“Me either. Which is why I stopped by the Dancing Donut on my way over here.”
Taylor smiled happily. “You did? I love that place!”
“I know,” Eagle said. “Give me two minutes to run down to my car and grab the box. I’ll be right back.”
And before she could offer to go with him, Eagle was gone.
Sighing happily, and more relieved than she could put into words, Taylor went into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses. She poured them both some orange juice and got the coffee started. By the time she was done, Eagle was back.
He had not only one box, but two, and Taylor’s eyes bugged out as he set them down. “Jeez, Eagle, how many doughnuts did you get?”
“Two dozen. I figured if you didn’t like any of them, I could bring them to Silverstone later.”
“Oh no. I get to keep them all,” Taylor said. She loved doughnuts. She tried to stay away from them because she literally couldn’t control herself. And the Dancing Donut was her absolute favorite pastry shop.
Eagle chuckled and took a step back from the boxes with his hands up in surrender. “Far be it from me to get between a woman and her doughnuts.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Taylor teased, pointing a finger at him.
Eagle reached out and pulled her close once more. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and the other speared into the hair at the nape of her neck. She looked up at him.
“Thank you for forgiving me,” Eagle said seriously. “I treasure your friendship, and I was sick that I’d said such horrible things to you.”
Taylor licked her lips, and she saw his gaze flick to the movement before returning to her eyes. She wanted him to kiss her so badly, but she also didn’t want to do anything that might hurt their truce. “You’re not an asshole,” she told him.
“I am, but I’m glad you think I’m not,” he retorted.
“Do you . . . do you want to hang out here for a while?” she asked tentatively. “I think now that things between us are okay, I could get some work done. I was going to spend the morning tracking you down to apologize and to make things right. But now I can get something done, and maybe we can go and play some pinball later if you don’t have to work?” She was aware that she was babbling, but she couldn’t help it. Being in his arms made her nervous she was going to say or do something that would let him know how much she wanted to be more than a friend.
“You were going to track me down?” he asked.
Taylor nodded.
“I’d love to stay,” he said. “I can take a nap on your couch while you work, if that’s all right.”
“It’s more than all right,” she told him.
“Are you going to the Dementia Senior Care Center this weekend?” Eagle asked out of the blue.
Taylor blinked. He hadn’t let her go, so she couldn’t hide her confusion. “I’d planned on it—why?”
“I thought maybe I could go with you.”
Taylor frowned, and her stomach rolled with nerves. “Um . . . I’m not sure. It’s . . . it’s really personal, Eagle.” She hated telling him no, but for some reason, she wasn’t ready to let down her guard with him like that. The men and women she visited were so much like her, and that made her feel vulnerable.
“It’s okay,” he said, making her feel even worse because he was being so understanding.
“I just . . . I’m not saying never, but . . .” Her voice trailed off. She wasn’t sure why she was so reluctant to have him accompany her this weekend.
“I understand. I made you doubt me last night. I’m going to make up for what I said, Flower. I swear. I’ll make you trust me again if it’s the last thing I do.”
Then he leaned forward, kissed her forehead gently, and let her go. He lifted the lid of the top box of doughnuts, grabbed one, took a big bite, and headed for the couch.
Taylor took a deep breath. She wouldn’t dwell on things. Eagle was here, they’d forgiven each other, they were moving on. And she had doughnuts. And a day that started with doughnuts was always a good day.
She brought the glass of orange juice and a mug of coffee over to Eagle, and he accepted both with a smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“If me being here bothers you, just let me know.”
“No! It doesn’t,” Taylor said immediately. “I like having you here. When you knocked this morning, I scared myself by imagining a man with a huge ax was on the other side of the door.”
Eagle winced. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. You were right,” Taylor said firmly. “Giving that man my home address was ridiculously stupid. I’m going to have to be extra careful for a while as a result. It was right of you to point it out . . . and we’re moving on. I’m glad you’re here, Eagle. I swear.”
“Okay. I’m just going to close my eyes. You do your thing, and when you want me out, just let me know.”
“I don’t want you out,” she told him, sure he’d be able to read the longing in her tone, but he simply nodded and put the last bite of doughnut in his mouth and scooted down on the sofa, resting his head on the back cushion.
Feeling good that Eagle was there, Taylor went to her dining room table and opened the American history textbook. She was nearing the end. A good thing, since she’d received her next project, a three-hundred-page manuscript someone was trying to get published.
She was smiling like a fool but couldn’t make herself stop. She’d woken up feeling so crappy, but now she felt on top of the world. She and Eagle were good—everything else felt insignificant.
Later that afternoon, Eagle brought Taylor over to Silverstone Towing. Archer had made meatloaf for everyone to eat over the weekend, so they’d had an amazing late lunch and were playing pinball when Bull, Smoke, and Gramps appeared.
“We need to talk,” Bull said in a tone of voice Eagle knew meant that shit had hit the fan.
He turned to Taylor, but she was already waving him toward the safe room. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Eagle, yes. I’m good. I’ll go upstairs and see who’s still here and hang out. If everyone’s out working, I’ll watch TV or something. Hell, maybe I’ll take a nap, since I didn’t sleep well last night. The point is, you don’t have to entertain me twenty-four seven. You guys have work to do, so go do it.”
Eagle couldn’t stop himself from putting his arm around her shoulders and hugging her to him for a beat. “Thanks for understanding, Tay.”
“Hey, I’ll never get in the way of you superheroes saving the world. Go do your thing.”
And with that, Eagle nodded and stepped toward his friends. When the safe room door had shut, he asked, “What’s up?”
Bull grabbed a chair and sat, pulling a sheaf of papers over to him. “You know the situation in Timor-Leste that we’ve been monitoring?”
“Yeah, what about it?” Eagle asked as he and the others all took seats around the table.
“It’s time to move on that,” Gramps answered.
“The leader of the rebels who started that coup last year has been a thorn in the Timor-Leste government’s side for months,” Bull said. “Everyone thought after most of the rebels had been caught, killed, or had given up, the resistance would die off. But there’s a faction that hasn’t given up. And they’ve changed their tactics in the capital city. Now, instead of harassing the government officials, they’re targeting civilians.”