CHAPTER 6

Sleep

Colton

ROLLING MY NECK ON my shoulders, I try to get rid of the tension gathered there while hot water pours over me. It’s been a week since Gia moved in with me. A week of having her in my space, under my roof, playing with my dog, making food in my kitchen, and taking up my every waking thought. I wanted her from the second I saw her, and that want has only gotten worse, meaning this last week has been torture. Resting one hand on the wall of the shower, I lean forward, closing my eyes.

Last night I was lying on the couch, when she came out to get some water before going to bed, she was wearing my T-shirt, the one I gave her the day she got here. I’m sure she had shorts on under it, but I couldn’t see them. All I could see was her tan legs and her thick thighs. Thighs I want to bury my face between.

“Fuck,” I growl, wrapping my hand around my cock when it throbs. Picturing her, her mouth, her eyes, her hair, the way she smells like vanilla and home, I stroke faster. She sets my blood on fire and makes me want more, more of whatever she will give me. “Gia,” I groan as I come. Opening my eyes, I blink against the water running down my face, knowing I can’t take much more of this.

I step out of the shower, turning off the tap, grab a towel, and wrap it around my waist. I go over to the railing that overlooks the living room and check to see if Gia’s gotten up yet. She hasn’t, and I know she hasn’t, because Loki is still lying in front of her bedroom door, where he’s been sleeping every night for the past week. My dog has fallen in love with her. It could be because I’ve seen her sneak him human food when she thinks I’m not looking, but I doubt that’s the reason. I doubt that’s the reason, because I would sleep outside her door if I could too. Actually, I’d prefer her sleeping upstairs with me in my bed. On that thought, I push back from the railing and head to the closet to get dressed.

Yesterday, the doctor admitted her grandmother into the nursing home, and today we’re meeting with the fire chief to see about her gaining access into the house. He called two days after the fire and told Gia they were still looking into the source of the fire and that his investigators would need more time. Yesterday, he called and asked if Gia could meet him at the house, and since I have the day off, I told her I would go along with her.

Pulling on my jeans, I grab a thermal from the basket of clean laundry in the corner of the closet—clean laundry Gia washed and folded when I was working late one night. She’s always doing stuff like that, cleaning, doing laundry, and cooking, no matter how many times I tell her she doesn’t need to. Once I’m dressed, I head downstairs to the living room. Loki looks up when he hears me, but he doesn’t move from his spot. He won’t get up until Gia opens her door, and then he’ll only get up to follow her all over the place.

“Loki, you big lug. One day, you’re going to kill me,” I hear Gia say, and turn just in time to watch her bend at the waist to pet Loki, who is now up on all fours with the side of his head pressed into her stomach.

“You should just let him sleep with you,” I tell her as she comes into the kitchen, with Loki following. Like I said, my dog loves her.

“I would, but the bed’s not exactly big,” she points out, grabbing a mug and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“True, but he could sleep on the floor. Just drag his bed in there.”

“You wouldn’t mind that?” she asks, and I frown, leaning back against the counter with my own cup.

“Why would I mind?”

“I don’t know; he’s your dog. He doesn’t sleep upstairs with you in your room?”

“He’s not in love with me, Dimples,” I insert, and her eyes drop to Loki, who’s sitting at her side and leaning into her.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll start doing that. I always feel bad when I go to bed and he gives me his sad puppy face as I shut the door,” she says, rubbing Loki’s head as she speaks.

“You sleep okay?” I question, taking a sip while studying her. She looks tired but still beautiful, with her hair tied back away from her clean face, a long-sleeved top, this one dark peach, that looks good against her complexion. The scooped neck shows off some cleavage, but just a hint. She also has on jeans, these black and tight.

“Yeah, like a baby, actually.” She leans back against the counter opposite me. “Are you sure you want to come with me today? I know that yesterday was a long day and—”

“I told you already I’m coming,” I cut her off. “And Tide is going to meet us there with his truck after they let us in, so we can load it up with anything you want to keep and put it in the garage.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you hungry?” she asks, pulling down a bowl that I know she will fill with Golden Grahams, something she eats all the time.

“No, I’m good,” I mutter, and she shrugs like “your loss” before making herself a bowl of cereal and climbing onto one of the barstools. Knowing I can’t watch her eat, because it’s just one more form of torture—yes, even the way she eats cereal turns me on—I head for the door, saying, “Loki, come.”

“I’ll be out when I’m finished.”

