“Aaron,” she cut in firmly. “You figured out where I was and you took care of Landon without getting me hurt. You reported Lowell in time for the local police to stop him. I’m not going to embarrass you by calling you a hero, but I’m very glad you were on my side today.”
“Every time I think that you were right next door for hours without me knowing, tied up and—”
“And absolutely certain that you would find me,” she assured him, moving toward him to place a hand on his cheek. He had been so strong all day, and despite his denials, so heroic. She couldn’t blame him for falling apart a little now.
He covered her hand with his own, then turned his face to place a kiss in her palm. “I’m sorry for what you went through,” he murmured.
“I was scared,” she admitted softly. “And furious. But mostly I kept thinking of you, sending you mental signals where I was. Maybe you picked them up.”
She was pleased to see his lips twitch with a hint of his smile, even though it didn’t last very long. “Maybe I did.”
“Don’t go, Aaron.”
His expression was conflicted. “I think it’s better if I do tonight. And tomorrow—well, maybe it’s time for you to thank me politely for the rescue and then send me on my way. I’ll be suitably crushed and your ego will be bolstered, just like you planned.”
“It
was a stupid plan,” she grumbled, rather mortified by his recounting of it.
He chuckled without much humor. “We’ll play it however you want,” he assured her. “But I still have to go. I’ve got a future to figure out.”
A future she didn’t fit into, he might as well have said. She stepped back and bit her lip. She really couldn’t bear it if he gave her the speech about what a great pal he considered her to be.
“I guess I am tired,” she said. “Thanks for seeing me home.”
He nodded. “Call if you need me.”
“I have my family nearby,” she reminded him. The people who really cared about her, she added to herself.
He might have flinched a little, but then he nodded. “Do you want me to send one of them to you? Your mom? Maggie?”
“No. I don’t need anyone. I’m fine.” She was quite sure one of her family would have insisted on staying with her tonight had they not thought Aaron would be there instead. Which didn’t mean any of them, with the possible exception of the younger generation, approved of her staying the night with a man she’d known such a short time. But they’d all agreed long ago that if they were going to work and live this closely, there had to be boundaries. Lori still got the parental-supervision treatment, mostly because she was still in school and they didn’t approve of the guy she was seeing, but for the most part, they let Shelby make her own choices.
She didn’t need her hand held to keep away the bad memories tonight. That wasn’t why she wanted Aaron to stay.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. If I change my mind, I’ll call someone.”
“Good night, Shelby.”
“Good night,” she whispered.
Without looking back, he closed the door behind him.
Shelby sank slowly to the couch. She’d thought he would stay, she realized dazedly. Maybe not forever, but at least for tonight. As traumatic as the experience had been for both of them, she’d thought they could spend tonight wrapped in each other’s arms, giving and seeking reassurance. Instead, he’d walked out without even looking at her.
Leaning back against the cushions, she tried to be angry with him. But something about the expression she’d seen on his face before he’d left had twisted her heart. After all that had happened to her in the past eighteen hours, she should be curled in a fetal position, whimpering. Instead, she was sitting here worrying about Aaron, wondering why his eyes had been so damned bleak.
A clipped laugh escaped her. She’d done it again, she thought with a shake of her head. Gotten in over her head. And she wasn’t thinking about the bad man in Cabin Seven now.
* * *
Leaving the golf cart parked in front of Shelby’s mobile home, Aaron headed grimly down the road on foot, passing the brightly lit houses without stopping. He thought about letting them know she was alone and that it might be a good idea to send someone to check on her, but he couldn’t talk to anyone just then. Maybe he’d call someone from his cabin; they’d swapped phone numbers earlier during the search for Shelby.
He paused in the deep shadows by the private drive sign. This, he thought, was where Landon had grabbed her. Where Maggie had found Shelby’s phone. She must have been so frightened. So close to home, yet so far from safety. Had she thought of him, wished she had allowed him to walk her home as he had offered? She’d said she didn’t blame him for not being with her then.
She had every right to blame him for walking out on her now.