Chapter 7

7

Caleb took a circuitous route back to his truck. The men had moved off to the south of the forest, creating what they hoped was a loop to track their prey. For now, they were out of earshot, but that wouldn't be forever. The sooner he was back in his truck and out of here, the better.

The woman panted behind him, her steps lighter than his and noisier, but the men were far enough away it wasn't a risk.

"Do you have a name?" He threw his question over his shoulder. When he'd held her in his arms, fear had powered through her muscles. He'd felt it under his touch like electricity. She wasn't just running scared. She was fucking terrified. Better to let her follow than try to tell her where to go.

A sigh. "Grace."

Grace. His grandmother's name. What were the chances? He squinted up at the stars and wondered if Gramma was watching him.

"I'm Caleb." He slowed. "This is my truck." He turned to face her. Six feet back from him, she waited with a wary expression, her face pinched with cold, her cheeks tinged gray.

He jerked a thumb toward the cab. "And this is Dolly."

A yap sounded from inside the cab and Dolly's inquisitive face appeared, fogging the glass already smeared from her wet nose.

Grace tilted her head and something he couldn't put his finger on passed across her face. Relief?

"Dolly?" Her voice was faint, as if all her energy was invested in keeping her standing upright. He needed to get her into the warmth and soon.

"Dolly's a bit anxious with strangers, but she won't hurt you." He opened the cab door, reaching in to grab Dolly's collar, but she was too fast for him. She fired out of the cab like a bolt from a crossbow.

Damn. "Dolly." Caleb spun. The last thing they needed right now was a dog drawing attention to their location or freaking Grace out with her hyperactive anxiety. "She's harmless, just takes her a while to get to know?—"

Grace sank to her knees as Dolly bombarded her with affection, licking her face and nuzzling into her neck. No yapping. No crazy frenzy. What the heck?

Grace threw her arms around Dolly's scrawny neck and ruffled her ears. "Hey Dolly," she murmured, her voice steady despite everything she had just been through. "You're such a good girl, aren't you?"

Dolly responded with a contented whimper, as if she'd known Grace forever. Dolly, his anxious scaredy-cat dog who used to cower from delivery drivers for the first six months she'd lived with him.

"Well—" Caleb scrubbed his chin. "This is new. I've never seen Dolly act like this." Ever.

Grace gave Dolly one last affectionate pat before standing up, a faint blush of color returning to her cheeks. "What were you saying?"

Dolly settled at Grace's feet, gazing up at her with adoring eyes, as if she had found her new best friend.

"Dolly can be wary of strangers."

Grace scratched behind Dolly's ear, a smile tugging at her lips. "I think we'll be fine."

Yeah. You are. Caleb opened the passenger cab door. "Come on, Dolly. In you go."

Dolly tilted her head at him and gave a low whine, but she didn't move.

Caleb stifled a sigh of exasperation. "Dolly. Get your ass in the truck."

His dog cast a pleading look at Grace.

Caleb sucked air between his teeth. "I think…I think she wants you to go first."

Grace met his gaze, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, her brows drawing together. Her lips parted, revealing the tip of her tongue. What would it feel like to run his thumb along that lip, to slide his other hand to the back of her neck, to hold her against him?—

Caleb looked away, carving a hand through his hair. What the hell was up with him? Now was not the time for distraction, even with a woman who made his skin tingle and his thoughts divert in a way they hadn't for…years.

He reached into his back pocket, flipped open his wallet so she could read his ID and full name. "I work for the Coast Guard."

She handed the creased leather wallet back after studying the ID. It might have been his imagination, but he would have sworn the stress lines at the corner of her eyes softened a little. Grace rubbed her arms as he returned his wallet to his hip pocket. "You've been kind. Thank you. Perhaps you could drop me at the local garage?"

"It's the middle of the night." Caleb sliced a no with his head. "You can stay at my place till morning. Then we'll get you some help."He shot a pointed look at his uncooperative dog. "Dolly?"

This time Dolly stood up, trotting over to the truck where she sidled into the back seat with a soft yap.

Caleb sighed. "Dolly's waiting for you."

Grace exhaled sharply. "Okay. But you should know I'm skilled in self defense."

He did his best to appear non-threatening, raising his palms in surrender. "I hear you."

"Right." She slid her backpack from her shoulders but hesitated at the high truck step.

Caleb slid his hands around her waist and boosted her into the cab. She weighed damn near nothing.

She gasped as he set her down in the seat. "I can step up fine mysel?—"

Caleb closed the door. He wasn't going to engage in a debate about women's rights in the middle of the forest, not with armed assailants on the loose. Sometimes practicality took precedence.

By the time he cranked the engine back to life, Grace had already fastened her seatbelt. Good.

Warm air blasted from the heater vents and he turned the dial to maximum, then slung his hand over the back of the passenger seat, as he always did when he reversed.

He didn't miss the tiny jerk of her body, the way she arched her spine to avoid any contact. What had frightened her so badly, and why had her ex hired a gang of thugs to hunt her down in the middle of the forest at night?

So many questions. But they could wait. For now, he needed to get her warm and back to his place, where he could protect her.

As he pulled out of the forest and back onto the road, the familiar hum of the blacktop under his tires eased his nerves. He pressed down on the accelerator.

Time to head home.