Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(15)

Walker frowned. “So how did you get here? Jensen pick you up?”

“I walked,” I said, side-stepping him to gather my belongings.

“You walked?”

“Yes.”

“Are you crazy? It’s over a mile, and it’s dark out now.”

I straightened, my hands fisting around the towel. “No, I am not crazy. We’re in Oregon, not South Central. It’s perfectly safe.”

Walker let out an exasperated sigh. “From gangbangers maybe, but not from wild animals. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

The thought of being in a small, confined space with Walker had my body stiffening. Something about him just set me on edge. It was as if he saw too much. “That’s not necessary. I’m sure the wild animal kingdom won’t bother me if I don’t bother them.”

Walker scrubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw and then let his arm fall to his side. “We have regular sightings of cougars and bears around the property and in the surrounding woods. It’s not safe for you to walk home alone. If you try to, I’ll just have to follow you. At least I carry a gun.”

My teeth clenched. “Fine. You can drive me.”

“Thank you, Short-stack.”

“Short-stack? What am I, a plate of pancakes?” I snarked, attempting to cover up the sense of unease I felt. Nicknames meant familiarity. Familiarity meant prying eyes and questions. I wanted neither. Quiet. Solitude. Peace. That was all I wanted. Teasing nicknames had no place in my safe zone.

“Well, you are kind of tiny. It’s pretty adorable actually,” Walker said with a grin that made his eyes dance in the twilight.

I fought the urge to laugh. I didn’t want to find this man charming on top of handsome. Nope. Didn’t want to go there. Couldn’t go there. I bent forward, slipping on my shorts over my bathing suit before I stuffed my towel into my bag. “Ready when you are.”

Walker bit the inside of his cheek. “You could’ve gone inside and changed if you wanted to.”

“Not necessary.”

“Well, all right then.” He grabbed the bag I was holding from my hand before I had a chance to stop him and headed towards the front of the house.

I had no choice but to trail behind. Walker stopped at a large, fancy-looking truck and opened the passenger door. His eyes scanned me from head to toe, and that same heat I’d felt earlier flared back to life in my blood. “You need a lift up?”

My jaw fell open. “I’m not that short.”

Walker simply chuckled.

“I don’t need your help getting in the truck,” I gritted out.

He kept right on laughing, motioning me on with a wave of his arm. “Then, go right ahead.”

He didn’t move from beside the door. I huffed and hoisted myself up onto the running board and then into the truck. It might have taken some extra effort to do so, but I didn’t need the help of some overprotective behemoth of a man.

I reached out an arm. “Bag? Or are you unsure if little ol’ me can lift it without some help?”

“Spunky. I like it.”

My teeth clacked together, but I said nothing. The man was infuriating. Thinking he knew what was best for me, just like everyone else in my life.

Walker gave me my bag, and I watched as he rounded the truck, strides a bizarre mixture of relaxed and purposeful. He exuded a casual authority. It made sense that he was a cop. I didn’t think many people would give him grief—just me, apparently.

The driver’s side door swung open, and Walker effortlessly took his seat. Tall jerk. The engine roared to life. “So, why don’t you come to dinner tomorrow night.”

I rubbed my thumb against the metal of my ring. “I don’t think so, I’m still not settled.”

“So you can’t come to dinner, but you can use our pool?” There was a devilish tone to his words.

I grimaced. “Look, I’m going to be honest with you—”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“I’m probably not going to spend a ton of time with your family. You’re all unbelievably kind, but—"

“But you’re committed to this aloof loner vibe you’ve got going?”

My hands gripped the leather seat tightly. “Would you stop interrupting me.”

“Of course, please go on explaining why having dinner with my family would be a fate worse than death.”

I blanched at the word death but forced my vocal cords to work. “I moved to Sutter Lake for the peace and quiet. I need some alone time right now, and I’d really appreciate it if you would respect that.”

Walker ran a thumb across his full lower lip. “It sounds like you’ve been going through a tough time. If that’s the case, you need to be around good people. Everyone needs people, Taylor.”

My shoulders stiffened. “Not me.” I blew out a breath. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have people in your life. I love my friends, they’re wonderful. But I don’t need them. I don’t need anyone.”

Silence filled the cab, and I worried I might have just come off like a raving bitch. That wasn’t what I wanted. Polite distance I could handle. Someone poking around and trying to figure out what made me tick, I could not. I glanced at Walker’s profile.