“I’m here for you.Whatever you need.Let me help.”
“You’ve already helped enough.”I wipe my cheeks and look up at him.The emotions swirling in his dark gaze are enough to have my breath catching in my throat.
Oh, this is a mistake.
There’s a sharp knock on the door that breaks the moment between us.Garrison heads toward the door, and I watch him pause just on the other side as he checks the peephole before pulling it open.
“Hey, Mr.Holt.Sorry, I know I’m a little early.”The voice reaches me before I can see who’s there, cutting a conversation short that was getting far too intimate.Especially since Garrison has this ability to make me forget every reason we won’t work.
“No problem at all, Kyle, come on in.”Garrison steps aside as a boy who looks to be only a few years older than Thomas walks in, wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie sweatshirt.He removes his hat once inside and toys with it when he sees me.“Kyle, you remember Ms.Ellis.I’m going to go change, and I’ll be right back.”
“Nice to see you again, Ms.Ellis,” Kyle says.His gaze darts away from me quickly, though, almost as if I make him nervous.My heart aches for this boy who has clearly seen a bit too much of the darkness in this world.
“It’s nice to see you again, too,” I reply with a smile.“Thomas has always spoken highly of you.He said that you came to his rescue when some bullies cornered him shortly after we’d moved to town.”
“Thomas is cool.Always nice to everyone.”
I smile.“That makes me very grateful to hear.So, are you working with Garri—Mr.Holt today?”
He nods.“He’s about the only one who hasn’t given up on me completely.I’ve made some mistakes.”
Like bringing a knife to school?Even though that weapon could have posed a risk to Thomas, I can’t find any anger at the boy trying to protect his sister.“He definitely seems like a good man.”
“Yeah.I don’t deserve the chance he’s giving me, but I appreciate it anyhow.”
I smile at him, appreciating his candidness.“What are you guys going to be doing today?”
“Uh, I think we’re boarding up windows.”
“My windows?”I ask, honestly surprised.Has Garrison already made official plans to start working on my apartment?
“I think so.Thomas said you lived next to Mr.Holt.So, if so, then yes.”He smiles at me, and a bit of the darkness slips away.“I’m happy to help.More than, really.”
“Well, I really appreciate it.”I return his smile.“Will you excuse me for just a second?”
“Of course.Yeah.”
“Thanks.”I push off the stool and head down the hall.Garrison’s door is cracked, so I gently push it open…only to have the air knocked from my lungs when I see him standing partially in his closet, his shirt in hand.“Sorry, I?—”
He turns toward me, revealing the still-healing scar on his side, along with quite an assortment of others on his chest and abdomen.Heat spreads through me like a wildfire as attraction burns heavy in my gut.
Oh boy.
I’d seen him shirtless before, but then he’d been covered in his own blood and barely clinging to life.
Now, every inch of a hair-dusted, muscled chest is on full display.
DANGER.The word echoes through my mind like a battle cry.
“Sorry, hang on.”Moving quickly, he shrugs into a long-sleeved shirt.“Sorry, Kyle’s a good kid, but I wasn’t sure how comfortable you would be being left alone with him, so I kept the door cracked just in case.Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I—”Get it together, Katelyn.Why am I in here again?
“Katelyn?”
“I can’t date you.”I blurt the words out without thinking, then immediately wish I could take them back.“Sorry.I don’t know if that’s what you’re trying to do, but if it is, then you need to know that I?—”
“I would absolutely love to date you,” he interrupts.“But that’s not why I’m helping.”