Page 24 of Cautious Love

We pull into his driveway, and his house is cute. It’s a ranch style with a garage and a small shed in the back.

The siding is white, and the roof is a basic brown. Wood shutters frame the windows, and the front door looks like wood, lit up by the porch light. There’s nothing inherently special, but it’s well taken care of.

Ledger pulls into the garage and doesn’t say a word getting out of the truck. I open the door to ease out, and then he appears with an open hand to help me. I take it because if I don’t, I’ll probably fall out of the truck and make myself worse.

“Thanks,” I rasp.

He grunts and drops my hand, opening the back door to grab my bags.

I follow him up two steps into the house. I don’t know what I expected the sheriff’s house to be like, but I didn’t anticipate it smelling so good.

It smells like man, but clean, like he sprays expensive cologne before he leaves. He kicks off his boots in the small laundry room and hangs his hat on the hook. I do the same, toeing off my old sneakers and follow him. We go past the kitchen and living room, past a bathroom, and stop at a simple bedroom with a bed. There isn’t much on the walls, but the bed looks heavenly, framed in with two bedside tables, one with a small lamp sitting on it. There’s a dresser across from it with a large TV sitting on top, with the closet to the side.

Ledger sets my bags on the bed and faces me. “The bathroom next door is all yours, and towels are in the closet. I think my sister left some soap and shampoo stuff in there if you need it.”

I blink a few times, still confused as to why this man would trust or allow me in his house after I shot Grey. It doesn’t matter that I wouldn’t even consider doing something to his home, but he doesn’t know that.

“Oh, and I keep it kind of cold in here. I run hot, so if you need blankets or something, there’s some in the dresser. Do you need anything else? I’m going to hit the hay,” he says.

“I—” I wince and take a deep breath.

“Oh, ice, let me get you an ice pack for your ribs,” he says and brushes past me.

The man has been working all day, and he still smells good.

I follow him into the kitchen, and he opens the freezer, grabbing an ice pack, then rummages through a drawer and wraps the pack in a towel.

“Here you go,” he says.

I take it and lay it on my side, and I sigh with relief. “Thank you.”

He nods. “Do you need anything else?” he asks.

“Um, I … are you sure?” I ask him, my eyes starting to water. It doesn’t matter that I blink a thousand times to keep them back because one slips past the gates.

He rubs his mustache and looks away. “Yeah, Shiloh, I’m sure. Goodnight.”

“Ledger?”

His brow ticks up.

“Thank you for everything. Really.”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t say a word. Okay?”

I nod.

He sighs and walks past me, leaving me in the dark kitchen. There’s a light on above the sink, and it’s spotless. The only things sitting on the counter are a coffee maker and a toaster. He doesn’t even have mail out.

Turning to go back to my room, I stop and look at the living room. It’s the same way. Simple and clean. There’s a blanket across the back of the couch, and there’s a love seat in front of the windows. The coffee table sits in the center with a half-worked puzzle on it. Against the wall is an entertainment cabinetframed around the TV with shelves full of books and picture frames.

I glance down the hall, and his bedroom door is closed. Sneaking over to the shelves, there are various photos of Ledger and members of his family. I went to high school with all the Hayes kids, even their cousin Cooper.

There’s a picture of Cooper, his daughter Naomi, and a woman relatively new to town. I haven’t met her personally, but I know she’s with Cooper. I’ve seen them at the Wooden Cowboy, walking past the diner, or he’s with her at the flower shop. Their family is so beautiful.

My heart twists, and I head back to my room. I love my father, and I’ll be forever grateful to him for everything he sacrificed for me. When I was younger, I always wanted more siblings, a big family. Something about that always sounded great to me. But it was only me and Dad. For a while, I thought Grey and I would have the family neither of us did. I still don’t know what I was thinking there.

I grab my PJs and head into the bathroom, setting the ice pack on the counter. I look around the bathroom and smile. There is no way Ledger painted this bathroom because it is an adorable color, pink. The towels are also pink with gaudy lace on the edges. Above the sink is a little sign that saysYou’re beautiful,with a lipstick print next to the cute scrawl.