“I’m perfectly capable of driving myself home.”
“I would be willing to bet the medication you took has a warning not to drive or operate heavy machinery after taking it.”
He shrugged. He was still floating a little, but he felt capable of driving the short distance home. At least the spasms in his back had dulled to a steady ache rather than the stabbing pains from earlier. “I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t be silly, Trent. You can hardly move and you’re high on pills. What kind of friend would I be if I let you drive in this condition?”
He hadn’t realized she considered herself a friend of any kind. As far as he knew, they were merely acquaintances. At least, that was what he’d been trying to convince himself of during the past few weeks, even though he was aware that he’d spent entirely too much of that time thinking about her. Wondering about her. Picturing her pretty face and slender body in his mind. And he definitely liked the sound of his name on her lips.
“How would your cousin, the police chief, feel about you driving under the influence?” she added.
“Wade isn’t my cousin. He’s married to my cousin Emily.”
“Would the family connection keep him from giving you a ticket if you get pulled over?”
“No,” he admitted dryly. “He’d be more likely to handcuff me. But I won’t be pulled over. I’m okay to drive.”
She frowned at him. “I can’t force you to stay, of course, or to let me take you home. But if you’re determined to drive, I’ll follow you, just to make sure you get there safely.”
“That isn’t…”
“Trent—just stop arguing, will you? You’re giving me a headache.”
A snort of laughter escaped him before he could stop it. “Damn,” he muttered, amused despite himself. “You sound like my mother.”
She smiled at him. “I should probably take that as a compliment. Your mother seems like a very capable and well-respected woman.”
“My mother is terrifying,” he said, surreptitiously rubbing his lower back beneath the table.
Annie glanced at her watch. “I don’t have to leave for another two hours or so. By that time, your medication should have worn off and you’ll be safe to drive as long as you’re feeling better. Why don’t you hang out here and take it easy until then?”
“I don’t want to be in your way,” he said stiffly.
“You won’t be. I was planning to use this afternoon to be totally lazy. It’s my first day off in a while, and I’m going to spend it finding out who the murderer is in this book. You can stretch out on the couch, rest your back and watch TV or read or something, if you like. That’s what you’d do if you were home, isn’t it? At least until you feel better. You don’t want to do anything to set off the spasms again.”
No, he didn’t want that. He was just now able to breathe deeply again, and the thought of climbing into his truck and driving over the bumpy gravel road that led to his secluded cottage wasn’t particularly appealing just then. If Annie’s manner had been at all patronizing or coddling, he’d have left in a minute. But her brusque, rather challenging attitude was exactly what he needed to put him at ease.
“So you like mysteries?” he asked, nodding toward the book she’d been reading when he’d joined her.
“I read everything. I’m sure we can find something for you.”
“Then I guess I’ll hang around for a while. But only until the medicine wears off.”
“Can you make it to the living room okay?”
“Of course I can make it.” To prove his point, he rose too quickly and had to grip the table to steady himself. “Eventually,” he added ruefully.
She’d made an instinctive move toward him when he faltered, but she settled back and spoke in a tone he suspected was deliberately casual. “Make yourself comfortable in there. You’ll find my books on the case on the back wall—I’m sure you know where everything is by now. I’ll just clear away these dishes and then I’ll join you. Can I bring you anything when I come? A cup of coffee, maybe?”
“Sounds good, but don’t go to any trouble.”
“I was going to make a pot for myself, anyway.” She sounded sincere, even though he suspected she wasn’t being entirely truthful.
He moved slowly into the other room, selected a mystery from her collection and settled carefully into the rocking chair he had given her. And then he just sat there, thinking about Annie and wondering how she’d managed to talk him into staying.
Maybe she didn’t feel particularly sorry for him, after all, he mused. Her matter-of-factness had been just what he had needed to get him past the embarrassment of hurting himself in her house. Maybe their arrangement didn’t have to end just yet, after all.
He was definitely surprised to feel himself smiling a little as he opened the book he’d selected. An hour earlier, he hadn’t expected to find anything to smile about this afternoon.