He glanced over at the phone. “Work line. Who would be calling on a Sunday?”
I check in periodically. Call any time. A jittery feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Amanda,” Chelsie said, automatically. This wasn’t the first time she’d been called on a weekend or in the middle of the night by a client or someone at the shelter. The timing couldn’t be worse, but she’d never ignore someone who needed help. Especially Amanda.
The flutters in Chelsie’s stomach turned into lead. “I’ve got it.” She darted across the kitchen and grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”
Chelsie nodded at Griff, letting him know she’d been right. The hysterical woman rambled, but Chelsie caught the gist of the conversation and didn’t like what she was hearing. “How could he find you?” she asked and listened in disbelief to Amanda’s answer. “Just stay where you are. I’ll meet you in”—Chelsie glanced at her watch—“less than twenty minutes.”
Frustrated, she slammed the phone onto the receiver. Adrenaline should have kept her energy level up, but a deep weariness had settled inside her. Fighting her ex-husband would be a losing battle if she couldn’t trust her client. She turned back to Griff. “Amanda had a confrontation with her husband. It seems she went home to pick up a few things.”
“Why the hell would she do something like that?” He nearly exploded in anger. Chelsie didn’t blame him. If the woman had gone home for something as stupid as extra clothing, Chelsie would throttle her.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. She didn’t give me too many details. Look, I’ll go and calm her down.”
“Not alone, you won’t”
She pivoted on her heels, furious that he had the audacity to bark orders and grateful he cared enough to try. One look at his drawn face and her anger ebbed. He leaned against a chair. His hand grasped the back of the seat with such force his knuckles turned white. She could fight his bossiness, but not his concern.
“I’ll be fine. There’s no alternative. You can’t go to the shelter and someone has to stay with Alix.” She walked over to him and smoothed the worry lines on his forehead with one finger. “Can I borrow your car?”
“It won’t work.”
“What?” The corners of her lips twitched in a knowing smile.
“Distracting me, though you always give it your best shot.” He gently removed her hand, then reached over and grasped a set of keys off the counter. “I’ll meet you at your apartment as soon as Mrs. Baxter gets here.” He slapped the cold metal keys into her open palm and leaned close, brushing his warm lips over hers.
“With what? I’m taking your car. Don’t worry. I’ll meet you back here as soon as I’m finished.” She could soothe Amanda, then leave her in competent hands.
“At least call me the minute you’re through.”
“Yes, sir. Anyone ever tell you you’re bossy?”
A sad smile crossed his face. “My brother.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, wishing she could permanently ease his pain. But she knew from her own fragile emotions that he’d live with some variation of the hurt for the rest of his life.
He lifted his hands to her face and she savored the feel of his strong touch against her skin. “I love you.” She spoke honestly, without thinking. She wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting him halfway for a kiss that melted her defenses. Though Chelsie felt safe in his arms, the kiss was anything but. All the passion, heat, and tangled emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
A sheen of perspiration coated his forehead. His breathing sounded labored. “You’d better get going,” he murmured.
Chelsie smiled, finding it difficult to catch her own breath. “ ‘Bye.”
It wasn’t until she reached the shelter that she realized she had told Griff the truth. But not the truth that mattered most.
* * *
“You keep showing up unexpectedly and I’ll have to charge you rent.” Griff unlocked the storm door for Ryan.
Morning had turned into afternoon and then to early evening without a word from Chelsie. Griff understood her preoccupation with Amanda’s plight and, as a lawyer, understood that emergencies arose even on weekends. But his concern grew with each passing minute.
Ryan chuckled and, as usual, brushed past Griff into the house. “I take it you won’t be needing my baby-sitting services any longer?”
“Quit fishing for information. I haven’t needed your services in months. Consider yourself greatly appreciated but now unemployed.”
“Right. Miss Russell is filling in.” Ryan paused to plant a kiss on Alix’s cheek. She reciprocated with a wet one on his lips, causing him to chuckle. “Speaking of Chelsie…”
“I wasn’t,” Griff said. Thinking of her, definitely, but not sharing his personal thoughts, even with Ryan.
“I was. I did you a favor.” Ryan held out a manila envelope.
Griff glanced at the distinctive packet. He’d seen the results of Ryan’s investigations one too many times to be mistaken. “I thought I told you to leave her alone.”
“Friends help friends.” Ryan tossed the envelope onto the cocktail table. “Your decision,” he said and turned to play with Alix.
Knowing he had to get rid of the information before Chelsie returned, Griff scowled at Ryan before swiping the offending envelope from the table. He walked straight upstairs and into his office, placing the file in the top drawer of his desk. He saw no reason to upset Chelsie by telling her that a private investigator, Ryan of all people, had looked into her past. He’d dump the file later, when he could eliminate it permanently.
Griff had no intention of reading any information Chelsie didn’t disclose on her own. She’d indicated earlier that they had to talk, and he felt sure she would confide in him over time.
A lifetime, he realized with sudden clarity.
He’d known for a while that they couldn’t continue an affair with a two-year-old child in the house. In his heart, he knew he wanted Chelsie forever. He just wished his mind, so cluttered with images of the past, would leave him alone. But Chelsie had helped him begin to heal.
She cared about him, not what he could give her, buy her, or do for her. No woman had given him that gift before. For that reason alone, he trusted her enough to attempt to build a future.
He glanced at his watch. What the hell was taking her so long?