Page 80

He nodded as he steered me into the house.

I sighed. I didn’t see any way out of it. Not if I wanted to warn Miss Laverne.

“I’ll tell you what, Doll. Let’s let Hart do his thing, and for the next couple of nights, you and I will stay at Miss Laverne’s.”

“That would be perfect! With you working days and me working nights, we’ll have her covered 24/7.”

Graham started shaking his head. “That’s another thing. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be working at the clinic alone at night.”

“They have a great security system. You said so yourself.”

“Sure, in a normal situation, it’s fine. But this isn’t normal. You’re a target.”

I went to the kitchen counter to pick up my purse. “I don’t want to leave Roxie in a lurch. She hired me to work nights. She has days covered. I’ll have to look around town for another day job.”

“Under the circumstances, I think she’ll let you work days,” Graham assured me as we went out to his truck.

“Graham, it’s not my style to ask for favors. It just isn’t.”

He opened the passenger side door for me and gave me his hand to help me up. “Something tells me you won’t have to ask.”

I frowned. “You didn’t ask Hart for a favor, did you?”

“I didn’t have to. I know Roxie.”

“Well, so do I. She’s a businesswoman. I respect that about her. She’ll do what she needs to do for the business, which means she won’t be handing me a day job when she already has that position filled.”

“Hey there, Miss Laverne,” I called out as I opened the screen door to her newly painted house.

Miss Laverne was wiping her hands on a kitchen towel when she met us in the parlor. “Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes? Come to the kitchen table. I just made up a batch of cornbread to go with a stew I’m fixin’ for Jerome and Delilah Wylie. You know she had hip replacement surgery last week, and DoorDash is mighty expensive.”

I had no idea who the Wylies were, but I nodded anyway. When I looked around the kitchen, I could see that Miss Laverne had made a lot more than just a pot of stew and cornbread. There were Tupperware containers everywhere.

“Miss Laverne, why don’t you let me drive you over to the Wylies?” Graham suggested.

Miss Laverne laughed. “How about I say no because there’s no way I could get on up into your truck without a crane?”

I giggled. “He could drive you in your car. Anyway, you're going to need his muscle to carry all that food into their house. Are you sure they have room in their fridge and freezer for all this?”

“I’m no fool. I called Delilah. She told me they have a freezer in the garage to handle the venison when Jerome goes hunting, but he hasn’t tagged a buck in over five years.”

“Well, let me get this packed up for you,” I offered.

“That would be wonderful, Joy. I’m going to go get changed into my visiting outfit. Even with my apron, I managed to make a mess of this dress,” she chuckled as she zipped out of the kitchen.

“That woman is something else,” Graham grinned.

“And that’s why I want to make sure she doesn’t become a target.”

Graham sidled up to me and caught me up in his arms. “I’m going to take care of both my girls. Trust me, okay?”

Graham’s hazel eyes shone a deeper shade of green as he made that promise. A girl could fall in love with that color of green.

“I trust you,” I whispered.

He dipped down for a kiss. It was a tender caress that softly wove its way around my heart, tugging me closer to his.

“I thought you were going to have this packed up by the time I got changed?” Miss Laverne teased.