangely empty, like I’ve lost something essential I’m meant to be holding.
“I’m sorry I freaked out over nothing.” She glances to the dark end of the alley, the scene of her freak-out.
“Raccoons aren’t nothing.” She got close enough they could have scratched or bitten her. They could have been rabid. But pointing that out would probably have the opposite effect from the one I want.
She levels me a flat look. “I thought they were a bear.”
“And I’m glad you were wrong.”
She laughs, but then winces. Folding one arm up, she reveals a bloody scrape just below her elbow. “Oof. I forgot about that.”
I step closer to gently take her arm in my hand. “They didn’t do this, did they?”
Do not say anything about potentially rabid raccoons. Do not even think it.
“No. I, uh…kind of fell over the recycle bin when I saw the first one.” She cringes adorably.
“That explains the crash I heard. Are you hurt anywhere else?” It’s all gravel and decorative rock out here.
She pauses a second to assess. “I mean…my butt hurts where I landed on the bin.”
I chuckle, refusing to consider any of the ways I could help her out with that. “I’ll focus on the elbow. Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Of course, but you don’t have to do that.”
As I watch, blood pools and drips toward the point of her elbow. In this light, I can’t tell how badly she’s scraped up, but the smear of dirt is obvious. I want to be sure it gets clean and that nothing under there needs stitches. “I’ll feel better when I know you’re patched up.”
She watches the blood, too, and her face pales again. “Maybe that’s a good idea.” She tilts her head toward the duplex. “Follow me, Dr. Vaughn.”
At this point, I’d follow her anywhere.
NINETEEN
TESS
