“By yourself? I don’t think so.”
She sighed. She really didn’t have the energy to argue with him. “Fine, I’ll wait while you get ready.”
“What?” He sounded surprised. She guessed he’d expected her to put up a fight. But she was all out of fight right now.
“I’ll do some stretches outside while you change.”
“You’ll do your stretches in here, I’ll use the bathroom to get changed.” He studied her. “You shouldn’t be running.”
“I feel fine. Just a bit stiff. Although it’s going to be more of a walk than a run. Hurry up. I have to get back and ready for work.” She actually had plenty of time as she didn’t start until ten today, but the more time she stood here, the harder it was going to be to tear her eyes off him. Combine that muscular chest with his sleep-tousled hair and the stubble on his cheeks and chin, and she was in serious trouble. Sexy Curt overload.
Ten minutes later, they set out. The sun was starting to rise as they started along the road.
“Sorry if I woke you,” she said, needing to break the silence.
“I wasn’t asleep.” He kept his gaze on their surroundings, not looking at her.
“Oh, couch not too comfortable?”
“It’s fine.”
Great. So, he wasn’t much of a conversationalist in the morning. He was probably a night owl. Ick.
“Is this something you do often?”
“Huh?” she asked, confused.
“Go for a walk on your own in the dark?”
“It’s hardly dark. But, yeah, I go for runs in the mornings when I can.”
“You should wait until it’s lighter and go with a friend.”
“I’ll take that under advisement, Dad.”
He gave her a funny look but then turned away.
“Have I done something to annoy you?” she asked.
“No. Why?”
“Because you don’t even want to look at me.”
He glanced down at her, looking startled. “It’s not that. I’m keeping watch.”
“For what? Flying saucers?”
“An attack.”
She gulped then forced herself to calm down. No one was going to attack. He was being overly cautious. “Do you really expect one, or is it just force of habit?”
He glanced down at her again, a slight frown on his face. “Force of habit, mainly. But I’m here to protect you.”
And she had no doubt he’d step between her and danger without a second thought. It made her feel nervous. She didn’t want anything to happen to him because of her. Just the thought made her feel ill. She realized that while she was normally cautious, she was going to need to be even more so to protect them both.
“I don’t usually go running this early. I wait until around eight on mornings when I start late. And my friend Melody generally comes with me.”
“Good. You know it won’t take long before someone figures out where you are. Someone could come looking for you here.”