We All Sleep Alone (Finley Creek #11) - Calle J. Brookes Page 0,110

business with Lizzie.

None at all.

Izzie.

The girl was Izzie. Perfectly capable of making her own decisions. Girl had no problem with that, or standing up for what she thought. All those times she’d snipped at him in the ER had proven that.

If she wanted to be the next on Allen’s list, well, so be it.

It wasn’t Wallace’s business.

He heard every word that man said to her.

They echoed words Wallace had said to Jennifer so long ago.

When she had been just as scared of a relationship with a man like him probably for similar reasons.

He’d tried. Wallace had honestly tried to keep his promises to Jennifer. To keep his vows.

It had been too hard. He had failed. Had hurt the woman he loved most of all.

Allen…he would be the same. Start off with good intentions and then turn…weak. Look at how easily led the man had been with that viperous pharmacy tech.

It would be little Izzie that was hurt this time. Wallace would hate to see history repeat itself. He’d have to clean it up, for her.

Before…before he did what he had to do.

92

There had been a seashell in her locker, with SPI painted on it. A tiny statue of a puppy that looked remarkably like Oliver. Izzie knew immediately who they were from. She’d found it the evening after Allen’s first shift back at the hospital. What she didn’t know was how they had gotten there. There were only four people in the building who knew her combination. Lacy, Jillian, Nikkie Jean, and Annie.

Four possible suspects.

Her money was on Nikkie Jean. She was the one who was the closest to Allen. Either her or Lacy.

Izzie was going to have to do some investigating. Focusing on the how distracted her from the who.

She missed him.

She told him that as she snuggled against him three nights later.

With her swinging between second and third shifts, and him mostly on first, their time together was going to be severely limited. Precious.

Izzie cherished every minute of it.

Izzie should have known before she’d even rung his doorbell at five thirty exactly where she was going to end up tonight. There was no way she was going to be alone with him and the two of them not take each other’s clothes off. Not tonight, when she actually had the night off.

He wrapped himself around her, his arm resting in the same spot it had before.

It felt right. For the first time since she’d returned to Finley Creek, she actually relaxed and slept.

When she woke, he was there, leaning over her. “Shouldn’t you head back to the warden’s? I’d hate you to miss curfew or something.”

“What time is it?” She should at least call. Let her uncle know nothing had happened to her. Jake was a big worrywart, after all. He wasn’t happy with her new relationship with Allen at all.

Jake was becoming almost unbearable lately. He had been sidelined from most of his bigger cases once the connections between her and the others were suspected. Jake was not a happy camper, by any means.

He was directing his frustration out on her relationship with Allen.

“Almost midnight. You slept a while. I must have worn you out.” He grinned at her. His hair was all mussed—from her fingers. He’d trimmed the beard, making it look perfect.

Like that new nurse had said today, he looked nibble-worthy.

A thrill of satisfaction went through her. She was the one doing the nibbling now. “It’s from the exercise.”

“I’ve ordered takeout. Only thing open this late was pizza.” He tossed her a shirt, and she slipped it on. It smelled like him and fabric softener. She buttoned it quickly, then rolled up the sleeves over the cast.

“You keeping the beard? I heard no less than three nurses and an obstetrician getting all swoony over it. Between the beard and the tan, they think you’ve been up to something mysterious wherever you disappeared to. Which…I suppose you were.”

“Depends. Are you swoony about it?”

Damn right.

She’d officially become a cliché, showing up at a lover’s place and falling straight into bed with him immediately. How the mighty fell.

“I was worried about you.” That was what had really had her grabbing Oliver, then heading back over here to him. He and Nikkie Jean had lost a patient. Both were understandably upset. Nikkie Jean had Caine, but Allen…Allen had her.

She’d wanted to be the one to take care of him. It was as simple as that. As natural as breathing.

“I’m…ok. It was an expected outcome. Odds weren’t great going in.