“But in the middle of that, you said you thought of me for a week.”
Throwing her hands up to the side, she blurted, “I’m hungry. I haven’t had lunch. My face is a mess, and my eyes still burn. I have dirt on my clothes. I want to take a shower and eat something. And while I’m doing all that, I want to process the fact that the women I talked to this morning can’t take a shower and don’t have lunch to eat!”
He stared at her face, and she was right. She looked a mess. And beautiful. And right now, ending her speech in the way she had, he watched as her chin quivered. Saying nothing, he stepped closer and opened his arms. Uncertain if she might throw a right hook toward his chin, he was grateful when her face crumpled, and she stepped into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to his chest as her hand snaked to his back and she clutched his shirt.
He felt her body shudder, then heard soft sobs. He slowly rubbed her back, murmuring words of comfort near her ear.
She cried for several minutes, but he wasn’t worried. Growing up with three sisters and the two King girls next door, he was well aware that sometimes it took a while for them to get it all out. It might be a sexist observation, but he found that usually men decided to punch something when they were upset. If he was honest, of the two reactions, he thought the women had the healthier one.
Her breathing evened, and she leaned back. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face was splotchy, and there was a long streak of dirt on her right cheek. And, once again, he thought she was beautiful.
He wanted to know everything. What she was doing at the Cardboard Cottages this morning. Who she talked to. Who she worked for. But right now, he just wanted to offer comfort. And, if he was honest, he loved the feel of her in his arms. “Pizza or Chinese?” Her brow furrowed and, strangely enough, he thought it made her look more adorable. “There’s a lot we need to talk about, babe, but first things first. You go take a shower, and I’ll call for lunch. You’ve got a couple of magnets on your refrigerator for takeout, so would you rather have pizza or Chinese?”
He braced for her argument, but she simply continued to hold his gaze for a moment and then her shoulders slumped.
“Chinese. I think everything in life seems a little bit better with Chinese food.”
He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, mumbling, “Words to live by, darlin’.” When she didn’t move, he gave her a slight nudge. She held his gaze for a few seconds longer, then nodded. He watched as she walked toward the stairs and heard her footsteps as she ascended to the second floor. Waiting just long enough to hear the water running, he pulled out his phone and dialed the restaurant.
With the sound of water still running from upstairs, his gaze snagged on the small backpack lying on the kitchen counter. Not hesitating, he opened it and peered inside. Pulling out her wallet, he checked her ID. Kimberly Hogan. Twenty-seven years old. The pockets that held credit cards were empty. Seeing several stacked on the kitchen counter, he was glad she had the foresight to not head to the Cottages with a full wallet of cards and money.
Reaching into the bag again, he pulled out a notebook. Before he had a chance to open it, his gaze snagged on an ID lanyard. Flipping it over, he jolted at the sight of a Kilton Pharmaceuticals employee ID badge. Jesus, she works at Kilton! So what the fuck was she doing at the Cottages? He flipped open the notebook, seeing handwritten notes over several pages. Remembering when he followed her at the Cottages she was speaking into her phone, he wondered who she had been talking to. Punching a few buttons, he discovered her last call was last night. Staring at the app icon, he saw Dictation was front and center.
Before he had a chance to pursue his search further, the water from the shower stopped running. Placing everything back into the bag, he made sure to arrange it on the counter the way it had been.
The restaurant must have been close because the knock on the door came