Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

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Willow had debated all week on whether or not she wanted to cook a holiday dinner for herself and ultimately went with a small turkey breast and a baked sweet potato. Simple and easy. She took out the meat the night before and, once it was defrosted, seasoned it and put it aside for later. It didn’t bother her that she was alone. She was used to it, more or less. Although she spent some holidays with Bella and Peter, there were others when they’d visited family and she’d been by herself.

Of course, she would prefer to find someone to share her life with, but she’d tried that with Braden, and not only had he left her, when she looked back, she realized she hadn’t been that good at being part of a couple. She held a lot of herself back out of fear of being abandoned. It had been one of the reasons she hadn’t gone to Braden’s family for any of the celebratory holidays.

The times she’d been with them, each sibling had been more than nice to her, but she’d always felt like she was on the outside looking in at a loving family. In the end, nothing Braden ended up doing had convinced her that her self-protective behavior had been a mistake. She could only imagine how much worse his leaving would have been if she’d let him in all the way.

Settling onto the sofa, she turned on the television and changed the channel so she could watch the parade. Later she’d view the football game while she cooked dinner. She didn’t often get a chance to kick back and relax, and today she planned to do just that.

No sooner had she put her bare feet up on the couch than the doorbell rang. She stood up and walked to the peephole, shocked to see Braden on the other side.

As usual, her body responded, her stomach doing an excited flip. She drew a deep breath and prepared herself for an argument about her spending Thanksgiving alone versus with him and his family.

She opened the door and greeted him with a smile. “Well, this is a surprise.”

“A good one, I hope.”

“That depends on why you’re here. Come on in.” She stepped aside, and he brushed past her, the scent of his cologne potent and alluring.

She’d already taken in how sexy he looked in jeans that molded to his thighs and the hint of a bulge in the front of his pants. God, the man was everything hot wrapped in the perfect package.

Shutting the door, she gestured for him to go past the entryway to the living room, where the television was still on.

“Watching the parade?”

“Mmm-hmm. I love the floats.” She cleared her throat. “So what brings you by?”

He turned away from the TV. “I’ve been working at a health care center downtown. I think I mentioned it to you?”

She nodded.

“There’s a young girl who came in. Name’s Aurora. She’s eighteen, pregnant, and all alone. She lives in a room behind the diner where she works. She eats for free there, and the owners are good to her, but from looking at her, it’s obvious she’s underweight and scared.”

She blinked in surprise, the subject taking her off guard. She would have sworn he’d come to invite her to dinner. Now that he hadn’t, she didn’t know if she was disappointed or relieved. And what did that say about her fluctuating feelings for this man that she couldn’t decide?

“I’m really sorry. Where is her family?”

Braden’s gaze met hers. “She aged out of foster care and found out she was pregnant. Other than the diner owners, she really has no one.”

Willow expelled a long breath. It wasn’t that long ago she’d aged out herself, but she’d had the Jonases, who hadn’t made her leave their home. She could easily imagine herself in the young girl’s place, and Willow shivered at the feeling of utter loneliness and fear she must feel.

“Why are you telling me this?” She braced a hand on the wall beside her.

“Because I want to go visit the diner where she works and see if I can’t convince her to come to my mom’s house for dinner. And I think seeing a woman with me, one who can relate to her on some level, will help her feel safe.”

Her heart beat harder at this man’s thoughtfulness and caring for his patients. There was no way she could say no. Of course, she knew that he was counting on the childhood she had in common with the girl to encourage Willow to want to help. Which meant she’d have to spend time with Braden, and that was obviously part of his plan. But she couldn’t deny how much she felt the need to reach out to the pregnant girl. Being with Braden was a side benefit, as much as it killed her to admit.