Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy #5)(29)

She nodded her understanding, but the issue was still there, like a giant roadblock, and it was one she didn’t see a way around.

She couldn’t expect them to sacrifice everything they’d worked to achieve for her. What did she have to offer them here anyway? She was a waitress. In a diner. She made barely enough to pay her rent and get by on. And there wasn’t a high demand for personal protection in Clyde.

For that matter what could she offer them in New York? She’d quit her job at Joel’s demand. He’d wanted her available to him at all times and he wanted nothing to interfere in his schedule.

Stupidly—God, she used that word a lot to describe her actions—she’d thought it romantic that he’d wanted her to quit so he could take care of her. She’d been too naïve to realize it was the first step in putting her squarely under his complete control.

A year without work didn’t do wonders for the resume. When asked by employers to explain the gap in employment, what could she say? Oh, I was a naïve twit who quit my job to allow a man to take over my life, but hey, I’ve got my crap together now so you should feel absolutely comfortable in giving me a job.

Yeah. Not happening.

Her degree was useless in Clyde. There was about as much need for someone with marketing experience as there was for personal protection.

“Lauren?” Liam called softly.

She turned in the direction of his voice and met the vivid blue of his gaze.

“We’ll work it out, okay?”

She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak.

Noah pulled her hand onto his lap, almost as if he were sending her the message that he wasn’t letting go and he wasn’t giving up.

Maybe she was being too fatalistic. It wasn’t as if their only two choices were Clyde or New York. While she’d grown very attached to where she lived and to the Colters, there was nothing to say that she couldn’t be happy somewhere else.

She hadn’t planned to live here forever before, had she?

Or maybe that’s precisely what she’d planned. To spend the rest of her life hiding, never really living. Just existing.

Noah and Liam were giving her the opportunity to live a full, rich life filled with love. They wanted to make her happy, had sworn to do everything in their power to make her happy.

Maybe they could even live out of the city and they could commute. She doubted they’d ever travel in the same circles that Joel did. They’d probably never encounter him in their lifetime.

You have the power to put him away.

The insidious whisper stole through her mind.

With the information she’d copied from Joel’s computer, she had the power to make Joel a nonissue for a very long time. But in order to do that, she had to have courage she didn’t currently possess.

And more importantly, she’d have to be willing to face Joel Knight again.

Chapter 12

LAUREN dressed for bed in the tiny bathroom and took longer than normal to brush out her hair and clean her teeth. Noah was in her bedroom, also undressing for bed, while Liam was settling into the living room.

There was no way this arrangement could last long term. Not that she’d minded sleeping in Liam’s arms last night, but he couldn’t have been comfortable on the bed. They’d been forced to remain on their sides, locked together the entire night. Even she’d woken up stiff and with a crick in her neck. She couldn’t imagine how Liam must have felt.

Should she extend the same invitation to Noah to sleep with her? She’d needed comfort the evening before. The day had exhausted her and left her feeling uncertain. Or at least that was the excuse she’d used to whisper the shy request to Liam.

But if she didn’t, would Noah think she preferred Liam over him?

Pain throbbed at her temples and she reached up to massage them, closing her eyes as she took deep, steadying breaths.

To her surprise the bathroom door opened. Her eyes flew open to see Noah standing in the doorway, worry reflected in his gaze.

Before she could speak, he moved in, carefully lowering her wrists so that her fingers no longer dug into her temples.

“Head hurt?” he asked.

She was still trying to find words. His sudden appearance had taken her completely off guard.

“Sorry to barge in on you like that, but you had me worried. I called your name three times and I couldn’t hear a damn thing going on behind the door. I was worried you’d fallen or passed out.”

She grimaced. “Sorry. I was just lost in thoughts. So much going on and it’s still kind of hard to take in.”

He gently pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips to her forehead.

“Come to bed. Want me to get you something for the headache?”

“No. I’ll be fine. Really.”

He laced his fingers with hers and pulled her into the bedroom. His bedroll was carefully made on the floor, but he directed her to the bed.

To her surprise, he crawled onto the mattress, positioned himself so his back rested against the rail at the head of the bed, and then he spread his legs and patted the space between them.

“Come here and I’ll rub your head and neck.”

Relieved that she didn’t have to tackle the issue of whether she should invite him to the bed or not, she put her knee up on the bed and scooted toward him.

When she turned, he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him so she was flush against his chest.