in the background. “Because that would help me out enormously. I need to get that brother off the market or I won’t ever get a date again. You go for it, sis. Help baby brother out. Hey, I even have some condoms for you.”
Zep was the most obnoxious member of her family. “I’ll see you in the morning, Momma.”
She hung up.
What did she want? She wanted to stay here and live at Guidry Place, at least for a while. She wanted to build some kind of a future for herself and her son. She wanted something sweet in her life.
She wanted Harry.
She smoothed back her hair, happy that at least the place had a working hair dryer. Yes, she was wearing a T-shirt that had a massive beer bottle on it and she’d washed away all her makeup. Yes, she was in a motel where someone had likely been murdered recently. And yes, she didn’t have a lot to offer the man sitting outside, but she was going to walk out there and offer it to him anyway.
She stepped out of the bathroom and stopped because Harry was sitting at the small desk, his prosthetic leg propped against the bed. He’d taken off his jeans and sat there in a pair of boxers. His face was tight as he looked down at the place where they’d amputated.
All thoughts of being seductive and bold fled and her heart softened. She rushed to him. “What’s wrong?”
He grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“You’ve got a cut.” She touched his leg right above his knee, a few inches from the scrape he’d taken. “We need to take care of it. Is it rubbing against the prosthesis?”
“No. It’s a little above where it sits. I slipped in the rain and scraped against something.”
“We need to get you in the bathroom and clean it up.” It wasn’t bad, but he definitely would need some soap and water. “You’re chilled all the way through. I’m sorry I took so long.”
He looked at her and there was a weariness to him that made her ache. “I heard you talking to someone. Is everything all right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got three bars now, so that makes me feel better. Though you should know my momma wants to steal your dog. According to her, Shep is a baby whisperer.” She stood up. “Come on. I’ll turn on the shower and help you get in.”
He glanced down. “I need a minute to get my leg back on.”
He would only have to take it off again. “Or you can lean on me. It’s not far.”
“Sera, I . . .”
She stared down at him because they needed to get a few things straight. Whatever happened between them wouldn’t be some fast and furious affair where they spent more time in bed than out of it. If they were going to be friends, be more than friends, then she had some firm beliefs in how that would work. “You said you wanted to get to know me. This is part of me. I want to help you. I want to be something more to you than a pretty face and a body in bed. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life is rough, and you better be strong enough to help the people around you. You also better be strong enough to accept help from the people around you. You told me I’m the most beautiful woman in town. Well, I wonder if you’ll think that when you see my scars. I’ve got a nice one at my bikini line because Luc was a ten-pound baby, and I wasn’t built for that.”
The sweetest smile came over his face, lighting him up. There was something special about Harry, some inner goodness that shone through. “I’ll think that scar is beautiful because it’s a part of you.”
“Then don’t expect me to think less of you because you’re about to awkwardly hop to that barely functional bathroom and clean yourself up. I’ll think you’re brave because you went through all of it and there’s no bitterness in you.”
His hand came out, reaching for her own. “Oh, don’t think I woke up this way. It took a lot to get past my bitterness. After I came home to Dallas, I worked for a little while in a restaurant that gave jobs to injured vets. It’s where I learned how to make the best grilled cheese sandwich in the world. It’s also