Page 75 of Flare Up
She’d actually forgotten about him in her rush to get to Grant, and her concern about his injury had occupied her thoughts since then. But now that it was quiet and Grant was okay, her fear of Ben started creeping back in. Her skin tingled with it, but she focused on keeping her muscles relaxed and her breathing calm so she didn’t wake Grant.
So he knew she worked at the salon. And he probably hadn’t bought the fake name and accent, and the lie would make him angry. But she had no reason to believe he knew anything else about her current life and Boston was a very big city. If she left the job at the salon, he’d have nothing to go on.
When she felt herself tensing up again, she blew out a breath and tried to focus on the movie again. Tomorrow, she thought. She’d worry about Ben tomorrow.
For now, Grant was okay and she was at his side, and that was all that mattered.
* * *
Grant woke up with a throbbing head, a dry mouth and an armful of Wren. He didn’t care about the headache or the thirst. But he liked waking up with her in his bed.
“You’re awake,” she whispered.
“Barely.”
“I didn’t want to wake you, but I can’t lie. I’ve been awake for a while and I really, really have to pee.”
He managed a smile, and then he pulled his arm off her and rolled onto his back so she could get up.
She wasn’t gone long and he felt the dip of the bed when she returned. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and blinked at the morning sun. He needed better curtains.
“Your head still hurts.” It wasn’t a question, but he nodded anyway. Gently. “I’ll go get your pills.”
“Not the prescription ones,” he said. “Just a couple from the medicine cabinet. And some water, please.”
“Are you sure those are strong enough? I can bring the crackers, too. I think you’re allowed to get crumbs in the bed in cases like this.”
“I think it’s partly stiffness. I’ll try the regular ones and if it’s not better in a few hours, I’ll take the prescription ones.”
He usually didn’t like having to depend on people for help, but he didn’t mind Wren fussing over him. She even held the straw for him so he could drink his water.
A glance at the clock told him it was almost nine. “Do you have to work today?”
“Not at the salon.” Her brows furrowed for a few seconds, but then her expression cleared. “I’m supposed to work at the market this afternoon, but I can call them. They’re pretty easygoing and they’d understand if I tell them you got hurt.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be okay by myself for a bit.”
She laughed and set the water glass on the bedside table. “By this afternoon, you’ll be sick of me hovering and be glad to have some alone time.”
“Not a chance.” He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of her. He wanted Wren with him all the time and, if he was being honest with himself, nothing would make him happier than her moving in with him.
But he didn’t tell her that because he’d lied to her and the guilt kept him from saying the words. Maybe it wasn’t an outright lie, but he’d deliberately avoided telling her the truth of what had happened in the storage room yesterday and that was close enough.
He was going to tell her. He just wanted to wait until he was strong enough to support her through the emotional fallout. Right now, he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to take a piss alone.
After giving the pills a few minutes to kick in, he made his way to the bathroom. Wren hovered as he walked across the bedroom, but he was able to make it on his own. He actually felt a little better as he moved around, though he wasn’t going to overdo it. Especially after the walk to the couch kicked his ass.
“You should call your mom,” Wren said when she set a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on his lap.
“She’d love you for saying that. I’ll call her later, after you leave for work.” It would have to be a video chat so his mom could see for herself that he was okay, and it wouldn’t be a short call. He didn’t want to use up the time he had with Wren talking to his parents.
Once they’d eaten, she cleaned up and joined him on the couch. He channel surfed for a while before landing on an old black-and-white western. He heard her groan when he set the remote control on the arm of the couch and chuckled.
“This is classic stuff,” he said.
She didn’t complain, probably because he was hurt, and he must have nodded off because his phone vibrating jerked him awake. He looked at the screen and saw a text message from Gavin.
Cobb wants a meeting this afternoon if you’re up to it. Both of us, so I’ll drive.