“Take your time.” I leave, grabbing my coat and taking my coffee with me out the door. Snow fell overnight, not a lot, but enough to cover the ground and Gia’s Jeep. Going to the garage, I punch in the code then grab one of the snow removal brushes out of the barrel in the corner, to clean off her windows. Once I have that done, I rearrange a few things in the garage so she can park inside from now on, and then go about finding the spare door opener for her.

“It snowed,” Gia observes, coming around the corner through the open garage door right as I locate the second opener. “I didn’t think it would ever snow. It hasn’t since I’ve been here even though it’s been cold enough a few times.”

“When it snows, it’s normally not much, but we do get it from time to time. Do you like snow?”

“This?” She waves her hand toward the open door. “I can totally handle this much snow.” She smiles. “I used to hate winter in Chicago, because all it did was snow and snow and snow. Me and Nat had to clean our own driveway and the sidewalk in front of our house, even though we were renting. It was a big driveway, and Nat is smaller than me, so it sucked. Sometimes it would take us all day to get it cleaned up,” she finishes, looking out the door, then her eyes come back to me filled with softness. “You cleaned off my car.”

“Catch.” I toss her the extra door opener and she catches it. “From now on, park in the garage. That way you don’t have to worry if it snows.”

“You really are too good to me,” she says softly, getting closer. “I will never be able to repay you for everything you have done.” She reaches out, resting her hand on my bicep, that small touch skimming through me causing my blood to heat.

“Like I told you before, I don’t mind.”

“Still, thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.” She squeezes, and my hand balls into a fist to keep myself from wrapping it in her hair and kissing her. Her eyes flare like she knows what I’m thinking, and her hand drops away.

“I’m ready to go. Are… are you ready, or…?” she stutters out looking away from me.

“I’m ready.” Her eyes come back to me. “Go get in your Jeep,” I urge, and she licks her lips, not moving except to drop her eyes to my mouth.

“You’re making it really fucking hard not to kiss you, Gia,” I tell her honestly, and her eyes shoot up to mine.

“We can’t,” she whispers, unmoving. “With us living together, that wouldn’t be smart.”

“You’re probably right,” I reply, seeing disappointment in her eyes when I agree with her. Fuck, why did I agree with her? “Go get in your Jeep and pull out so I can do the same.”

“Right.” She shakes her head before spinning on her heels and heading for her Jeep. Getting in, she starts it up then backs out, and I get in my SUV and do the same, then hit the remote for the garage, closing the door.

Following her down the driveway and then through town, I wonder why the fuck I didn’t kiss her. I could have; she wanted me to. I could see it in her eyes that she wanted it, but I didn’t pull the trigger.

“Idiot,” I tell the windshield, as I pull in and park next to her at her grandmother’s. Getting out, I meet her at the hood of her Jeep, but she doesn’t acknowledge me. Her eyes are glued to the house.

The place looks bad, but it could be worse. Half the roof is gone, the yellow siding melted and stained with black soot, with broken out windows on the side and front of the house where the kitchen was, and “Caution” tape is stretched across the front door. “I’ll call Dad when this is over and have him bring down some tarps and wood from his place. He and Tide can help me cover the roof and board up the place while you’re visiting your grandma. That way, if it snows again, it will be protected.”

“I didn’t realize it was so bad,” she whispers, and I reach out, taking her hand after hearing pain in her voice. “We were in there.”

My stomach muscles bunch. I don’t need the reminder that she was in there when it was on fire, or that she had to drag her grandmother’s limp body outside, passing out herself after getting them help. When Mom called to tell me what happened, I couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough. I needed to see for myself that she was alive and breathing.

“You two are safe.” I turn her toward me and wrap my arms around her. “That’s all that matters.”

Hearing a car, I look over her head, feeling my muscles bunch for a different reason when I see Lisa drive by, her narrowed eyes on us. She’s come by the bar a few times since our last encounter, the one when she told me about stopping Gia when she was out with her grandmother. I couldn’t believe she’d done that. Then again, she’d been doing shit like that since we were fifteen, scaring chicks off, even if they were only friends. I used to think it was cute when she got jealous, but now it’s just fucking annoying. Especially since I want not one goddamn thing to do with her.

I give Gia one more squeeze before I let her go then take her hand and pull her toward the sidewalk, when I see the fire chief pull up in front of the yard and another car park behind him.

