Page 75 of Fractured Sky
“I want you. Always. Whatever you want to give.”
A blush stained her cheeks. “Not scared I’m going to turn into some stage-three clinger?”
I pulled her closer to me. “You can cling all you want.”
She grinned up at me. “Well, I’m not clinging today. I need to go see my parents and then stop by the feed store and the grocery. You need anything?”
Everything in me tensed, the events of last night playing in my mind. “Why don’t I go with you?”
Shiloh shook her head. “I’m not letting what happened last night scare me out of my life. I have to keep living. I’ll be cautious, but I’m not taking up a bodyguard.”
“I don’t think going places alone right now is smart.” A rapid-fire slideshow of all the horrible things that could happen played in my mind.
She pressed a palm to my chest. “It’s broad daylight. I have my cell phone. I’m going to public places. This asshole jumped me from behind in the dark. He’s not going to attack at ten in the morning on a busy street.”
My gut churned, but I forced myself to nod. The more I fell for this woman the greater the pull was to protect her. But I couldn’t clip those wings. I’d take myself out before I did. She’d had it happen too many times before.
“Do me a favor and call or text when you head somewhere new?”
It was a compromise—the best I could do.
Shiloh stretched up onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against mine. “I can do that.”
I forced myself to let her go as she tugged out of my arms, but it was the hardest thing I’d done in recent memory.
My phone buzzed,and I pulled it from my pocket. Shiloh should just be getting to her parents’, so I didn’t think it was her. The alert for the front gate flashed. I pulled up the camera, and Aidan’s truck came into view. I hit the button to open the gate and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
I turned back towards Onyx, and she eyed me warily. Slowly, I raised my hand to stroke her neck. “I’ll be back. And I promise Shiloh will be, too. I know you like her way better, but we gotta get you used to all sorts. Even ornery bastards like me.”
Onyx huffed and turned her head away as if to say, “Please, don’t make me lower myself to that level.”
I couldn’t help but grin as I headed for the fence and ducked between the rails. We were making progress. It was slow and sometimes awkward, but it would all be worth the hardship in the end.
Gravel crunched as Aidan’s truck approached. He pulled to a stop in front of the round pen and climbed out.
“Hey, wasn’t sure if you were working today.”
He shrugged. “The Millers were taking Elliott to the park with a family across the street. They have a kid who’s in the same grade.”
“Well, I’ll be glad to have the extra set of hands.”
Aidan shuffled his feet, kicking at a piece of gravel, but his gaze was everywhere. Searching.
“You okay?”
His attention snapped back to me, and I saw the strain in his eyes. “Is Shiloh okay?”
I’d made an excuse for why I’d had to leave last night, not wanting to scare Aidan or Elliott. “What do you mean?”
His jaw clenched. “I heard Sandy on the phone talking to a friend this morning. Someone attacked Shiloh?”
I mentally cursed the gossip mill in our small town. When the police and EMTs responded to a call, it was impossible to stop the news from traveling. But this had to be a record.
I leaned against the fence and met Aidan’s stare. “Shiloh’s completely fine. Just has a bit of a headache.”
“Then where is she?”
“She went to visit her parents. She knew they’d be worried about her and wanted to reassure them.”
