Know Me Well (Wishful 3)

She could see his smile even in the dark. “Well, I admit I was disappointed you didn’t fall into my arms at my welcome home party. But I consider myself damned lucky to have you here now.”

“Me, too.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “C’mon Let’s get this done.”

It took two trips to get it all. They’d gone, perhaps, a little bit overboard with the three styrofoam coolers and dozen bags of other non-perishables. Once Liam had realized what she had in mind, he’d gotten into the whole thing. There was enough here to feed the family for a month. They arranged the lot of it neatly in front of the main door to the house.

“That’s everything. You ready?” he asked.

“Wait.” Riley laid a hand on his arm. “Do you think we should really wake them up?”

“If you just leave the coolers, there’s not enough ice to guarantee no spoilage by morning. And you run the risk of stray dogs or raccoons getting into them or the rest of it. You wanted anonymity, this gives it to you.”

“Okay, fine. You’re right.”

“You go on ahead. Once you’re back to the treeline, I’ll pull a ding dong ditch and make a run for it.”

“Oh wait, I almost forgot.” Riley pulled the note she’d scribbled out of her pocket. Prying up the cover of one of the coolers, she wedged the edge of the paper in and closed the top.

Liam arched a brow in question.

“In case she’s too afraid to open them. People pull mean pranks on those less fortunate with far more regularity than anybody likes to think about.”

“Fair enough. Go on.”

Using the same tactics he’d shown her to cross in the first place, Riley headed for the trees. As soon as she was safely hidden behind an oak, Liam rang the bell and bolted, his long legs eating up the distance, as a light snapped on in Tara’s room. He made it to the woods just as the front porch light came on. The door didn’t open.

“We probably scared the crap out of the poor girl.”

“Just wait,” he said.

The door cracked open and the barrel of a shotgun peeked out.

“Good way to lose your gun,” Liam remarked.

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“Told you we scared her.”

Evidently assured no one was there to molest her, Tara opened the door further and caught sight of the bounty piled on her porch. Riley saw her jaw drop and felt the rest of the ice that had lodged in her belly at dinner melt. Yes, this was what she’d needed tonight. To do something kind for someone who needed it, no strings, no identity attached.

Tara stepped further out, looking around for her benefactor. Seeing no one, she took one quick swipe at her eyes and started hauling things in. They waited until she’d carried it all inside, before melting back through the woods the way they’d come.

Riley felt buoyant. By the time they emerged where they’d stashed the car, a laugh bubbled out. “That. Was. Awesome!” All the covert ops stuff had her blood pumping in exhilaration.

“Feeling better?”

“So much.” She threw her arms around him. “Thank you for helping me.”

“It was a worthy cause all around.”

Feeling the hard press of Liam’s body against hers, her heart came up with an entirely better reason to thud in her chest. “Seems like you’ve earned a reward.”

“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”

“Well, there is that backseat you mentioned earlier.” She skimmed her hands down his back to grip his very firm backside.

“Have I mentioned I like the way you think?” He opened the car door. “After you.”