“Colton,” Chad, the fire chief, greets as he walks toward us with a clipboard in his hand. I’ve known Chad and his wife most of my life. His wife is a dispatcher for the police station, and they both come in once a week, if not more to kick back and have a beer at the bar.

“How’s it going?” I stick my hand out toward him and he shakes it once firmly.

“All right,” he says, then he looks at Gia who’s standing at my side. “Miss Caro.”

“Hi.” Gia gives his hand a shake then looks over his shoulder when the officer walks up carrying a roll of yellow tape. This one says “Crime Scene,” unlike the tape already across the door with “Caution” stamped on it.

“Nick,” Chad starts, turning toward the man and shaking his hand when he’s close. “Colton, Gia, this is Detective Nick Preston,” he introduces.

“Nice to meet you,” he says, shaking both our hands.

“Nick’s here because of the things I need to discuss with you,” Chad explains, looking at Gia, and my body goes on alert. “We found evidence that the fire was not an accident.”

“What?” Gia whispers, her body rocking back a step.

“The fire spread quickly, from the stove, across the floor, to the back door. We thought there might have been an accelerant used, but didn’t know for sure until the chemical test I got back yesterday confirmed our suspicions.”

“Are you saying it was arson?” I ask, just to make sure I’m hearing him correctly.

“That’s what I’m saying,” he verifies, looking at me.

“But… Grandma, she was there in the kitchen. I found her in the kitchen, on the floor. The stove was on fire,” Gia whispers.

“We understand that, and we also know she has dementia. We did a search, and we couldn’t find the container carrying the accelerant, which leads us to believe that whoever used it took it with them when they left.”

“Someone was in the house?” Gia asks with fear in her voice. “Did they… Did they hurt my grandmother? Is that—”

“We’re still investigating,” Nick cuts her off. “We know from talking to the neighbors that no one saw anything. They didn’t even know the house was on fire until they heard the fire trucks and ambulance. I’ve been to see your grandmother at the hospital, but as you know she’s in no state to make a statement,” Nick continues, and I feel Gia stiffen at my side. Her grandmother hasn’t spoken or even called Gia by her mother’s name, and I know that is worrying her more than anything else.

“So what needs to be done?” I question, and Chad’s face changes in a way that makes me brace.

“I’d like Gia to take a polygraph to clear her name,” Nick says, and my back gets straight.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I bark. “She could have died dragging her grandmother out of that”—I shoot my finger over my shoulder—“goddamn house. She didn’t fucking start the fire.”

“I’ll do it,” Gia inserts, wrapping her hand around my arm, and I look down at her. “I’ll do it. I have nothing to hide.”

“I don’t believe you did it,” Chad conveys softly. “But I want to clear you as a suspect so we can get on with the case and find who did.”

“This is still bullshit,” I growl, still pissed off.

“Watch it, Colton,” Nick warns, and my eyes swing around to meet his.

“You dragging an innocent woman though this bullshit is fucking bullshit,” I repeat, looking him in the eye. “She could have died. Her grandmother could have fucking died.”

“When do I need to take the test?” Gia asks, coming to stand in front of me, pressing her back to my front and forcing me to take a step away from Nick.

“Tomorrow.” Nick pulls his eyes from me to look at her.

“I work tomorrow, but I get off at five. Will that work for you?”

His face softens. “I’ll make it work,” he tells her, and I see her head bob up and down once.

“What’s this all about?” Turning, I see Ned heading our way looking pissed off. “Did I just hear Colton say you’re investigating Gia?” he asks, getting close, and Chad presses his lips together while Nick shakes his head.

“Ned, this doesn’t concern you,” Nick tells him.

“I beg to differ, since Gia is family to me and Nina,” he retorts, and Gia stills once more and I know it’s for a completely different reason. “She had nothing to do with that fire, so I suggest you go about figuring out who did.”

“We don’t believe she had anything to do with the fire, but we have to be sure,” Chad says, and Ned’s eyes turn to him.

“So you do think she had something to do with it,” he mutters. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be asking her to take a test to prove she’s innocent. Way I see it, you’re wasting taxpayers’ dollars on this nonsense. I think the people of this county would find that information useful when election time rolls around in a few months.”

“Ned, it’s okay. I’ll take the test. It’s not a big deal,” Gia says, and Ned shakes his head, looking down at her.

“It’s not okay, darlin’. They shouldn’t even be asking you to take a test to prove you are just what you say you are, innocent of any wrongdoing.”

