Chirp(25)

“I had the cats.”

“Well, you can’t come into my room when I have a guest. That’s not appropriate.”

“Okay.”

She shivered, then rose and yanked the blanket tighter. Her chin quivered, and his throat thickened with guilt. She wasn’t pretending. The fear in her eyes was as real as what he’d seen in inmates, their first day in the joint. He came to his feet. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room.”

She followed him down the hallway, slipped into bed, and he slid the corner chair closer. “I’ll sit with you until you fall asleep. How will that be?”

“Good.”

“Why do storms frighten you so much?”

She wiped at her cheeks and faced him. “Bad things happen then.”

He’d begun to develop a soft spot for her and wasn’t sure it was a good idea. “What kind of things?”

Another loud clap of thunder exploded, and she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “My mom died in a car crash on a night like this.”

“I’m sorry. How old were you?”

“Five.”

Dang. At that age, no way she’d have a lot of memories of her mother. That had to be rough. “How about I hold your hand until you go to sleep?”

“My dad used to do that.”

God, he wanted to crawl in next to her. Wrap her in his arms and say it’d get better, but it didn’t. He’d suffered the loss of his mother, and even now when he thought of her, he went right back to being that devastated twelve-year-old kid.

Little by little she’d wasted away before his eyes, and he hadn’t noticed until it was too late. Barely able to get out of bed, she’d forced herself to go to his football games. She’d stopped jumping up and down, though. Just sat quietly, and when he found her in the stands, she always waved and gave a thumbs-up.

Rance’s lungs burned, and the pain of losing her lodged in his chest liked it had happened yesterday. If there was any consolation, it was that she hadn’t seen him go to prison. Blaze’s voice shook him from his thoughts.

“I’ll try to be quick so you can get back to your lady friend.”

He stroked the top of her hand with his thumb. “No hurry. Turns out it’s Thursday, and I’m done with her.”

“Is that a joke?”

“Yeah.”

She yawned and drifted to sleep.

Rance dozed sporadically and didn’t know how long he sat there. With all the memories running through his mind, he lost track of time. After Mom’s death, he’d gone to live with his dad but never bonded with him or his stepmother. At least Seth and Nick had welcomed him. Even looked up to him, which made things worse once Rance got arrested. Then he became the example of evil. Yeah, he was the bad seed. The terrible influence. The biggest mistake.

Mom was gone. Gran was gone. Dad didn’t give a shit. Rance stared at Blaze sleeping peacefully. She depended on him. And it’d been a long time since anyone had. The remark about liking him without his shirt was the last thing he’d expected her to say. He’d never met anybody like her, and she was beginning to trust him. Eventually, she’d tell him what or who she was hiding from.

He picked up her phone and checked the time. In two more hours, it’d be dawn. The storm had passed. Time to return to bed, but getting back to the snoring barfly didn’t interest him.

He glanced at the cell. If she didn’t have it locked, he might learn more about her. No. Bad choice. They were becoming friends, and he didn’t want to jeopardize that. He forced himself to his feet and eased down the hall, but instead of going into his room, he went to the kitchen to make coffee.

Even though he was wide awake, he splashed water on his face, dried it with a dish towel, then neatly folded it. The kid would give him too much grief if he didn’t. He poured his coffee, added a splash of milk and whiskey, then wandered toward the back porch. Steam rose from his cup and sent a thin swirl into the damp air. An owl swooped low and landed in a tall pine. Propping a hip onto the railing, Rance closed his eyes and listened to the night.

When he’d first gone to prison, he dreamed of this. The peaceful song of nature. Crickets. Birds. Frogs. This is where he belonged, and he never intended to leave again. He chuckled. Except later this morning, he’d have to drive to Danvers to get the shower hardware he’d forgotten to purchase. While in town he’d buy clothes suitable for the banquet.

He hadn’t agreed to go yet, but he would. Hated to leave her without a plus one. He just hoped her contempt for fashion didn’t carry over to social events.

The door behind him opened, and lovey-dovey stepped onto the deck. “I wondered where you got off to. You’re an early riser.”

“The storm woke me, and I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

She rubbed her eyes. “There was a storm?”

Yeah. Almost as loud as your snoring. “Yeah. You slept right through it.”

She giggled. “I get that way when I drink. Alcohol puts me out like a light.”

“Want coffee?”

“No, thanks. I need to be home to see my kids before they leave for school.”

She turned, and he followed her inside. She hiked her purse strap over her shoulder, faced him, and tiptoed to plant a sweet kiss on his cheek. “I had a nice time.”