put a pair of pj’s on the dresser here,” he said as he carried clothes across the room. “The drawer next to your panties and bras. Socks are right below. There are a few shirts to hang. Oh, this red one is nice. But you probably look best in green. It would bring out the color in your eyes. True hazel. So they can look blue or green, right? I have brown eyes. Bor-ring.” He sighed. “Okay, that’s everything. I’m going to zip up your suitcase and tuck it in the back of the closet.”
He disappeared into darkness, then reappeared. “That’s done. Now let’s take care of that sunburn. Pull off your tank top.”
She sat up and looked at him. “Excuse me?”
There was a snort, followed by, “I guess I have to tell you I’m rolling my eyes. Izzy, please. You’re sweet and I like you but, honey, I couldn’t be less interested. I want to put on the aloe. Now take off your shirt. Oh, we’ll need to pin up your hair. You have something in the bathroom?”
He disappeared again. Izzy didn’t know what to think, then decided she didn’t care. She pulled off her tank top.
Aaron returned. She knew because she heard him wince.
“That has got to hurt,” he said. “Ouch. If your skin blisters, we’ll need to get you to a doctor. Did you take anything? I’ll get you some aspirin. But first let’s get this on. I’ll be as gentle as I can.”
He handed her several clips. She twisted her long hair into a coil, then clipped it to her head. Aaron sat next to her on the bed.
“I’ll do your back first,” he said.
She turned away from him and felt the coolness of the gel, followed by the intense pain of his fingers rubbing her skin. She knew he was working carefully, but every stroke was agony.
“Arm,” he said, touching her left one.
She held it out.
“I know this is hard,” he said. “Being here, not knowing anyone. The thing is, Nick isn’t such a bad guy. He comes off as a little gruff, but you have to look past that.”
“I can’t look past anything.”
“Not literally. It’s a figure of speech. Honestly! I’m talking here. Nick is doing some real good.”
She didn’t want to hear about Nick at all, but liked Aaron. Which made being rude more difficult.
“We have corporate retreats,” he continued. “Management types come and explore the wilderness. We teach them how to swing from trees, start a fire with a couple of rocks. You know. Team-building stuff.”
“That’s hardly going to qualify your boss for sainthood.”
“It pays the bills,” he said as he tapped her other arm. “The real work is with kids who have been through something traumatic. A shooting. A violent crime. Parents fighting for years, then finally killing each other. They come here all shut down. It’s sad. We put them on the horses, take them outside. Show them how to climb a tree. It helps. That’s what he does. He helps fix them.”
She didn’t want to think about Nick being anything but the devil. “Which is great, but doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“And it’s all about you, right?” Aaron asked, sounding amused. “Honey, you’ve got some attitude on you.”
“I know. It used to look good.”
“It still could. Now face me.” He rubbed the cool aloe on her chest. “You’re going to be peeling like a snake in a few days. Okay. I’ve done all I can. You’re going to have to sit like this until you dry off. Let me get the aspirin.”
He disappeared for a minute or so. Izzy sat there in her bra and jeans wondering if anyone was walking by the open door and enjoying the show. Did she care?
Aaron returned. “Aspirin and water. Because that’s just the kind of guy I am.”
She took both. “Why are you here? Why Nick? Why this place?”
“I’m a Texas kind of guy.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I could be. I try.” He hesitated. “I like it here. This is where I belong.”
She knew there was more to the story, but didn’t know what and she wasn’t interested enough to push.
“Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome. Now get some sleep.” He bent down and kissed her forehead. “I just love your hair. See you in the morning.”
Then he was gone.
She heard the door close, and the sense of being totally alone made her skin crawl.
She ignored it, the need to panic and every other emotion washing through her. After patting her arms to make sure the aloe had dried, she found the nightie he’d left on the dresser, slipped out of her jeans and bra, then pulled it over her head. She made her way back to bed and crawled between the sheets. She didn’t bother turning off the lights. It was better if they were on all the time. Anything was better than the dark.
NICK SAT IN HIS downstairs office, staring at his computer, but he didn’t see the words on the screen. Instead his attention kept shifting to the woman upstairs.
Izzy was in a bad place. All fear and attitude. Both could be channeled, used to get through. Or they could defeat her. Right now he couldn’t tell which way she was going to fall.
She wasn’t his usual type of client—he didn’t take on long-term care or individual cases. The corporate types came and went with forgettable ease. The kids…they came in groups of two or three, a weekend at a time. He’d once thought they should expand to week-long camps, but until they had the staff in place, that wasn’t possible. Besides, it was always easier if he didn’t get involved. If Izzy stayed, that was a risk. One he would have to control. He couldn’t be emotionally responsible for her…or anyone.
There was also the added challenge that she wasn’t a kid. She was a beautiful woman. He would have to be as blind as her not to notice that and coughing up his last breath not to be aware of the possibilities. Not that they mattered. She was off-limits.
So what happened now? Had he pushed her too hard? Would she rise to the challenge or snap in two? Sometimes the line between pushing and being a real bastard was hard to see. He tended to err on the side of being a bastard.
His phone rang.
“Hollister,” he said.
“How’s it going?”
“About the same,” he said, pleased to hear his friend’s voice. “With you?”
“Making a killing,” Garth Duncan joked. “It was a good day.”
Nick looked at his computer screen. “The market was down.”
“Not for me. Not for you, either. At least not your shares in my company. I can’t speak to what other