“We gotta do our jobs, Ned,” Nick sighs.

“Yeah, and that job does not include dragging a woman in to take a test when she has been here, working herself to the bone to take care of a woman who doesn’t even remember who she is. Doing that shit while smiling like it’s a gift, just to spend time with that woman, and almost dying because of it. That shit is not okay. Go back, start over, and then come up with another suspect,” he rumbles, and I fight back a smile when both Chad and Nick glower at him.

“Miss Caro, I’ll see you at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow. Just come into the station and ask for me,” Nick instructs, and Ned huffs as a growl vibrates my chest and he continues. “Until the test is taken, this home will be considered an active crime scene and no one will be allowed in.” He heads for the front door with the roll of “Crime Scene” tape and slaps it on the door before walking across the lawn to his car without another word.

“I’m sorry, Miss Caro,” Chad mutters, and he does look sorry, but fuck that; this is still bullshit. “We’ll speak on Wednesday.”

“Sure,” Gia agrees quietly, watching him head for his truck.

“I cannot believe this,” Ned gripes, watching both vehicles pull away.

“It will be okay,” Gia says softly, looking up at him. “Thank you for stepping in and defending me.”

“Anytime, darlin’.” He rubs her shoulder. “Call Nina and set up a day to come over for dinner. She misses you.”

“I’ll do that,” she promises, giving him a soft smile before turning to look at me.

“I’m going to go see Grandma. Don’t bother your dad or Tide with boarding the house up.”

“Are you good to drive?” I ask, studying her, ignoring her comment. She seems okay, but I’m sure what just happened fucked with her.

“I’m good,” she says, giving me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you when you get home,” I reply, seeing something flash in her eyes on the word home before she pulls her eyes from mine and turns to head for her Jeep.

“Boy, what the hell are you waiting for?” Ned asks after Gia backs out of the driveway.

I turn to look at him. “Pardon?”

“I’m asking what the hell are you waiting for? Why the hell have you not made a move on our girl?” he barks.

I like that he called Gia “our girl,” and I like it more, because she needs good people in her corner looking out for her, and as far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier.

“She has a lot going on right now. I’m trying to give her time to deal with all of that before adding something else to the mix of shit for her to deal with.”

“You better get on that, son. Her grandmother is not doing well, and the way Nina and I see it, she won’t be on this earth much longer. When that happens, Gia’s gonna be out of here… unless she has a reason to stick around.” Fuck, he’s right. “I see you know I’m right.” He claps me on my shoulder. “Don’t wait too long.”

Watching him walk away after that final blow, I shake my head then pull out my cell phone, call my dad, and ask him to bring down some tarps and wood from his place not giving a fuck if it is a crime scene. Then I tell him everything that went down, not surprised when he’s just as pissed as me. When I get off the phone with him, I call Tide to let him know we’re going to need his help, and before I even get off the phone with him, he’s on his way.

~**~

Stretched out on the couch, I lift my head when I hear Gia’s Jeep pull up and watch her walk into the house a minute later, with Loki right behind her.

“Hey,” she says softly when her eyes come to me on the couch.

“How was your visit with your grandma?”

“All right.” She takes off her boots and coat then comes to sit down on the couch at my feet.

“Just all right? What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” She shrugs. “She didn’t talk, didn’t even acknowledge I was there. She’s slipping away, and I feel helpless against it. I don’t know what to do anymore,” she murmurs, and I sit up, which puts me closer to her.

Taking hold of her chin, I wait until I have her eyes to speak. “You being there with her, even if she doesn’t acknowledge you, is important. She might not understand it, but she can still feel that love and understand in some way that you are looking out for her,” I tell her, and her chin wobbles. “Don’t give up on her, baby.”

Her eyes close. “The hospice nurse was there when I got there, and she told me that, as hard as it would be, I need to prepare for her to go.”

“She’s right. I know that’s not easy to think about, but you need to think about it. Especially if she’s slipping way. But that doesn’t mean you pull back. It just means you get your heart ready to let her go when that time comes.”

“I know,” she agrees, pulling her eyes from mine and looking at the TV.

“Did you eat?” I ask, letting her chin go, and she shakes her head.

“No, I’m not hungry.”

“Gia, you need to eat,” I growl in frustration, and she looks at me once more.

“I will eat. I’m just not hungry right now.”

