Page 48 of Unraveled

“Something happen between you and Carter?”

Oh, God. Had he noticed the tension between them the night before? She cleared her throat. “No. Why do you ask?”

He speared her with a look. “I was born at night, but not last night.”

Audrey blushed fiercely and turned her attention to the jug of juice, taking an extra-long time to screw the cap on using only one hand. Not knowing what Carter had said to his father, she couldn’t exactly lie to him. “We dated once.”

“Ah.”

He went back to his paper, and her brows drew together. That was it? She felt the overwhelming urge to explain what had happened between his son and her. “He’s a really great guy. I just… wasn’t in a good place at the time.”

The paper rustled, and John’s voice floated over the top. “You’re too good for him.”

Audrey opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. It was obvious that there was some kind of discord between father and son, but… “Why would you say that?”

John snorted. “He’s too stubborn, too high-handed.”

Well, she couldn’t argue with that. “It’s probably what makes him so good at his job,” she pointed out.

“More to life than work,” he remarked.

She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just nodded. She couldn’t help but wonder what her family would think about Carter. Knowing them, they’d probably think he was a total catch. And, truly… he was. He was handsome and successful, the epitome of the perfect man. He was just as incredible as he was infuriating, and part of her had to admit… It was kind of endearing. Okay, maybe a lot endearing.

She loved that he was straightforward and didn’t beat around the bush. He knew what he wanted and went after it with single-minded focus. Despite her best efforts to push him away, he’d always made sure that she was taken care of. From her divorce with Scott to the shooting yesterday, he put her first and tried to do what he thought was best. He could be overbearing and controlling, but also so sweet sometimes that she wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet.

She finished her juice in silence, then excused herself from the kitchen. She took another long soak in the tub and spent a good portion of the day reading and relaxing, watching a couple of shows on TV. By midafternoon, the throbbing in her arm was back, along with an ache at the base of her skull. She popped a couple more ibuprofen, then curled up to take a nap, wishing not for the first time that Carter was there beside her.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Between court and getting caught up on his regular cases, he was late getting home. He entered through the garage, then made his way to the living room. His father was in Carter's favorite recliner, remote clutched in one hand, sawing logs louder than SportsCenter blaring in the background.

Carter hesitated for a moment, just watching him. Something Audrey had said a while back stuck with him. They were all getting older, and despite the fact that he and his father didn’t always get along, he wouldn’t always be here. Even though he drove Carter crazy sometimes, he was still his dad, and Carter still cared about him. They may not be best friends, but Carter wanted whatever time they had left together, hopefully many years yet, to be better than the ones they’d put behind them.

As if Carter's musing alerted him to his presence, his father stirred in the chair. He glanced at Carter, then at the clock. “Long day.”

“You know how it is,” Carter responded. If there was one thing his dad understood, it was work. “Did you and Audrey get into anything today?” he asked as he settled back on the couch and crossed one ankle over his knee.

Dad shook his head but remained silent. For several seconds, they both watched the TV, then Dad spoke up. “She’s a good girl.”

His words didn’t surprise Carter, except for the fact that Dad had never before taken an interest in his love life. “She is,” Carter admitted.

“Maybe the forever type?” Dad asked.

“If she wants to be,” Carter responded softly.

Dad gave another nod. “I wouldn’t mind having her in the family.”

Carter smiled a little. “Yeah. Me, too. Where is she, anyway?”

Dad used the remote to gesture toward the stairs. “Said she had a headache and wanted to go lie down.”

Carter braced his hands on his knees and pushed to his feet. “I’m gonna go check on her, then start dinner.”

Dad turned his attention back to the TV, and Carter strode through the house and up the stairs. He paused in the doorway of his room, a soft smile curling his lips at the sight that greeted him. Sure enough, Audrey was asleep in the middle of his bed. She lay on her back, her knees tucked up to the side, a pillow clutched to her chest, her injured arm draped over top.

Carter crossed the room, then carefully crawled onto the bed and removed the pillow from her grasp. He lay down next to her and eased closer until she was almost in his embrace. He brushed a kiss over her forehead, and she stirred, then slowly came awake. Pretty blue eyes met his before she closed them again.