Heart of Gold - B.J. Daniels Page 0,73
favorite teacher.”
“How did I know that?” He grinned. “Was it his dimples?”
“He was adorable.” She laughed as she put down the bag of decorations and tore into the cookies. She took a bite before offering him the other one.
“They’re all yours,” he said. He dug out the stand and went to grab the tree. “I might need some help with this.”
She put down the cookies and steadied the tree as he slipped it into the stand.
“I thought it could go in this corner,” Shep said. “What do you think?”
“You’ve given this some thought, have you?” She couldn’t help grinning at him as she picked up her cookie and took another bite. “Pretty tree.”
“I got a deal on it since it’s so close to Christmas. Lodgepole pine. Smells good, huh?”
She nodded. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You have to help me decorate,” he said. “I’m thinking we should put on some Christmas music. Maybe have a little spiked hot chocolate.”
Charlie felt rather than saw that Shep was trying too hard. “You talked to Mac about Lindy? What did he say?”
“Just that Lindy didn’t apply herself. That he was worried about your relationship with her.” He stepped away from the tree to face her, his expression suddenly solemn. “I also spoke to your math teacher, Fred Jones.”
She felt a jolt, something in his expression warning her.
“He said he saw things about Lindy that bothered him and he tried to talk to Kat about them. She wasn’t open to him telling her that Lindy was bullying you and not living up to her potential in his class. He thought Lindy might have had some kind of mental condition, but Kat was determined that she was fine.”
“So other people saw what Lindy was doing to me,” Charlie said. “That’s...embarrassing.”
Shep stepped to her, taking both of her shoulders in his large warm hands. “You have no reason to feel that way. Lindy was the problem, not you.”
“Then why...” She met his gaze as her voice broke. “What did Mr. Jones say to you that upset you? Shep, tell me the truth.”
“Wasn’t that enough?” He let go of her and started to turn away, but she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and forced him back around to face her. His shirt felt soft and warm in her fist. She could smell his male scent mixed with her bath gel.
She breathed him in, suddenly wanting his arms around her—afraid she would need them when he told her what else he’d found out. “Tell me.”
He met her gaze and she felt tears fill her eyes even before he spoke. “He was worried about you living with someone he suspected was so unpredictable and dangerous. He worried what that kind of situation might have done to you.”
Charlie let go of his shirt. “He thinks I killed her.”
“He doesn’t know you like I do,” Shep said quickly.
She started to turn away, but he pulled her into his arms. “You didn’t do it.”
She fought the embrace, but only for a moment, before she settled into his protective hold. She’d been here a lot lately. She was getting used to it. Definitely a mistake.
But still she pressed her face against the warm softness of his shirt and breathed him in again, filling her lungs with his scent. His body felt so strong—like his arms around her.
They stayed like that for a long while. Charlie never wanted to move. She felt safe, sheltered, loved. Shep believed in her, always had. She was the one who’d had her doubts. Just like that day on the boot camp obstacle course.
She slowly lifted her face to look up at him.
The kiss was the most natural thing in the world at that moment. He lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips parted in response, her arms going around his neck, pulling him down as the kiss deepened.
She felt her heart soar as his arms tightened around her and he lifted her off her feet. Need was in every muscle of his body just as she felt her own need for this man she’d once loved with all her heart.
Shep slowly broke off the kiss and lowered her to the floor. His gaze locked with hers. There was that question again in his eyes. She felt it in her core. It would take only a matter of seconds to discard their clothing... The thought of their naked bodies melded together in her big bed...
He let go of her and stepped back, breaking eye contact. “This tree is not