He drew her against his chest. “You’re safe here, Mari-girl. Nobody will get to you. All of Kent’s guys are on high alert, and I’ve spoken to the ranch hands. Everyone knows not to mention your presence here. But they’ll also be on alert for him. Kent said he’d send Zander to track him down if necessary.”
“But even if we manage to find him, then what?”
“Well, I’ve never felt that Ed warning him would be enough. So maybe we send a warning of our own.”
“No. These guys are dangerous. You can’t.” She shook her head.
He rubbed her back. But in the back of his mind, he kept that as a possibility. He wouldn’t have her always worrying about this asshole. And if that meant sending a strong message to Tiger that Marisol wasn’t his, well, that’s what he’d do.
“Take your insulin then set the table for dinner. You need to eat.”
She slipped out of his hold, but she still looked worried.
“Did you rest this afternoon?” he asked, trying to shift her mind off Tiger
“Um, yes,” she said. But she couldn’t look at him.
“Really? Because these floors look cleaner than they did this morning,” he chided.
“I might have done a bit of cleaning,” she admitted as she got her insulin ready then injected it into her tummy.
Then she started setting the table. She’d obviously acquainted herself with where things were in the kitchen.
He liked this. The two of them working together to make dinner. This felt right. It was all he’d ever wanted. Someone to share his life with.
He started to dish up two servings of the shepherd’s pie. He’d have to remember to thank Abby for this.
As he walked over with the plates, she was setting down a beer for him and a glass of water for her. He placed the plates down on the table then leaned in and kissed the top of her head.
“Thanks, Mari-girl.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said with a small blush. “Abby made it.”
“Thank you for your company then. It’s nice having someone to come home to. Even someone who was naughty today.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m not naughty.”
“What did I tell you to do when I left this morning?”
She bit her lower lip as he took a bite of the shepherd’s pie. Delicious. “Rest.”
“And what did you do?” he asked sternly.
“I rested for most of the day,” she protested. “It was just a bit of cleaning. I felt bad being lazy all day. It also kept my mind off other things.”
“What happened with Tiger,” he guessed.
“Yes. It kept sort of sneaking into my mind. If I kept busy there was less time for me to think.”
“I shouldn’t have left you alone today.” He frowned.
“It’s not up to you to babysit me.”
“I don’t consider it babysitting when you’re my Little one. And it’s not being lazy. It’s called self-care. Well, actually, it’s Linc-care. I wanted you to take it easy because you’re exhausted. You had a bad scare last night and then you slept in a damn closet,” which wouldn’t happen again, “so you needed rest. Did you take a nap?”
She shook her head, looking a bit embarrassed. “No.”
“Then it’s early to bed for you, little girl.” Without thinking, he reached over and tapped her nose with his finger.