that family. Even in a verbal sparring match like this, there were rules. Things she wouldn’t say to hurt someone. He’d loved Lanning just as much as she loved Annie. Izzie wasn’t about to rub salt into that particular wound. That had all the fight going right out of her. “I don’t know what to do.”
It was the first time she’d ever admitted vulnerability to him. Before, she would have gnawed off her own leg to avoid doing that.
His hands shifted, slipping around her back. Before she knew it, Izzie was pulled tight against his hard chest and his face was buried in her hair. His hands stayed in PG territory, but it felt like so much more. Yes, she was going to do some thinking about this as soon as she could.
“It’s going to be ok.”
She didn’t remember the last time someone had told her that. Not since Nikkie Jean the day Wallace Henedy had nearly killed her.
That day was hard to forget.
Her arms—casts and all—slipped around his waist, and she clung to him. She needed strength for a little bit. Something familiar. That wasn’t so wrong. “We need to come up with a plan. I’m not good without an idea of what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s kind of my thing. Details, plans, schedules. I just…need to know where I’m supposed to be at all times. Parking in a Cracker Barrel parking lot and sleeping the day away horrifies me. It’s just so…random. I’m the one who makes the ER schedule for Wanda every week. I like that stuff.”
She’d always been a planner. She’d had her life planned well in advance from about the age of nine. It was how she’d survived with her mother. Knowing what her goals were had helped her get through every crappy thing that was going on in her life at the time.
It was her coping mechanism, and she absolutely knew it. She really needed a coping mechanism right now. Otherwise, she was going to wrap herself around Allen like an octopus and say to hell with every shred of dignity she’d ever possessed.
Her uncle had almost been killed while she was whiling away hours sleeping in a van. With Allen watching over her and providing everything she needed.
It was kind of hard for her to forget that.
“First? We need clothes. Supplies. More than what we’ve got. There’s a store across the street. I’m going to get food from the store. Nikkie Jean made it very clear you have several food allergies.” He shifted a clear bag of medications that was on the counter beside him. An epinephrine pen was prominent on top.
She’d lost her bag somewhere in the attack. Damn it. She’d have to replace her credit cards, ID, everything. That hadn’t even occurred to her yesterday.
Her head was a lot clearer now. Concussions could be so damned tricky.
“Eggs and nuts. Anaphylactic. Sensitive to dairy and soy, so I’d rather avoid large quantities of those.”
“Got it. Anything you absolutely have to have?”
“Fresh fruit, but not grapefruit or kiwi. I can’t stand either. I get hives from anything in the melon family.” It sounded so weird. So…boring and normal. She almost snorted. Izzie had had enough excitement in her life for a long, long while. “I’m not too picky. I…can cook. Even with one hand. I’ve been cooking for Jake and me for years.”
“You’ve always lived together?”
“Since I was fourteen and he was twenty-five. I did live in an apartment with Annie for a while, until she had to move back in with her mother to take care of the boys.” Izzie had never lived alone, though there were many nights when Jake’s job kept him gone. Even for weeks, sometimes, as he was sent around the state a lot. Izzie usually worked extra overtime those weeks, so she didn’t have to sit at home alone. Or take a shift at the Boethe Street community center or W4HAV. Or she’d hang out with Annie and the boys, and Nikkie Jean when they could. They were her family, and right now, she missed them with every part of her being.
“I had Shelby with me for a few years from when she was fifteen and I was twenty-five until she graduated. She stayed with me during her college years, too.”
She’d heard Nikkie Jean mention his sister but hadn’t paid much attention to the gossip about him specifically. “Your parents?”
“They were on a cruise and had docked for a day. Their tour boat capsized; ten