“We’re going out. Put your boots back on.” I stand, but she doesn’t move to get up. She just stares at me with wide eyes. “Come on.” I take both her hands and pull her up off the couch.

“Colton, I’m really not hungry.” She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her.

“Too bad, you’re going to eat.” I drag her to the door, where I hand over her coat and boots. Putting on my shoes, I listen to her complain under her breath about how annoying I am, as she puts them on. “Let’s go.” I hold the door to the garage open for her once she’s ready, and she stomps past me, then continues to stomp over to the passenger side door of my Suburban. Once we’re both in, I hit the garage door opener on the visor, turn on the engine, and back out.

“Can I ask you where it is we are going?” she snaps, and I don’t smile like I want to.

“You have two choices. We can grab a pizza and bring it home to eat, or we can go to Lawd’s and eat BBQ. Your choice.”

“Oh, now I have a choice?” she asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Thank you, oh great one, for bestowing that privilege upon me.” She places her hands together like she’s praying. “I don’t know what to do with that kind of power.”

“Okay, three choices Dimples.” I stop at the end of the driveway and look at her. “Pizza, BBQ, or you keep being a smart ass and I kiss the fuck out of you.”

“Colton,” she warns, but that warning sounds thick with arousal, which causes my jeans to suddenly become too tight.

“What’s it going to be?” I prompt, and her eyes drop to my mouth.

“BBQ,” she whispers, staring at my lips.

“You sure that’s what you want?” I question, and she licks her lips once more before looking away.

“Yes.”

Hitting my turn single, I pull out onto the road and drive us to town.

When I pull up and park outside of the restaurant I shut down the engine and get out. Meeting her at the hood I take her hand and lead her inside where we are seated immediately.

“Hey, Colton. How’s it going?” our waitress greets as soon as she arrives at our table.

“I can’t complain,” I say, and she smiles then looks at Gia.

“What can I get you to drink, darlin’?”

“Diet Coke if you’ve got it.”

“I do.” She beams at Gia before she looks at me once more. “What about you?”

“I’ll take a Bud.”

“Got it.” She jots both orders down on the notepad in her hand. “Do you need a minute to look over the menu, or are you ready to order?”

“We’re ready,” I reply, and she looks at Gia again.

“What’ll it be?”

“I’ll have the pulled pork sandwich with curly fries,” Gia says, closing her menu.

“What about you?” she asks me again.

“The same, but add an order of fried pickles.”

“Be back in a minute with your drinks.” She smiles at both of us and takes our menus before walking off.

“Do you know everyone in town?” Gia asks, looking around while taking off her coat and tucking it into the booth next to her.

Looking around myself, I notice there are a few people looking at our table, trying to make it look like they aren’t doing just that. “I grew up here, and my family has always lived here. I don’t know everyone, but I know a lot of people.”

“Small town,” she says thoughtfully.

“That’s part of it.”

“What’s the other part?”

“Right after college, I joined the Marines. Six years in and my second tour overseas, I was shot. It was bad. I couldn’t walk. When that happened, my mom held fundraisers to make some money for my recovery. People who didn’t know me knew of me after that.”

“You couldn’t walk?”“Nope.”

“God, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m here now,” I tell her, and the waitress comes back, giving us our drinks before taking off once more.

“What happened with you and Lisa?” she asks out of the blue, and I feel my muscles get tight. The last thing I want to do is talk about Lisa, but I know that if this is what I think it is, I need to be upfront with Gia about that part of my history. “You don’t have to tell me. Forget I asked,” she backpedals, dropping her eyes.

Grabbing her hand, I wait until her eyes meet mine. “We were together in high school. I asked her to marry me when I got home from my first deployment. Six months after that, I got orders overseas again, so we decided to wait to get married until after I got home the second time around, only that didn’t happen. I was shot. I was sent to New York for recovery, and the doctors thought I wouldn’t walk again. Lisa couldn’t handle that idea, so she ended things with me when I was laid up in the hospital.”

“That bitch,” she whispers, and I find myself smiling, because that’s the first time I have heard her curse.

“I’m glad I found out who she was before I tied myself to her, gave her my name, and had kids with her,” I reply honestly, and she shakes her head.

“I get that, but seriously, who does something like that?” she asks, but doesn’t let me answer before she answers herself. “Never mind, she’s a bitch, so she would do something like that, and obviously did. I only met her once and knew then she was not nice.”

