Bayou Dreaming (Butterfly Bayou 3)

She wanted to argue with him, but how could she? She’d put him in this position, and she couldn’t give him what he wanted. “All right.”

“After we get some sleep, I’ll come by and pick you up for dinner. We’re supposed to meet your parents out at the B and B.”

They’d made the arrangements the night before. Since it was her day off, she was supposed to call her mother when she got up. She would have to text and let her know it would be later in the afternoon. “You would still go? I can make something up.”

“I’m not going back on my word. I’m going to be wherever you need me to be, but I need some sleep and I can’t do it on your couch. Maybe I’ll feel better if I can get some rest.”

He was so tired. She could see it in every move he made. He was tired because he’d spent every minute of the last two days taking care of her. No one had taken care of him.

“I don’t think you should drive,” she said quietly.

“It’s not far.”

“Please stay.”

His mouth tightened and he turned into her driveway. “All right. If that’s what you need, I’ll stay.”

He parked the car and was quiet as they walked inside. He let Daisy out of her crate and the puppy went a little crazy, but he was patient.

She watched him, truly watched him. She saw how patient he was as he dealt with the dog. He even knocked on Darlene’s back door and talked to her for a few moments. Her neighbor smiled at him and then she was letting Daisy into her house.

“I got a dog sitter for a couple of hours,” he said as he walked in. “She’s been in that crate for way too long. Darlene’s got a dog. It’s good for Daisy to get socialized.”

Darlene’s golden retriever was a sweet-natured dog. She would be as patient with Daisy as Zep had been with her.

Maybe it was time she showed some patience and kindness, too. “Thank you. Do you want some food or do you want to go to bed?”

“I’m beat. I don’t think I can stay awake to eat,” he admitted.

She didn’t want anything but rest either, and she wanted to rest with him. She couldn’t promise him more, but she needed him to understand she didn’t think he was a joke.

“Can I get a pillow?” He looked down at the couch.

She threaded her fingers through his. “Please come upstairs with me. My bed is big enough. We don’t have to do anything, but I want to sleep with you. I want to wake up later and make you a breakfast that won’t be anywhere near as good as what you would normally make. Please. I need to take care of you today.”

She meant every word. It was a need deep inside her. She would have lost something if he’d gotten in his truck and driven away. He might have come back, would almost certainly have honored his promises to her. But something fundamental would have changed between them. There would be a distance.

He brought her hand up and put it over his heart. “But you’ll still dump me at the end of this.”

“I . . . I don’t know what happens when this week is over, Zep. I thought I did, but maybe I don’t. I do know that I’m planning on leaving. Maybe not in the next few months, but definitely in the next year. I don’t want to hurt you, but I also don’t want you to leave.” It might be selfish of her, but it was true.

He brought her hand up and kissed it. “All right.”

She led him upstairs to the bed she’d never shared with anyone. She pulled off his shirt and helped him out of his boots. She unbuckled his belt and got him down to his boxers before tucking him in. There was nothing sexual about it, but the emotion she felt went deeper. Intimacy. This was even more intimate than the shower they’d shared because she wasn’t trying to get anything from him. She wanted to give.

She texted her mom and turned off her ringer before getting herself ready. When she got into bed beside him, she rolled to her side.

“Is this a friendly sleepover or can we cuddle?” Zep asked.

She moved against him, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. “I would like a good cuddle. I didn’t mean to treat you like a joke. I don’t think you’re a joke.”

His hand smoothed over her hair. “You’re the only one who matters. That’s what I figured out. I don’t care what anyone else thinks of me. But you’re different.”

“I’m different?”

She heard him yawn. “Knew it the minute I saw you. Knew you would change things for me.”