“Take care of the place, Roger. I’ll hopefully be late.” The cat blinks several times, looking bored and licking his orange paw as I walk out the door. It’s a good thing I love that ornery cat so much, or he wouldn’t have the cushy life he enjoys.
Once I get to Paige’s house, I sit out in my truck and take several deep breaths. Even though I know I need to take things slow with Paige, convincing myself not to throw her over my shoulder and take her home isn’t an easy thing to do. She’s taken over my mind, and I’m not even going to fight it.
After grabbing the wine and flowers I bought on my way home from the station this morning, I jog up to her door and ring the bell. When she opens the door and smiles at me, my heart beats harder in my chest as that electricity flows through my body again.
Paige steps back for me to enter and laughs. “I was wondering if you’d changed your mind since you sat in the truck for so long.”
I attempt to think fast, but nothing comes to mind, and I blurt out the truth, “I needed time to get control of myself, so I didn’t come in here and move too fast.”
Shock passes over her face for a second before she smiles shyly and points her head toward the kitchen. “Are you going to think I’m a lush if I invite you into the kitchen for a glass of wine while I finish up dinner? It sounds like we could both cool down a little.”
Throwing back my head, I laugh. “Lead the way. I could use it.” As I follow behind her, I remind myself this is for life and to take things slow. Hopefully, a glass of wine will work wonders to cool me off a little.
Paige grabs a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator and smiles as she hands it to me. “I’ll grab glasses this time.” Then she walks over to one of the tall white cabinets and grabs two wine glasses. I start opening the bottle while looking around the kitchen.
She has something cooking on the stove, and there’s a bowl of salad sitting on the counter. I try to concentrate on anything other than the thoughts fighting for control in my mind—she smells better than dinner and I’ve missed her since yesterday. Needing to get a handle on the situation, I try to turn my attention elsewhere. “What brought you to Juniper?”
She opens her mouth to respond when the glass on her back-door window explodes. After grabbing her around the waist, I pull Paige down and cover her with my body.
After what seems like an eternity, there are no more shots. I check on my girl. “You okay, baby?”
“What’s happening?” Paige shakily responds, and I breathe a sigh of relief before grabbing my phone off my belt and dialing 911. Martha answers, and I bark orders at the dispatcher then hang up.
Paige is trembling under me, and I run my hand through her soft hair while whispering, “It’s going to be fine. The police are on the way.”
Paige’s body is tense beneath mine, and I feel her accelerated breathing. She turns her face toward me, and her breath feathers across my cheek. “Who would do this?”
The same question is running through my mind, but I need to keep her calm, so I lie, “Probably some idiot messing around with a gun or something.”
When Paige peeks over her shoulder, the doubt in her eyes confirms she doesn’t believe me. Before she can question me further, there’s a loud knocking on the front door, and a local deputy calls through the door.
After lifting myself off of Paige, I instruct her, “Stay down until I make sure it’s safe.” Then I head for the front door and let Burton into the house.
“Dispatch said you have shots fired into the residence.” Burton pushes in and looks around me. This jerk is trying to get a look at Paige, and the urge to ram my fist into his face roars through me. “Miss, are you okay?” He steps past me and helps Paige to her feet. I know the deputy would take great pleasure in throwing me in jail if I crushed his hand for daring to touch my girl. My rage spikes as his eyes travel over her stunning body. I notice her blouse has a huge rip down the front. I’m about to grab the nosy deputy to pull his attention away from her when he reaches out his hand. “It’s a shame to meet under these circumstances.”
After stepping between him and my girl, I snarl, “Are you going to go investigate the shots fired?”
It appears Burton is going to argue, but I turn my back to him and take Paige’s soft hand. “Why don’t you go change your shirt, baby? The house may be crawling with people soon.” Paige’s eyes widen as she looks down at her torn shirt, but I ignore her surprise and lead her toward the hallway. Before she walks away, I lean in to whisper in her ear, “I accidentally tore your blouse when I pulled you to the floor. I’m ready to tell him we were about to get busy just to let him know you’re mine.” My joke brings a little color back to her face, and she snorts loudly. Then I kiss the tip of her nose and warn her, “I’m ready to pummel the jerk out there if he ogles you one more second.” Paige’s face turns bright red as she gasps and squeezes her blouse closed.
She bites her bottom lip. “My reputation is already damaged by giving Mr. Jacobs a heart attack. You would really finish it off.” The desire to kiss that lip causes me to groan.
My heart squeezes in my chest. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your reputation is squeaky clean.” After winking at Paige, I lead her down the hall. I’m tempted to follow her to assure myself she really is okay. Fighting the temptation, I close my eyes and count to ten, then head back into the kitchen.
Burton’s arrogant smirk causes my blood to boil. He rubs his lips, then suggests, “I can take care of things here. You aren’t needed anymore.”
Like I’d leave my girl. This jerk can think again. “No, Burton. I’m here to spend the evening with Paige.” He’s about to argue when there’s another knock at the front door. Paige walks out of the bedroom to answer the door before I can free myself.
The town’s sheriff, Terry Donaldson, and another deputy walk in, and I’m relieved to see Paige wearing a t-shirt and pair of jeans. Paige stands next to me as Terry informs us there is damage to the exterior siding from a rifle shot and another shot that shattered her window. Intense anger flows through my body as I silently swear I’m going to make someone pay for this.
When Terry turns to Paige and asks, “Ms. Reilly, do you have somewhere else to stay for a couple of days?”
I answer for her. “She’ll stay with Roger and me. We have four extra bedrooms, and she can use the pool to sun herself in privacy.”
My girl turns to me and looks like she’s about to argue as the unhelpful deputy comes over and tries to put his two cents in. “I’m not sure a single woman should be staying with an unmarried man.”
I glare at Burton and snap, “No one asked your opinion. It’s not the 1920s, so stay out of our business.” Paige gasps quietly next to me before Burton’s face turns red. He’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut as he spins and slams out the front door.
Terry shakes his head and looks over at me. “I expect one of you to kill the other one of these days.”
I shrug and wrap my arm around Paige. Her beautiful face is a little pale, and she’s still slightly unsteady. Looking down, I whisper, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you back to my place soon so you can relax.” I lead her over to the sofa, and after she drops down, I call Rory. It only takes a minute to get my younger brother to agree to come over and help me board up the window on her door.