Page 12 of Save Me
He watched her go and silently cursed himself. After a while, he decided to swim a few laps himself. He was too upset at his serious lack of judgment to fall asleep anyway.
The morning sunlight in his face woke him, and for a moment he forgot where he was. Then he heard a rooster crowing and everything from the day before flooded back to him.
God, he was an idiot. He kept his eyes closed to the sunlight and the world.
He needed to apologize to Crissy. To explain to her that most of the pictures in her file were just of bruised or broken body parts. There weren’t any of… anything too intimate and private. Yes, he remembered seeing that tattoo of a bloody black crow holding a fragile white flower.
In truth, she looked so different than she had that last time he’d seen her that he almost fooled himself into believing she was a different person.
“Did you sleep here?” a soothing woman’s voice asked, causing him to open his eyes.
He was on one of the cushioned lounge chairs by the side of the pool.
Crissy stood at the foot of the chair, a basket of laundry in her hands as she looked down at him.
“I did.”
“Why?” she asked with a slight frown.
“I suppose because it was comfortable, and my clothes were wet. Besides, I figured I’d disturbed you enough last night as it was.”
Her frown increased. “You didn’t upset me,” she said with a slight shrug. “I suppose I should have known there would be photos for evidence.”
“I promise you there wasn’t anything… private.”
Her chin went up slightly before she nodded her head. “Well, why don’t you head inside and shower. I’m just going to go throw these in the wash before I make some breakfast.”
“I can cook,” he suggested as he got up out of the chair.
Her eyebrows arched. “If you want. Emma loves French toast and scrambled eggs.”
He smiled at her. “I make the best French toast and scrambled eggs.”
She narrowed her eyes. “We’ll see.” She turned around sharply and disappeared into the main house.
CHAPTER FIVE
Crissy had a few quick things to take care of before she took Emma over to Beth’s for the morning. Rushing around and double-checking the state of the rental was normally a pleasant task. But this morning, it seemed… mundane.
The real cleaning would happen after she dropped Emma off next door. For now, she checked for damage and made sure all of the furniture, decorations, bedding, and towels were still there. She’d learned her lesson after a large group of young adults had made off with several smaller items once she’d refunded them their deposit, and now she regularly checked these items.
When she walked back into the pool house via the back hallway door, Emma was just climbing onto one of the bar stools. Crissy noted that she was still wearing her pajamas. Brock was standing at the stove, flipping French toast in the pan. He had obviously done it a million times.
He’d changed into a new pair of board shorts and a different T-shirt and even appeared to have taken a shower, since his hair was still slicked back.
Neither of them had heard her come in yet, so she stood just inside the doorway and watched and listened. The easiest way to gauge a person was to see how they responded to a child’s silly questions. And she knew her daughter was full of silly questions.
“Whatshadoing?” Emma asked, leaning on the stool to get a better look at Brock.
“Making French toast and scrambled eggs,” he answered easily as he flipped the toast.
“Why?” Emma asked.
“Because your mama told me you like them,” he answered easily.
Emma’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Why?”
“Why did she tell me?” He glanced over his shoulder in Emma’s direction and when she nodded, he shrugged. “Because I think she wants you to like me.”
