Page 49 of Her Guarded Hero

He got up and poured her a glass of milk and set it in front of her. She looked at the watered-down milk. She really wished it was whole milk. She picked up the glass and took a sip. Then she took a small bite of the casserole. Soon she was actually eating. She looked up to see Dalton’s concerned face. They’d been right, she was hungry.

“It was a nice service,” she said. Her voice broke. “God, I’m going to miss him so much. I loved him, do you think he knew that?”

Her fork clattered to the floor. Dalton bent and picked it up.

“He did Baby Girl, I promise.” Gunnar stood up and kissed the top of her head. “Let me get you a new fork.”

“I’m done eating.”

This time her grandfather didn’t push.

“You need to talk it out,” She looked at her grandfather helplessly.

“I need to go change.”

“It’s not your fault,” Dalton said quietly.

“How do you figure?” she asked bitterly. “Hal died because they wanted to flush me out. I’d say that was my fault. Erwin is hurt and it’s going to take over a month for him to recover. Again, that’s because of me.” Her grandfather tried to cover her hand, but she wouldn’t let him. Instead she got up and rushed to her bedroom. She tugged off her dress and flung it into the corner of her bedroom. Then she pulled on her clothes, so she could go to the barn. Her Grandfather was putting the food that had come from the neighbors into the fridge, and Dalton was standing by the door.

“I need to go check out Lucky and Vertigo,” she said quietly.

“I’ll go with you,” Dalton said as he pulled his jacket off the peg by the door.

“Stay with grandpa,” she said quickly and practically ran out the front door. She didn’t want company. If one more person told her that Hal’s death wasn’t her fault, she’d go for her grandfather’s gun and shoot them. Lucky wouldn’t try to feed her a line of bullshit. Hell, that poor mare was as traumatized as Aurora.

She was at the bottom of the porch stairs when he called out to her.

“Wait up.” She hated that voice of his. It was all comandereey. She shot a glare out over her shoulder. “Aurora.” He said her name like she was a petulant child. She stopped and whirled around, with one hand on her hip, and the other hand up and out.

“Don’t. Just don’t. I don’t need to hear from you. I’ve heard enough.”

Dalton stepped into her personal space and grabbed her outstretched hand, he rubbed it against his cheek. It was the wrong thing for him to do. It made her start to feel even more, and it hurt. She tried to yank her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her. Instead he turned his face and pressed a kiss into her palm. Oh God, he was breaking through her flimsy defenses.

“Please Dalton, I’m begging you.” She tried her best to keep her voice even.

“You gotta bend before you break.”

“You were supposed to leave yesterday,” she reminded him.

Liquid blue eyes looked at her compassionately. “I’m not leaving you like this.”

“The danger is over. You need to leave.” This time he let her hand go when she pulled.

She turned back toward the barn. It was seven o’clock, nobody else was there except the horses. Siren and Aladdin were doing better. Vertigo was settled, but the new horse Lucky who Hal and Erwin had just brought in, needed a lot of tender loving care. The mare would bring her solace.

Dalton stayed as close as a tick as she strode past the corral. She made one last attempt. “I really want to be alone.”

“Not happening.”

What a bastard.

She strode down the center aisle toward the stall that was across from Aladdin’s and was the mirror image. Lucky needed the extra space. She was a young mare who bit and kicked, at least she did when she wasn’t cowering in a corner.

Before she got halfway to Lucky’s stall, Dalton was in front of her blocking her way, she tried to step around him, but he was like a moving wall. She looked into his face.

“Leave me alone.”

“We’re going to talk.”