Wind River Wrangler (Wind River Valley #1)(79)
She ran her fingers lightly across the thick glass at the front of the shower. It was frosted glass and it had an old-time pattern sandblasted into it, reminding her of a design from the era of the antique bathtub. “I just love this, Roan. All of it.” She turned, smiling up at him. “You’ve been really busy.”
Shrugging, he said, “Idle hands and all that.”
Shiloh could tell he was pleased with her reaction. “So when are you moving in?”
Lifting his hand, he brushed her cheek, holding her earnest gaze. “I was hoping you’d want to move in with me next week.”
Chapter Nineteen
Shiloh heard the sincerity, the hope, in Roan’s voice as he held her gaze. Her emotions were a mass of indecision within her. “I need time to feel my way through this, Roan.”
“I understand,” he murmured, slipping his hand beneath her elbow. “It’s a lot to digest.” Roan led her out of the master bedroom.
“What about the stalker?” she asked, her heart expanding with yearning for him. At the same time, the fear of the stalker never left her. It just went up and down in volume.
He pulled out a chair for her. “Just before I left the main ranch, I called Sheriff Sarah Carter over at the sheriff’s department,” he told her, sitting at her elbow. “We’ve got an appointment to see her at two P.M. today.”
Relief sizzled through Shiloh. “Thank God.”
“She will need you to tell her everything, Shiloh. From the moment this stalker started shadowing you.”
“Oh, she’ll get everything,” she promised him, raw emotion in her voice. She reached out, touching his arm, feeling the muscles tense where she slid her fingertips across the dark hair scattered on his lower arm. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away from protecting you.”
It was true. She saw it in the glint of his gray eyes. Heard the steel behind the words as he spoke them. “Well,” she said, trying to smile and failing, “I’m grateful. At least out here”—she fondly looked around the quiet cabin—“I have people who believe me.”
Roan picked up her hand, squeezing it gently. “And you have people who have your back, Shiloh. Steve, Maud, and all the rest of the employees, man or woman, are going to be watching out for you too. The more educated, aware eyes we have on this situation, the better protected you are.”
“I hate what he’s done to me, Roan.” She rubbed the nape of her neck, giving him an apologetic look. “Every shadow became him waiting for me.”
“That’s a normal reaction, Shiloh,” he soothed.
“But you would have handled it differently.”
“There’s a gulf between you and me in that regard,” he told her. “I’m trained for close quarters combat. I know what I can do to defend myself. You’ve never been trained, Shiloh. Maybe what I should do is show you some moves that could render your attacker useless. I think if I show you those moves, you’ll feel better. Much of your fear is based on the fact you don’t have a way to defend yourself. Or am I wrong?”
Shiloh thought about it, her brows dropping. She glanced up at him. “You’re always the quiet voice of reason, Roan. You’re right. I don’t know how to defend myself. I’ve never had a reason to learn.”
“Let me show you the room at the rear of the cabin. Remember the big room that had a lot of windows and you wondered what I’d do with it?”
“Yes.” She smiled a little as he slowly unwound from the chair. There was no question that Roan had a lethality to him. Just now, she became more aware of his warrior side. It wasn’t something he had shown her before, but she suspected because of the topic, he was allowing her to see a part of him he kept well hidden. “Sure. Has every room in the cabin got stuff in it?”
“Well,” Roan hedged, pulling her chair back for her, “most . . . but there’s two rooms I’ve more or less left like an empty canvas to be painted on.”
“I love your analogy.” Shiloh rose and smoothed her jeans down her thighs. She followed Roan across the living room and down to the end of the hall. When he’d taken her through the rooms weeks ago, they had all been empty canvases. Now, they were thoughtfully and beautifully appointed.
Roan stepped aside and gestured to the brass doorknob. “Open it and go in. See what you think?”
Shiloh felt a little bit like a kid at Christmas, barely able to wait to tear off the wrapping on the packages. She pushed the heavy cedar door open. As she moved into the large, rectangular room, with a panel of windows on its southern wall, she halted. She felt Roan come to her side, his hands coming to rest on his hips. “Wow, this is a REAL workout room.” There was a small gym next to the dining room at the ranch headquarters and Shiloh knew Roan was over there every morning, working out. But here, she saw not only weight-lifting equipment, but also half of the room was empty with only a dark blue mat covering the floor.
“I think you might be more interested in this half of the room,” he said, leading her toward the mat.
Shiloh stood near the edge of it. “What’s this for?”
“I was thinking that you really didn’t know any defense moves so I decided to purchase a work mat and I might show you how to protect yourself once you went home.”