“Then maybe we can work out a loan or some way for you to pay me off.” He quickly added, “Like you can work at the counter on Saturdays. We can figure out something.”
“Just take the damn car, Neely Kate,” Witt grumbled. “You’re ruining the gift.”
Witt was right. He and Jed had been so proud of doing this for me, and I was being stubborn. “Can I look inside?”
Jed grinned and opened the driver’s door. I sat in the leather driver’s seat and ran my hand along the top of the leather steering wheel. “So this is where you’ve been disappearing to for the past couple of weeks.”
“It was one of the reasons.”
Was the other reason buying the business? It was obvious they’d spent time freshening up the waiting room.
He leaned a forearm on the top of the door, watching me with a worried expression.
I gave him a warm smile. “I love it. Thank you. This is the best gift anyone has ever given me.”
He squatted next to me and said softly, “Then I’m happy I’m the one to give it to you.”
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Witt said as he walked toward a back door. “See you tomorrow.”
I watched him through the windshield of the car—my car—still in disbelief. When he walked out the door, I said, “I love this car, Jed, I really do, but it still seems wrong.”
He took my hand and gently held it. “Don’t you get it, Neely Kate? I need you like I’ve never needed another person in my life. I’m scared to death of losin’ you. Kate on the loose, and Hardshaw…” His voice trailed off and his face hardened. “This is one thing I can do to keep you safe—giving you a car that won’t leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. It’s one little thing that gives me peace of mind. Please take it.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m ruinin’ everything.”
I wasn’t talking about just the car, and Jed knew it. That was one of the things I loved about him. He could read through my crazy, mixed-up lines, and see the real me, ugly parts and all, and yet he was still here, holding my hand like I was a piece of china while staring up at me with greater adoration than anyone before him.
“Neely Kate, you’re not ruinin’ a thing. Neither one of us is perfect. We both have complicated pasts. It’s not gonna be easy because of that fact alone, but you’re worth it all. I’m not leavin’.” He squeezed my hand for emphasis. “I can handle hard stuff and so can you. We can do this. Together.”
I started to cry again, so he pulled me out of the car and held me close, rubbing circles on my back, and I let myself sink into him.
“It’s gonna be okay. I promise,” he whispered into my ear.
He couldn’t promise any such thing, but tonight I’d pretend that he could.
Chapter 21
After I’d cried for nearly a minute, I tipped my head back to look at him and laughed. “I must look a mess.”
His eyes filled with love. “You’re beautiful, Neely Kate. You may think you’re a mess, but I see a woman who trusts me enough to show me the parts of herself she hides from everyone else.”
I broke eye contact and pulled away, walking around the car. He was right. I’d trusted him before I realized that I was. And that’s what had dragged him into this mess. “Did you use the money from the bag for this?”
“No. That money is safely tucked away, although I plan to go through it first thing tomorrow morning to see if I can find anything Hardshaw might be looking for.”
I nodded as I rounded the front of the car.
“I’m sorry you can’t drive it right now, but with Kate…”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not safe.”
He took a step closer. “The color might be disappointing—you’re definitely a cherry red kind of woman—but that would stand out more while you and Rose are on your investigations. This way you’ll blend in more.”
“You took that into consideration while lookin’ for my car?”
“You’re a detective. You’re supposed to blend in, although that’s damn near impossible for you. You were born to shine.”
I gave him a coy grin. “You know just the right things to say to make a woman’s head swell, Jed Carlisle.”
He stared at me with a serious expression. “I only speak the truth, Neely Kate Rivers. I’ll never feed you a line.”
That was the astonishing thing about Jed. I knew he wouldn’t. “Got any more surprises in this place?”
“Nope. It’s time to move on to the next one.”
“There’s another surprise?” I asked in shock.
He chuckled. “Yep.” He walked over to the car, pulled the key fob out, then handed it to me. “This is yours. Don’t be forgettin’ it.”
I stared at the fob in my hand, still in disbelief that he’d given me a car—and in even greater disbelief that I’d accepted it.
When we got into his sedan, he headed west on the county road, away from Henryetta.
“Where are we goin’?” I asked in confusion.
“Your next surprise.”
This one had me truly stumped. Lately, Jed had been living in an apartment south of town, in Pickle Junction. We were driving away from where he lived. “I still need a shower, Jed. I’m not presentable for goin’ out to dinner.”
“You’ll get one.” He turned on the music again. Even though I knew what he was up to, I let it slide.
Five minutes later, he turned off the county road onto a small two-lane, poorly paved road, and the car with Jed’s security followed. After we’d driven a couple of miles with nothing but trees on either side and only an occasional house or trailer, he turned left onto a gravel road tucked between the trees.
“If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were takin’ me out to the middle of nowhere to do away with me.”
He grinned, but it was sexy and his words were full of heat. “Sunshine, I have other plans for you tonight.”
I couldn’t stop the involuntary breath I sucked in and flushed. Did that mean what I thought? But I didn’t have time to ponder it long because the gravel lane broke free of the trees, opening to a large yard with a two-story house that looked like it was built a century ago, but was still in good shape. It sported crisp white and black paint and a covered porch that ran the length of the front of the house.
“Why are we here?” I asked.
He grinned. “Come see.”
Then he opened the door to get out, so I followed him, taking note that the car with the security detail had stopped where the gravel lane cut through the trees and that another car was parked behind it.
“Don’t you worry about them,” Jed said, snagging my hand in his and leading me up to the porch.
There was a porch swing on one end, and he gave me a second to take it in before removing a key from his pocket.
“What’s goin’ on, Jed?” I asked with my heart in my throat.
He stopped and pulled me into his arms, then gave me a sweet and tender kiss. “This place is mine. I closed on it yesterday morning.”
I blinked, sure I’d heard him wrong. “What?”
“Come inside.” He opened the screen door, then unlocked the solid wood front door and pushed it open, revealing an entryway with a staircase. “It still needs some furnishings. I didn’t have much in my little place, so I’d appreciate it if you’d help steer me in the right direction.”
My shoes clicked on the hardwood floors, and I could see Jed’s leather sofa, chair, and end tables in the living room to my left. The entryway was a short hall that went past the staircase, which looked like it led to the kitchen. He took my hand again and pulled me into the living room. The windows were covered in cheap vinyl blinds, and the room was longer than I expected, but then I realized part of it was likely supposed to be the dining room.
“I don’t have any curtains,” Jed said.
“You didn’t have curtains in your other place,” I said as I took it all in.
“Yeah, but that place was where I lived. This is a home. I feel like it needs curtains, don’t you?”
I turned to face him, nodding.
“Come see the kitchen.”
We went through the empty dining room and passed through the open door into the kitchen. It was older but in good shape—much better shape than the kitchen in Rose’s farmhouse.
“We can remodel it,” he said. “I know how much you like to cook, so we can set it up however you like it.”