“Can I sleep in here until you get back? I don’t want the bad guys to get me.” Tightly Ty clutched his blanket.
“What bad guys, Ty?” After hearing about his mother, I tossed and turned through my dreams, imagining a neglected Ty being dropped on my doorstep.
He crawled up onto the bed. “The green glob monster who wants to take my toys.”
I sighed knowing my imagination had gone wild. “I promise the green glob monster won’t get your toys. Stay here and I’ll be right back.”
If Ty wouldn’t go back to his bed, I could sleep in his room. He climbed under the sheets and closed his eyes.
The house was eerily quiet except for the ominous ticking of the hallway clock. Where do they keep the glasses? One option was to wake Pam, but I hated interrupting their sleep when I could handle something as simple as getting a glass of water. In the morning, I’d inform them of snooping in their kitchen.
Hitting the first floor, I rounded the corner and ran into something hard. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. It’s a person. The one who wants me dealt with. Scampering back, I screamed, “Stay away! Leave!”
I crashed into a table as I tried to back away. This was the end of my life. At least Pam and Levi would hear me and save Ty. The stranger said something. The panic felt like cotton in my ears. I screamed again. If he was here to kill me, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
A light flipped on. The stranger held up his hands. “I’m Jaxson—this is my parents’ house.” Stopping, I froze my backward crawl. “You must be London.” His voice was smooth as silk. Hands still up, he continued talking to me like was I crazy while he crouched. Yeah, I was crazy. “London, I’m Jaxson McCole. I came home early.”
Scampering from upstairs came Levi with Pam close behind. A shotgun cocked. “London, are you okay?”
Frozen, I wasn’t able to respond. I followed Levi’s glance toward Jaxson and he put the shotgun down. Jaxson stood. “It was my fault. I decided to come home and surprise Ty early.”
My face heated. How embarrassing. Everyone looked at me. “I’m okay. I’m so sorry. I thought—” I stopped myself before I rambled too much. There was someone out there who didn’t want me out of prison. Levi and Pam knew what was going on, but I wasn’t sure how much Jaxson knew.
Jaxson quirked a brow and watched me for a moment. As my heart slowed, I took a second to see him. All this time I’d pictured him in his late thirties versus his twenties. How wrong I had been. His dark hair and emerald-green eyes cut through me. He was gorgeous and his facial scruff only added to his manly presence.
I felt a flush on my face and looked away. “London, do you need help getting up?” Pam walked toward me, a concerned look on her face.
Had Pam been talking to me? Oh, geez. “No, I’ve got it.”
Standing, I knew I’d be sore from where I took a tumble. Oh no. In all the commotion, I’d hit the table and knocked over a lamp. “I’m so sorry. I’ll get this cleaned up.” I started to kneel then paused, remembering Ty. My head whipped around. “Did I scare Ty? He woke me up because of a nightmare and wanted water.”
Pam walked over to me. “He’s fast asleep in your bed. I’ll worry about the lamp tomorrow. It looks like you cut yourself on the arm.” I looked down and saw the trail of blood. This night could not get any worse. “There’s a first-aid kit in the bathroom. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“Mom, Dad, I’ll show her. Go ahead and go back to bed.”
Looking to Pam, I nodded. The last thing I wanted was to inconvenience them more than I had. Pam patted my shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything, sweetheart. And don’t worry about the old lamp. I would have been half-scared out of my mind too.”
“Thanks, Pam. Goodnight.” I nervously laughed. Being in someone else’s home and messing things up was incredibly awkward. Jaxson traipsed to the kitchen with an unintentional sexy swagger to grab a paper towel for my cut. Our eyes connected and I was frozen in place as Jaxson handed me the paper towel. An electric current connected me to him, rendering me speechless.
In the back of my mind I registered Pam giving Jaxson a kiss on the cheek, but I couldn’t break away. It wasn’t until she spoke to him it broke the spell. “Welcome home. We missed you.”
“Missed you too, Mom.”
We were left alone and it was hard to reconcile the man I had in front of me with the man I had imagined. Without thinking, I said, “You’re not old.”
“What?”
I wanted to slap myself. There was a reason I shouldn’t interact with the human race without a certain amount of sleep. “Umm . . . never mind.”
Like a gentlemen, he let it slide. Gesturing to my arm, he said, “Let’s take a look at your arm. You aren’t going to scream at me again, are you? Maybe try to stab me this time?”
Looking at Jaxson, I tried to keep the smile from forming at his obviously teasing comment. “I make no promises. You shouldn’t have been lurking.”
“Lurking?”
“Yes, lurking.” I felt embarrassed for teasing him, bordering on flirting. I am new here. In the middle of my second night. Stop whatever this is, London.
The light flipped on in the bathroom. Jaxson motioned for me sit on the counter near the marble sink. Taking the first-aid kit out of the cabinet, Jaxson asked, “How are you liking it here so far?”