Page 36 of Breathless
He laughed. “You have quite the imagination. They are tall, but they aren’t that brawny.”
She slowly stood but was unsteady on her feet. “Let me go to the bathroom and I’ll tell you whether I’ll go with you.”
“You think I’ll go and leave you alone tonight?”
“If I say you go, then yes, go. I’ll be fine. I’ll take my medication and go to bed,” she said.
“What about dinner? Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.
“I’ll fix a sandwich.” And she closed the door.
It sounded to him as if she’d made up her mind not to go and he really didn’t want to leave her alone. He’d hoped she’d want to go because he didn’t get that many opportunities to hang with other protectors on the job, but he knew that was selfish of him. His place was here with her and if he went, he’d spend the night worrying about her like he’d been thinking about her all afternoon while working.
She finally returned with one hand clutching her stomach and the box of pads under her other arm. “I need to go upstairs. Do you mind helping me up to my room?”
“Not at all,” he said. “Should I carry you?”
A shocked look crossed her face, but she relented to the idea and nodded. “Yes, please. Thank you.”
“Will you be returning? Should I take up the heating pad for you?” he asked.
“That’s a good idea too.”
He unplugged it, wrapped the cord around the middle of it and handed it to her before he swiftly scooped her into his arms.
“You’re strong,” she said.
“You’re not that heavy. I’ve carried equipment that weighs more than you,” he said.
“I’d hope so,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “If you make me a sandwich and see that I’m in bed. You can go meet up with your friends.”
“No. I’m not going,” he said. “I’ll call Swede and send our regrets. I’d rather stay here with you and watch television or watch you sleep or something.”
She giggled. “Watch me sleep?”
He shrugged. “You are adorable when you sleep.”
“I am?”
“You are.”
“And how would you know? Have you been sneaking into my room late at night, Mr. Grainger?” she asked.
“I saw you curled up on the sofa when I returned with a sweet smile on your face,” he explained.
“Ah,” she said as he carried her into her bedroom. “You can set me down now. I can manage.”
“I’m sure you can, but you were holding your stomach downstairs. Are you sure you’re, okay?” he asked.
“Cramps. And there isn’t anything you can do about those.”
“I guess not,” he said. “I can plug in your heating pad for you.”
“Yes, while I go into my bathroom and freshen up a bit.” She hobbled off.
He busied himself turning down her bed, plugging in the heating pad and turning it on to warm and then he went into the hallway and looked for extra pillows in the linen closet. He found two and stuffed them in cases before bringing them back and putting them on her bed. Then he went downstairs and prepared them something to eat while he called Swede to let him know they weren’t coming.
“Sorry, but she’s not feeling great at the moment. She said I can go with you, but I don’t think I should,” he said. “Maybe I’m being overly cautions, but I wasn’t there when she got stabbed because I was up in that ceiling running that wiring. If I go out tonight and she needs me…”
