Just the sound of his voice was soothing. It poured over her like warm water. Calmed her frayed nerves.
“No, I really don’t want to get the authorities involved. Like I said, he was a drunk asshole, and I made a mistake by hanging out with him at all. I’m fine.”
But she was still shaking. The cold that hadn’t bothered her at all when she’d first stepped out here now seemed almost unbearable.
But he noticed. Of course, he noticed. “Do you want to go back inside where it’s warmer?”
“No, I need a few minutes to pull myself together. But honestly, I’ll be fine. You don’t need to stay out here and babysit me.”
“Actually, I’m an excellent babysitter.” He smiled and leaned back against the railing. “I used to watch my younger siblings all the time. My parents made me take a class when I was thirteen, so I know all the babysitting basics—changing a diaper on a doll and everything. Never mind that I was the only boy in the class and would’ve much rather been out riding my bike.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of the thirteen-year-old version of this gruff, alpha-hero man changing the diaper on a doll. “I’m sure you turned the situation around to your advantage.”
His smile grew wider. “I might have gotten Christina Hemsworth’s phone number out of it.” He shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her. “Here. If you don’t want to go inside, at least don’t freeze.”
She shouldn’t take it. She should smile, make a joke about babysitting, walk back inside, avoid Caleb, and get out of here. She was still no closer to getting the gas and car-repair money she needed, so she was going to have to come up with a new plan.
But she took the jacket he held out. She didn’t deceive herself into thinking she would ever be able to have this man, but maybe she could have his warmth for a minute.
She slid her arms through the sleeves and let out a sigh, melting into the warmth. She tried not to be obvious as she breathed in the scent that surrounded her. No cloying aftershave, just the scent of the man himself, earthy and woodsy.
She knew it was ridiculous, but the scent that surrounded her smelled strong and capable. Safe. She closed her eyes and breathed it in. If only that was all it took to change her situation.
“Hey, are you sure you’re doing okay? It’s certainly understandable to be shaken up.”
“Yeah, I’m all right. I just . . .”
The tears started falling before she was aware they were close to the surface. She wanted to explain that this had less to do with the past five minutes with Caleb and much more to do with everything that had led up to this point. How she’d screwed up her life and brought on her own demise.
But she didn’t have to say anything. And when he opened his arms and stepped toward her—slowly, respectfully, making sure it was what she wanted, the very opposite of Caleb’s behavior—there was no way she could stop herself from moving closer to his strength.
He didn’t ask her questions, didn’t offer any false words of encouragement. He just held her, strong, steady.
She let the tears out but didn’t sob. She’d learned quite a while ago to cry silently. But it felt so good not to be alone. Just for these few minutes to have someone to lean on, even if it wasn’t permanent. Even if he wasn’t hers.
She wasn’t sure how long he held her there in the cold Wyoming night. Much longer than she had the right to expect. But she was too greedy, too emotionally needy in this moment to pull away.
But finally, she forced herself to.
If she didn’t leave now, she was going to end up asking him for help. He’d want to know why, to dig deeper. And if he found out the truth, any concern or interest she’d seen in those big brown eyes would disappear.
She forced herself to step back. “I guess I did need a babysitter. Christina Hemsworth and I are lucky you took that class.”
He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face until she was forced to look him in the eye. “What can I do to help?”
Had she ever wanted to tell her side of the story more? All of it, from beginning to end, and pray that maybe this one man might be different from everyone else and consider believing her. Defending her. Protecting her.
But she couldn’t take the chance. She’d risked it all to get to this point, and now she needed to get out of here and find some way to make it through these last few miles to her future. A future that did not include this man.
“I’m fine. It’s been a rough couple of days, and asshole Caleb didn’t help.” She patted the man on his chest, forcing her fingers not to dawdle there like they wanted. Forced herself not to ask his name. She was better off not knowing. “I should give back your jacket and head on out.”
She stuffed her hands in the jacket pockets to keep from touching him again and felt it.
His wallet.
Why? Why did it have to be the one man who’d actually been kind to her? Treated her with respect? Why couldn’t it have been Caleb whose wallet had jumped into her hand?
But she would have to be an absolute fool to pass up this opportunity. Regret pooled in her belly again, bitter and sour.
“I don’t want to leave you alone if you’re not sure you’ll be all right,” he said, those brown eyes so intense. “I understand if you don’t want to press charges against Caleb, but are you sure there’s no one I can call for you? Are you staying at the hotel? I know for a fact that Reddington City has counselors you can talk to free of charge if you need to. I’m happy to help facilitate that.”
She was so going to hell. If not for what she’d done before, which nearly everyone agreed was enough for a monogrammed seat in Hades, then definitely for what she was about to do now.
“No,” she whispered. “Really, I’ll be fine. I just need a few more minutes out here to pull myself together. I really kind of love the Wyoming night air.”
He smiled. Holy hell, everything about his face changed with that smile, became more gentle, more approachable. And it was obviously so sincere.
God, she wanted to trace her fingernails down that strong jaw.
“There’s nothing in the world quite like Wyoming nights.”
“You’re from here?”
He gave her a half grin. “My whole life.”
There was obviously more to that story, but she’d let him have his secret since she had a million of her own.
“Well, I like what you’ve done with the place.” She started to slip off the jacket to hand it back to him, her fist already around his wallet. It was going to be tricky keeping it out of his sight, but she would manage.
He stopped her, pulling the collar of his coat back around her shoulders. “You wear it. I have a lot more body mass to withstand the cold than you do. Is your jacket up in your room?”
“No, I’m not staying here. I just stopped to get a drink before heading out of town.” An idea came to her even as she hated herself for coming up with it. “I left my jacket in the booth inside. I was in such a hurry to get away from Caleb that I ran out without it.”
Not true. Well, partially true. She didn’t have a jacket, but she had been in a hurry to get away from Caleb.
“Why don’t I go back in there and grab it for you?”