Page 109 of Hold Your Breath
They took a long time to recover. Lou didn’t want to move. Callum’s weight and heat were comforting, creating a cocoon of safety. Once they left their snug nest, everything would return—death and danger and bad dreams of Brent and Richard. Her family’s betrayal. The continuing search for Willard’s murderer.
Callum ran his fingers down her sides and then slipped his hands under her so he could hug her close.
“You hungry?” she asked. Since her mouth was so close, she couldn’t resist brushing a kiss under his ear. He shivered at the touch, and she smiled, liking that she could draw out that reaction. “Or still tired?”
“Tired,” he sighed, the word sounding a little slurred.
“Then sleep,” she said, stroking the back of his head as his body went limp and heavy. Lou smiled. Her cocoon was safe—for now, at least.
Chapter 22
“Oh!” Lou paused in the middle of pouring steamed milk into a cup, twisting her head to look at Callum. Even though her stalker was no longer a threat—andwasno longer, full stop—Callum still kept the habit of coming into The Coffee Spot for the last hour or so of her shift. Lou thought he might be addicted to the cranberry white chocolate scones. “The insurance agent called earlier this afternoon.”
He flicked a look at the couple impatiently waiting at the counter. Although she wrinkled her nose at him, Lou finished their drinks and rang them up before continuing.
“They’re basically giving me enough to erect that pup tent you were about to stick me and Chad into for the training week.”
“I wasn’t going to…” He shook his head, cutting off his defensive objection. Lou grinned. She always counted it as a win when she was able to send Callum on a verbal detour. “Not enough to rebuild your cabin then?”
The couple lingered, sipping their beverages. Apparently, Lou and Callum’s conversation was interesting enough to delay their trek back to civilization.
“A closet, maybe.” She tipped her head, thinking. “I could build one of those tiny homes. Actually, I don’t think I could afford that. Maybe a teeny-tiny home, if they make them.”
“They do. It’s called a tent.”
“That’s what I thought.” Frowning, she warmed up the scone she’d saved for Callum. “I could get a pop-up camper to pull behind my truck. When I get a truck, of course. That way, I could move my house every few days and experience different views.”
“You’re not living in a camper.” He bit into the scone and chewed angrily.
“Excuse me.” The female half of the eavesdropping couple took a step closer to the counter. “Are there any more of those scones?”
Lou pasted a regretful smile on her face. “Sorry, no. This was the last one.”
“I didn’t see it in the display.” The woman scowled. “I specifically asked if you had any scones, and you said you were out.”
“I had to hold this one back. It was defective.”
“Defective?” Her eyes darted between Lou’s expression of fake sympathy and the small bite of scone Callum hadn’t eaten yet. “It looked fine.”
“I licked it.” Lou heard Callum choke on the last piece of scone, but she couldn’t look at him or she would start laughing. If his airway was blocked, he was going to have to give himself the Heimlich.
The woman’s suspicious expression didn’t ease. “Why did you let him eat it then?”
“Oh, his tongue is in my mouth all the time,” Lou said sweetly, and Callum’s coughing increased. “I didn’t think he’d mind my germs.”
With a sound of frustration, the woman stormed out of the shop, followed closely by the male half of the couple. The bells rang merrily as the door closed behind them, as if celebrating their absence.
“Sparks,” Callum rasped once his coughing died down. “You’re going to kill me.”
“But what a way to go.”
“True.” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her closer and leaned across the counter. “Now give me some of those germs.”
Her burst of laughter was interrupted as his mouth met hers. The kiss was short but intense, and she was dreamy-eyed and breathing hard by the time it ended.
“Stop talking about living in a camper,” he ordered, although his crooked smile softened the harshness of his command. “You’re staying with me at my house, and that’s final.”
She studied him, trying to throw off the brain-numbing aftereffects of his kiss and think logically. “Okay.”
