would be cruel.
She smoothed the comforter over the sheets and left the room. Nick followed. “I already did the beds in there. Towels are in the bathroom. You can go after Sam.” Again she felt a pang of longing, but hospitality won out. Not to mention, if she went last, she could stay in as long as she wanted to.
A few minutes later, as she washed dusty dishes in the kitchen area—she had to keep moving or she’d never start again—Sam limped out of the bathroom clad in only a towel he clutched closed in one fist. Bruises had blossomed on his right ribcage and left shoulder, probably from the seat belt. Another showed above the edge of the towel on his right hip.
Quinn must have made a noise because both men turned toward her. Sam looked down at himself and rubbed a hand across his chest.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” His head came back up, and his eyes met hers, glinting with humor and memory.
Nick rolled his eyes and shoved to his feet. “For god’s sake. Get dressed, Sam.” He slammed into the bathroom without looking at Quinn.
Sam’s mouth quirked smugly. She didn’t know how he mustered the energy to give Nick a hard time, but gratitude soothed the shredded areas of her heart. He’d accepted the change in their relationship, and was even trying to make Nick jealous.
“I’m so sorry,” she murmured.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He sank onto the couch. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“If it was deliberate, it was. No one would be after you unless they were after me.” She laughed bitterly. “If it wasn’t deliberate, it was still my fault. I was talking to you on the phone. I should never have done that in this kind of weather.”
“You’re not responsible for my bad judgment.” He pressed his thumb against his temple, his face contorting.
“Here.” Quinn set down a freshly dried plate and filled a glass with water. “I think the first-aid kit we bought has some over-the-counter stuff.”
“When did you buy a first-aid kit?” He scanned her, but the sweatshirt she wore hid her cut arm and the injuries on her back.
“In Boston. Lucky we did, huh?” She handed him the glass, then searched the kit on the picnic-style dining table. There was a packet of ibuprofen right on top. She tore it open and tapped the pills into his hand. “They should help without making you muzzy. But you should go to sleep anyway. It’s late.”
He caught her hand. “Thanks. You sleeping with me to wake me every hour, make sure I’m not in a coma?” His smile now was mischievous.
“Not this time, big guy.” She ran her free hand gently over his unruly hair. “Nick will watch over you.”
“That’ll be fun.” He pulled himself to his feet but didn’t release her. “Make sure he doesn’t have an air horn before you go to bed, okay?”
She smiled. “Okay.” She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for everything, Sam.”
After he’d gone into the smaller bedroom and closed the door, she finished cleaning dishes and wiped down all the cabinet shelves. There were a few canned goods in one corner, but nothing that appealed. If Nick was hungry, he could heat something while she was in the bathtub.
She was putting away the last pots and pans when the bathroom door opened. Steam billowed out ahead of Nick, a navy blue towel around his waist and a pale blue towel turban-style around his head. Quinn laughed with a surge of affection. He was competing with Sam—and doing very well, with his powerful arms and shoulders, solid chest, and flat abdomen—but cutting the threat of such a competition by being goofy.
“It’s all yours,” he said, giving her the complicated version of his smile. It resembled the one he flashed at women in the bar, flirtatious and inviting, but it also had an element of the goof wearing the turban. His eyes, though, gave her the undercurrents. He was worried, conflicted, needy. All things he didn’t want her to see, things he tried to mask with the lip part of the smile. “I hope we left you some hot water,” he added.
“It’s a big tank.” She draped the wet dishtowel over the edge of the sink and walked to Sam’s giant duffel, which he’d left between the doors to the two bedrooms. She found her own soft cotton pajamas on top and pulled those out, including a pair of comfortable underwear she didn’t let Nick see. Under