“I have been accused of being bossy once or twice.”
“Once or twice? Now, who’s lying?”
“So, there is a sense of humor under that quiet exterior.”
She winced and lowered her gaze. Quiet. A word that basically meant boring. Unforgettable.
“Abby? You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit sore. I need a shower.”
He grasped hold of her chin, raising her face so he could study it. “I get this night hasn’t been easy and you’d probably like to be well rid of me so you can climb into bed and collapse, but tonight you jumped in and helped my sister when you could have walked away. Or called the cops and kept yourself safely hidden until they arrived. I wouldn’t have even blamed you. Little thing like you shouldn’t be wading into situations like that.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Kent.” Because it’s obvious that’s where he was going with this speech.
“But I do, sweetheart. My entire family does. You saved Eden from getting a worse beating than she did. And she told me how close you came to a bullet.” His face darkened and she grew tense as she saw the fury in his gaze. He looked away, took in a deep breath then turned back to her. “That sort of situation crops up again, you ring the cops and you keep safe. Understand me?”
He was using his you-better-listen-to-me-or-else voice again.
“That doesn’t require a lot of thought to agree,” he said in a warning voice.
Shit. She hated to disagree with him. It wasn’t really her nature to argue. Well, most of the time. Sometimes she took a stand, like when he said he was going to give her money to make up whatever she would lose if she called in sick. She had pride. And principles. And there were some things she just couldn’t agree to.
“I’m not sure I can agree. I’m not saying I’m brave or anything. I was scared shitless. I froze. I took too long getting there. When I did get there, I didn’t know what to do. But if it ever happens again, I’m not sure I can promise to keep myself safe while someone else is getting hurt.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You dove in to defend someone else even though you were scared and you think you’re not brave? You’ve got so much courage in you it’s enough to have a man shaking in his boots.”
“I really don’t understand you.”
“I know. Not sure I understand me either. I just don’t like the idea of you getting hurt.”
Well, that was sweet.
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t like that idea either. And I don’t plan to ever get in that situation again.”
“You go back to that bar, it could well happen,” he warned in a low voice.
She didn’t tell him that she had to go back, because that would lead to a conversation she wasn’t going to have.
He grunted as though he understood what she was trying not to say.
“The thing is, little Abby, I do owe you. I’m going to make sure you’re all right, which includes taking care of those scrapes and making sure you’re not hurt any worse than you say you are. I wish you would let me handle things so you could get more than an hour or two of sleep, but that seems to be out of the question.”
“It is,” she said firmly.
“All right, so just for now will you let me take care of you?”
“Okay.”
He smiled and it lit his face. She melted. “Okay. Go have a shower, baby. I’ll get you something to wear.”
“Umm, no. I’ll get something to wear. You...ah...sit here.” She moved into the living room and pointed at the sofa.
He raised one eyebrow but he seemed more amused than annoyed. She grabbed the T.V. remote and gave it to him. “Knock yourself out.”
“Okay.”
She just stared, completely frozen by the sight of him. Kent Jensen. In her living room. Sitting on her sofa. Watching her T.V.