Trespass Read Free Page B

pick buckshot from her side then making him watch as she ate half a box of his cornflakes? She knew what she thought of him—she thought he was handsome. Overdue for a shave and haircut, but a nice, handsome face. Not the kind of blow-your-mind sexy face you might be lucky to wake up next to after some random, fortuitous night at a bar. More the sort of dependably handsome face you’d want to see beaming at you when he picked you up from the airport or wheeled himself out from beneath your misbehaving car.
    Two thumps outside on the porch pulled her out of these thoughts. The screen door popped open, and Russ stepped inside in his socks, dependably handsome face smiling.
    He tucked his thumbs in his pockets as the door hissed shut. “Sleep all right?”
    “Best in weeks,” she said, no exaggeration.
    “Looks like you got a shower too. Let me wash up and I’ll take a look at you.”
    He went to the kitchen sink and scrubbed up to his elbows with soap and water, then grabbed his big case from his bedroom and opened it on the kitchen table.
    She chewed her lip. “I um…I rinsed out my bra this morning, so I’m not, you know.”
    “Sure. You’re in charge of shirt-lifting, then.”
    She raised the flannel and gathered it below her bust with a wince, ribs protesting. Russ pulled a chair close and sat. Peeling her bandaging away, he inspected the punctures, making little faces she hoped were telling her good news.
    “How do I look?”
    “For a woman with holes in her, you look great.” He rummaged for that horrible rubbing alcohol, and she inventoried his case, the little glass bottles of clear liquid and the larger ones full of gigantic pills. She gasped her way through more painful swabbing, then Russ taped some fresh gauze in place.
    “Done. You’re going to be just fine. How does it feel?”
    “It hurts to bend over or reach up too high, but it’s okay. It’s way better. Thank you.”
    “Great.” Russ replaced his tools and snapped the case closed. Something beeped three times, and he stood, unclipping a phone from his belt. He dusted it off on his T-shirt before he pushed a button and put it to his ear. “Russ Gray. Heya, Tom. How’s she doing?” He stepped to the back windows, staring out over his property as he spoke. “Uh-huh. Well that sounds promising. And the redness? Uh-huh… Great. Sounds like she’s on the mend. You call me if she takes a turn for the worse, otherwise I’d say we’re in the clear… Yeah. Hey, not a problem. I will. Uh-huh. My best to Andrea. Bye.” He pushed another button and set the phone on the table.
    “Horse?” she asked.
    “Alpaca, actually.”
    “Oh. Neat.” Sarah wasn’t actually sure what an alpaca looked like. Like a goat in a fur coat, she guessed. “Well, if my cuts are looking good I guess I should probably get out of your hair.”
    Russ’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”
    “You’ve been really kind,” she said, gaze jumping to his open case.
    “Can I talk you out of leaving so soon?” He locked his arms over his chest, the gesture giving him a bit of extra authority, as though he’d hung an invisible stethoscope around his neck. “I think you’re going to be fine, but I’ll be honest with you… I don’t know what you’re up to that you’ve managed to get shot and held at knife-point, and I’m not all that eager to send you back out into it. I wish you’d think about staying a few days.”
    “I don’t have much money and I wouldn’t want to be a mooch.” Her body tensed, and she waited to see if he was about to step close and offer to let her pay him in other ways .
    Instead he smiled his kind smile again. “You wouldn’t be a mooch. I have plenty of food, and you can repay me with the company. Maybe I’ll get a couple drinks in you, and you’ll tell me all about what brought you here.” He grinned hopefully.
    “Don’t hold your breath. But yeah…I guess I’d like that.” A couple days in a warm house with real food, a couch