Beau nodded as he cut the engine to the truck and made his way over to her door. She was all for strong independent women, but Savannah loved the chivalrous side of him. It reminded her of the old movies she used to watch with her grandmother on the hot summer nights. Lots of women with petticoats and men with ascots riding horses as they courted each other. It was the thing of Savannah’s historical romance fantasies. Her fantasies usually didn’t include people who wanted her to turn a blind eye to animal cruelty. She just couldn’t, which made the entire situation all the more difficult.
As she stepped down from the vehicle, her body brushed against Beau’s. Savannah wasn’t sure if it was by accident or if her body purposefully inched closer to his, but their faces were only inches apart when she stood straight.
“Beau. . .I,” Savannah sighed. She hated that he was now tangled up in her mess. The entire town was, it seemed.
He remained silent, simply reaching up and tucking a stray hair behind her ear. It was the second time he’d done it since they met and it was quickly becoming her favorite move of his.
“Can you take me to the letter? We cleared out the package from the dumpster earlier this evening when Conner called. We’d already noticed the buzzards showing interest.” Preston broke the spell between Savannah and Beau. She ducked under the arm Beau was using to hold the door open to the truck and wordlessly guided the crew into the clinic.
It was a quiet night. Only the kittens the sheriff had found a few days ago were in the boarding room and a dog was being monitored after his neuter.
Savannah called out Trisha’s name to let her know that they were in the building, even though the security system called out the person entering based on their secured badge.
She didn’t glance behind herself as she entered the clinic, just assumed whoever was coming would follow her inside. With the destination in mind, Savannah briskly walked to the office, opened the small desk drawer, and retrieved the envelope she had placed in a quarter-sized plastic bag. She handed over the bag to the sheriff as she explained that all of the contents were sealed inside and she had been the only one to touch it.
Preston looked over the envelope, his shrewd eyes narrowing on the gold embossed letters in the upper left corner. He asked again where Savannah had found the letter regarding the box. She reiterated that it was taped to the inside flap. She and Conner had almost missed the entire thing.
As the sheriff and Alexis headed toward the exit, Preston mentioned that they would stop by Conner’s residence just to ask some questions. He had been the one to find the package in the first place. Apparently, the contents had already been disposed of earlier that day when the town noticed some animals trying to get inside the dumpster.
The duo left the building and Savannah knew that Beau would be close behind them. She had effectively ruined their date with the drama she had caused. Hell, if their roles had been reversed, she wasn’t sure she would want to be a part of this mess.
“Savannah.” His deep voice rolled over her body in a way that commanded her attention. Her skin instantly prickled and she turned to give him her attention. The way his eyes scanned over each millimeter of her person would have left anyone else reeling. But not Savannah. She wanted to shove everything off her desk and beg him to take her.
“Is it hot in here?” she asked, knowing that she was the only one in the entire building, probably feeling like she’d touched the sun.
Beau didn’t acknowledge her question. Instead, he leaned his body against the edge of the desk and crossed his arms over his massive chest.
“Where are you sleeping tonight?”
“Here. . .” Savannah didn’t know why he was asking that question, but with the way that he cocked his eyebrow in her direction, he didn’t like her answer.
“I don’t think that’s the safest place for you since they already know where you work. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you were living in the attached building.”
“I’m not leaving my grandfather’s house. I can take care of myself if I need to.”
“It’s not that, Savannah. . .” There was genuine concern in Beau’s voice and it almost killed Savannah to know that he was worried so much for her safety.
“I’ve uprooted my life enough to find somewhere safe. Both you and the sheriff assured me that Carson was the safest place for me, so if that’s the case, I don’t want to leave.
“Plus, someone is in the clinic at all times.”
Beau reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He was clearly exasperated with her stubborn desire to stay put as she was instructed.
Where would she go, anyway? Savannah wondered.
“You would stay with me,” Beau replied and she realized that she had said that last part out loud.
“I wouldn’t want to bring the danger to your home. That would be ridiculous. I’ll be fine here, Beau.”
“Fine,” he growled as he straightened and then walked past her out of the office.
She really had ruined their evening, and it had been going so well until her roommate called. She hadn’t even had the chance to ask him if he wanted to go with her to the Connelly’s picnic the next day.
“Where are you going?” Savannah called out to him as she trailed behind out of the clinic.
“I’m getting some things,” he replied as he opened the door to his truck and glanced over his shoulder. His simmering gaze caused Savannah to stop in her tracks.
“Why?” she whispered just loud enough for Beau to hear.
“Because I’m staying until all of this is sorted out.”
Savannah wasn’t sure what she expected him to say, but that hadn’t been it. And to make matters worse, she had no idea where he was going to sleep.
***
Belle’s oversized head hung out of the passenger side window as he made the trek back to Savannah’s place. It hadn’t taken him long to pack a duffle bag with the things he would need for a couple of days. He’d also called Cliff and asked him to track down Savannah’s grandfather. Even if he wasn’t in town, he needed to know what was happening with his granddaughter and the clinic. It wasn’t the first time Beau had wondered why Savannah’s parents hadn’t checked in with her or come to town.
He didn’t want to pry, but it seemed like there was a lot of bad blood between them. It was obvious they knew what had happened in Baltimore and knew that Savannah had escaped to the small town to try and hide. But they were still her parents and should be concerned.