He went into the bedroom and dug into his pack. There were plenty of protein bars but he always had a stash of the good stuff. Chocolate caramel bar. No, he wouldn’t sacrifice that for the cause. He opted for the plain milk chocolate and tossed the pack back onto his bed.
Feeling like a genius, he headed out to the beach and glanced in Sarah’s direction again. She hadn’t moved so he set off at a brisk pace. He wanted to get as close as he could with his chocolate before she bolted inside.
He was just a few yards away when she looked up and saw him. She reached for the bag at her feet and wrapped her hands around the strap like she thought he was going to make a grab for it.
He was wrong. She hadn’t been crying. She was, however, upset. Her face was raw and her eyes glittered with ... grief? Slowly she released her grip on her bag. She rubbed her face and hastily shoved her hair back, then put her hands down on the steps like she was bracing herself for attack. Hell, he couldn’t blame her after the morning she’d had.
“Hey,” he said casually. “I saw you were still out. I brought you a present. My sisters-in-law inform me that a woman can refuse no man bearing chocolate.”
Her brow wrinkled in confusion as he held out the chocolate bar. She glanced up at him then back at the candy, clearly baffled. Then her face crumbled and she dropped her head again.
“I can’t go in,” she said in a low voice.
Taking the chance that she wouldn’t kill herself backing away from him, he eased onto the step beside her. “Your cottage?”
She nodded, her hair falling forward again to partially obscure her face. His fingers were up to brush it away before he got ahold of himself. He dropped his hand back to his lap and stared over the water.
Casually he extended the candy bar sideways so it crossed her vision. After a hesitation, she took it and held it, her finger stroking over the aluminum wrapping. He felt like a man trying to tame a wild animal with a food offering.
“Yeah, my cottage,” she finally said. “Oh God, I feel so stupid. I stood there in front of the door and couldn’t go in.”
“Why?”
Her head dipped lower, and she gripped the candy bar with enough force that coupled with the hot sun, she was going to have a handful of chocolate syrup.
“Fear,” she said in an aching voice. “God, I hate it. I feel so ... powerless.” She turned her head, her eyes blazing as she sought his gaze. “Do you have any idea what that feels like?” Then she gave a derisive laugh and looked away again. “Probably not. You don’t look like you’ve ever been scared of anything.”
“Crying women scare me,” he admitted.
She laughed. “Lucky for you I used up all my tears months ago.”
“Plenty of things scare me. Pregnant women scare me.”
She turned to face him again, her lips twitching. Some of the wildness had faced from her eyes. “I’m getting the impression that women, in any form, scare you.”
He shrugged. “They’re the more violent species. And unpredictable. I’d rather take on a wild boar. You can’t shoot women.”
This time her laugh came from deep within. It was full and throaty and so f**king beautiful that he simply stared at her, gutshot over his reaction.
“Okay, be serious. Aren’t you ever afraid of anything?”
“Plenty of times,” he said softly.
“Even when what you’re afraid of defies all logic?”
“Especially then. It’s been my experience that fear doesn’t have a set of parameters. We can’t turn it off just by realizing we shouldn’t be afraid.”
She nodded, a rueful twist to her lips.
“Tell you what. Why don’t you let me go into your cottage first. I’ll check it out. You stay on the porch. I’ll kick the shit out of any bogeymen and then you can come in.”
Her head swung up again and the relief in her eyes staggered him. Shit, she’d really been scared. Her fingers were curled into tight fists in her lap, so tight that her knuckles were white. He took in the dampness on her forehead and at her hairline. No, not just scared. Terrified.
Unable to resist, he reached with a tentative hand to touch her shoulder. Though she didn’t outright flinch away as she had before, she tensed and trembled underneath his fingers. Not wanting to cause her more stress, he pulled quickly away. He rose and then reached a hand down to help her up. He stood there, waiting for her to accept the gesture, allowing her to touch him on her own terms.
Finally she reached up and slid her damp palm over his. She wrapped her other hand in the strap of her bag and hauled it to her shoulder. He curled his fingers around hers and pulled as she got up from the steps.
“You don’t mind?” she asked nervously.
He smiled. “Not at all.”
Her shoulders lifted and then sagged as she breathed out. “Thank you. I know this is stupid. Irrational even. I—”
“Shhh,” he said, cutting her off in mid babble. “It’s not stupid and it’s not irrational. You had a hell of a scare earlier. Now, wait here while I go in.”
He started for the door when suddenly she bounded up the step after him.
“I forgot to tell you about the cat,” she rushed out. “Don’t let her out, I mean watch out for her. Her name is Patches.” She broke off then took a step back and sighed. “I’m babbling again.”
He smiled to reassure her. “I’ll look out for Patches and make sure the bogeyman didn’t get her either.”