As their gazes locked, the air between them sparked. She could lose herself in those gray eyes. She could lose herself in him. He was the first man to storm into her life who made her feel safe. That was dangerous. She couldn’t rely on someone else for that feeling. She needed to find it for herself.
She looked away, intentionally breaking the moment. “I-I need to get home.” She slipped inside and Lance gently closed the door. When he just stood there, she rolled down her window. “I’m not leaving until you get into your car.”
A crooked smile curved his mouth. “Always my guardian angel, aren’t you?”
“Just returning the favor. You made sure I got to my car safely, I’m doing the same.”
“You don’t have to watch over me, Kelsey.”
“The same goes for you, too, you know. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it a long time.”
“I’m going to take care of you. Nothing’s going to happen to you while I’m around.”
Again that sense of security enveloped her, and she believed him. But as much as she liked the idea of Lance watching over her, he wouldn’t always be there. Her goal was to go back home. Allowing someone to take care of her defeated the purpose of being here.
“Go to your car,” she said.
“Good night, Kelsey.” There was an unmistakable huskiness to his words.
“Good night, Lance.”
She watched him stride across the gravel to his Jeep. When he climbed in, he turned on the engine, the headlights popping to life. He started to back up then stopped and flashed his lights once. Understanding his message, a small smile played at her lips. She backed up the car and headed to the road, Lance tailing her in his vehicle.
And again she felt safe.
Chapter Five
“Oh. My. God.” Ella stared down at the bags of groceries in her hands.
She hadn’t.
Quickly, she lowered the bags to the ground then patted her pockets. Groaning, she threw her head back.
She had.
What else could go wrong today?
It’d been one of those mornings. First, she’d forgotten to put coffee grounds in the coffeemaker, so after she’d taken her shower she’d returned to a pot of hot water. During her shower, she’d used shaving cream to wash her hair. To top off that terrible start, she’d gone to the store for a specific thing, but failed to purchase it and had to go back in—twice. Now she’d locked her keys in the trunk.
Ella glanced toward the windows in her living room, but there was no use even trying. She checked to make sure the windows were locked at least three times a day. No reason to break the window either. Her keys would still be in the trunk, and she’d have to clean up broken glass. Thank God she’d been mindful enough to slip her phone in the back pocket of her jeans before she’d grabbed the grocery bags.
She tugged her phone out and tapped the internet search app. After typing in “wrecker services in Cheney, KS”, she hit call on the first one that popped up. A dispatcher answered and Ella left her information and hung up.
Twenty minutes. Not too bad of a wait.
She plopped down on the top step of her porch and cupped her chin in her palm. She blamed Lance for her absentmindedness today. The man had dominated her dreams last night in a way that made it clear what she wanted.
She wanted to indulge in that man’s attention, his touch. And why shouldn’t she? After everything she’d been through, just feeling an attraction was a huge milestone for her. She should just go with it.
Her body might be the one thing that would stop her though.
She placed her hand on her stomach, tracing the rigid, scarred skin beneath. She’d never been insecure about her appearance, until this lovely addition. She hadn’t worn a two piece in years. Since she hated looking at it, she couldn’t imagine a man finding it appealing.
A wrecker pulled up, thankfully bringing her out of the morose thoughts. She rose and dusted off her butt, but stopped as a man who looked vaguely familiar climbed out of the truck. A baseball cap covered his hair and shadowed his face, but she’d know that tattooed arm anywhere, and her heart skipped a beat.
Lance.
He turned and started his way up her walk then lifted his head. His gray eyes rounded. “Kelsey?”
“You look as shocked as I feel.”
“You are the last person I expected to see. I thought you lived in Wichita.”
“No, I drive in. You have a wrecker business?”
“Yep. That’s the reason I run late for training from time-to-time. If I’m late, it’s because I’m on a call.”
It had never crossed her mind that Lance had another job outside of the gym and fighting.
“How long have you been in the wrecker service?” she asked.
“Six years.” He glanced down at his phone. “Says here you’ve locked your keys in the car?” She didn’t miss the amusement in his voice.
“Shut up. It’s been a long morning.”
As he inspected the car, he said, “How so?”
“Did you use shaving cream to wash your hair this morning?”