Page 25 of Deserving Lara
“We didn’t know what to do.”
“Is she okay? Should I call Henley?”
“Maybe we should call an ambulance.”
“Give us a minute,” Owl said calmly, his voice rumbling through Lara. The more he spoke, the more the blackness in her eyes receded. The more she came back to herself and her surroundings.
“We’ll go downstairs. But if you need us, yell,” Cora said.
“I will. Thank you.”
“No, thankyou,” Cora countered. Then said, “Come on, you guys, let’s give them some space.”
Lara wanted to thank her friend. For understanding. For knowing she didn’t want everyone staring at her.
“You’re okay,” Owl crooned as he rocked back and forth with Lara in his lap. “You’re safe. You’re here at The Refuge. I’ve got you.”
His words were a balm to her soul. And Lara was both relieved and embarrassed.
“Owl,” she whispered.
“That’s right. It’s me. I’m here. You’re good. Take a deep breath. Another. Good.”
With every breath, Lara’s muscles relaxed. Humiliation replaced the fear in her veins. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“Five hours,” Owl said, interrupting her.
“What?” she asked in confusion, not lifting her head.
“Five hours. You wentfive full hourswithout needing to see me. That’s amazing, sweetheart.”
She snorted. “Five hours. Big deal,” she said sarcastically.
“Itisa big deal,” Owl insisted. “It wasn’t too long ago when it was about twenty seconds.”
“You’ve got a big boil on your butt and you’re happy you can get rid of it for a measly five hours,” Lara complained.
Owl chuckled, and she felt his chest move under her. She was sitting across his lap, her legs to the side but her torso turned toward him, her arms curled against his chest and her head buried in his neck. She had the thought that she probably looked ridiculous.
“But it’smyboil, and I have no problem with it,” he retorted.
Taking another deep breath, and soaking in more of Owl’s scent, she realized he wasn’t exactly shower fresh. It wasn’t that she minded his sweaty smell, it was just new. Picking up her head, she looked at him for the first time. His hair was wet around the temples, his cheeks were pink from working in the sun…and if she wasn’t mistaken, his shirt was on backward and was damp with sweat.
He lifted a hand and placed it on her cheek, and Lara gave him some of the weight of her head. “You back?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“Nope. As I said before. Five hours, honey. Henley told you this isn’t going to be a fast process. You aren’t going to wake up one day and want to move into your own place. And I’m perfectly okay with that. Cut yourself some slack. You want to talk about what happened? What triggered you?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. One second I was sitting here, enjoying talking with the others, and the next, I saw shadows in the trees and that was it.”
Owl nodded solemnly.
“I didn’t mean to take you away from what you were doing.”
Owl’s lips twitched. “Honestly? I’m glad you did. Digging postholes and putting in a fence isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”
Lara appreciated him trying to make her feel better.
