“Accurate names. He bothered you.” Hunter briefly tightened his hold in a careful embrace. “So I don’t like him.”
“And you’d prefer to be with me when I check out King’s property—not because you pity me or think I can’t handle it, but because you like my company?”
He pressed her back, stared down at her for one heartbeat, two, three, and then nodded. “All that, yes. And also because no one should venture into trouble alone.”
Oh, how she loved that idea. It was what she’d wanted anyway, the reason she’d told Hunter about King and Remmy. “Safety in numbers?”
He shrugged his agreement to that. “Later we could watch a movie on demand.”
Wow, he had the whole day planned out—with her. No one had ever done that before. “I have a few things I have to do to my house today.” If she slacked off on it now, she’d get behind schedule and then her sort-of-family would try to take over.
“I could help with that.”
Knowing she couldn’t continue clinging to him, Jodi forced herself to step away. Odd, but she felt different now. Like she’d just experienced something new and exciting yet equally dangerous, and there was a little thrill of the unknown racing through her bloodstream.
Dare she spend more time with him when she was all twitchy like this? Looking up at him, she wondered how she could possibly convince herself to refuse. In recent years, she hadn’t wanted much from life. Safety. Independence. The death of a few monsters...and the resources and ability to avenge a few innocents.
Now she wanted this, a day with Hunter, a simple thing that felt extravagant. A little foolish. Like disappointment waiting to happen.
“It’ll be fun,” he promised. “Try it and see.”
Jeez, her whole world was changing. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. “You really wouldn’t mind doing all that?”
“You should know by now that I wouldn’t offer if I did.” Again, he put a hand to her cheek. Using his thumb, he brushed away a stupid, infuriating tear, without saying anything about it or making it a big deal. “I get it, you know. I moved out here because I wanted to be left alone. I only wanted to see people on my own terms, when I damn well felt like it.”
“Gee, thanks.” Odd that after a panic attack, she could find a little humor. With Hunter. How did he do that?
“I’d still feel that way if you hadn’t shown up.”
Overcome with curiosity, she asked, “Now you feel different?”
Grinning at her, he lightly knuckled her chin and then dropped his hand. “You’ve changed things and I’m realizing I don’t mind a little company. I won’t invite Worth to have his poker night here or anything. I’d still rather keep the rest of the people in town off my property. You, though?”
“Do I even want to hear this?”
“You’re good company.”
Wow. Jodi had never received a compliment like that. Her, good company. It should have been laughable, and instead, it just made her smile. “You mean it?”
He did a rewind with his finger. “Have you been paying attention at all?”
Er...mostly she’d been staring at him, feeling vague, soft sensations, and trying to sort out her confusion. “Yes?”
Hunter shook his head. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
“Oh, that part.” Yeah, he had said that. And true, so far he’d been pretty up-front with her.
“If we shop, what will you do with Turbo?”
“He goes along. The places I visit don’t mind.”
“I assume you’ll put on a shirt first?”
His slow grin caused a dipping sensation in her stomach, like she’d just driven too fast over a hill. So many new things she was feeling with Hunter, and maybe because it was with him, they didn’t scare her quite as much as they should.
* * *
THEY HAD A big breakfast while the storm raged outside. It was nice, Hunter thought, being sealed inside with Jodi and Turbo. Intimate. Cozy.
For once, he felt more like himself—the person he’d lost. The person he’d deliberately buried while he dealt with his demons. The person his family loved, and the person appalled by the unspeakable things he’d done.
It was like they’d crossed some invisible bridge, each allowing the other in.
He had no illusions that Jodi still hid a lot. He certainly did. But the walls were no longer so high, or quite so impenetrable.
With care, they could be surmounted. Not just yet, but maybe soon.
They’d just finished cleaning up when the power went out.
Hunter left her in his kitchen, with a lantern to brighten the stormy gloom, and took a speed shower, but skipped shaving. Feeling scruffy, dressed in his most comfortably worn jeans and a pullover navy blue shirt with his weatherproof boots, he drove them the short distance to her house.
Only because he’d insisted, Jodi wore his rain slicker as she raced to the front porch and unlocked her door. She held it open as he and Turbo barreled through the downpour. Once inside, he was careful to catch the dog at the entrance while Jodi got a towel to dry his paws.
Giving him a grin, she also closed her bedroom door. “I don’t mind sharing my bed with a dry dog, but a wet dog is a whole different story.”
“Very true. The smell of wet dog can be pretty nasty.”
“Hush. You’ll hurt Turbo’s feelings.” To make up for the perceived insult, she put a few more towels on the floor in a pile so Turbo could “nest.” As he watched his dog kick them around, circle, then sprawl with a huff, it made Hunter think about things. Using Jodi’s method of a mental list, he tacked on dog bed for Jodi’s house.
They visited often enough now that it made sense.
Hands on her slim hips, she peered out the window at the slashing rain. “I vote we see if this lets up a little before we head back out.” Over her shoulder, she glanced at Turbo. “No reason to get him soaked again, right?”
“I agree we don’t need to be out in a downpour, but I think we should scope out that address for King while it’s still raining a little, to lessen the chances of anyone hanging around outside.”
“You think he’d bring in his guards just from the weather?”
“No, but there’s less visibility in rain, right? Makes more sense than showing up there when it’s bright and sunny.”
Jodi chewed that over, then nodded. “Agree.” She looked around. “So what do we do in the meantime?”