“You’re right; she’s not nice. I didn’t see it before, but I see it now, and I want nothing to do with her,” I tell her straight, because I know Lisa. I know that even though she is only guessing that something is happening between Gia and me, she will try to put an end to it. She will try to scare Gia off, and if that happens, I won’t be as nice as I have been. “I don’t even like breathing the same air as her. There is no coming back from what she did.” I squeeze her hand. “Ever.”

“Good,” she retorts, before looking over my shoulder and saying quietly, “Food’s coming.”

Letting her hand go, I lean back, taking a pull from my beer and watching her take a sip from her soda.

“I hope you two are hungry,” our waitress singsongs, setting our food in front of us and the fried pickles in the middle of the table, along with a stack of napkins.

“I’m starving,” Gia tells her, looking at her sandwich and mound of curly fries.

“You won’t be when you leave.” The waitress grins.

“So you’re starving?” I ask with a raised brow when the waitress disappears.

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, cutting her sandwich in half and taking a big bite. Laughing at that, I dig into my own meal and spend the rest of dinner just enjoying her company.

“Thanks again for dinner,” Gia says as I hit the remote for the garage, opening the door.

“Anytime.” I pull inside and shut down the engine. Opening my door, I hear her do the same then her feet hit the concrete when she jumps down. I wait for her to reach me before I open the door to the house, and then smile as Loki greets her with his tail wagging.

“Hey, boy, I brought you something,” she tells him, walking into the house and opening the paper bag she brought in. Giving him what’s left of her sandwich, she laughs when he swallows it down in one gulp. “You should slow down to enjoy it.” She rubs his head, and he takes a seat, looking at the bag on the counter. “Sorry, that’s all I brought.” She takes off her coat and boots, carrying both to the door where I’m still standing.

“You want to watch a movie?” I ask, and she looks at me, the TV, and then the couch before deciding.

“Sure, I’m just going to change first,” she answers, heading for her room.

Watching her go, I kick off my boots then run up and change before coming back down and finding the remotes for the TV and DVD player.

“What do you feel like watching?” I ask when she comes back out wearing a T-shirt and sweats, both too big on her.

“What is there?”

“Not much. I have a few scary movies and a couple comedies.” I show her the DVDs I own and she looks them over.

“This looks good.” She hands me one of the scary ones before tucking in near the arm of the couch. Putting the movie in, I start it up then take a seat next to her. She doesn’t say anything about me sitting so close, something I’m thankful for when the movie starts to get scary, because when that happens, she curls herself into my side and hides her face in my chest. Which means I get to wrap my arm around her and smell her hair, the source of the vanilla scent I’ve recently become obsessed with.

“I’m going to have nightmares,” she tells me, leaning back to look at me when the movie comes to an end and the credits start to roll. “It didn’t even have a happy ending. Everyone died.”

Smiling at her, I mutter, “Dimples, you picked the movie.”

“I know.” She shakes her head. “Why on earth did you let me do that?”

Chuckling, I pull her farther into me and kiss her hair. “If you have nightmares, I’m right upstairs.”

“Like I will ever be able to sleep after that,” she mumbles, looking worriedly over my shoulder toward her bedroom door while nibbling on her bottom lip.

“Right.” I lay down, dragging her with me as I go, and then adjust her so that half her body is on mine and her face is resting against my chest.

“What are you doing?” she asks, sounding stunned.

“Since you won’t be able to sleep in your bed, we’re going to sleep here.”

“Colton.”

“Gia,” I answer, grabbing the blanket she put there off the back off the couch and putting it over us.

“I think—”

She tries to push off me, but I don’t let her go. I just hold her tighter. “Stop thinking so much, Gia.” I run my fingers through her hair at the side of her head.

“Is this even comfortable for you?”

“I’m good,” I whisper, and she lets out a long breath. I can’t tell if it’s an annoyed or relieved one.

“Colton,” she murmurs, and I dip my head down to look at her when I feel her raise hers.

“Yeah?”

“I….” She pauses, looking unsure. “Never mind,” she mumbles, lying her head back down on my chest and tucking her hand under her cheek.

“Gia.” Running my hand up the side of her neck and her jaw, I wait for her to lift her head and look at me. Once I have her eyes, I wrap my fingers around her chin and lift my head while bringing her mouth to mine. The kiss isn’t wet or deep. It’s nothing more than our mouths meeting in a soft touch. “Sleep,” I say against her lips. After tucking her face back against my chest, I reach forward, grab the remote, and turn off the TV.

“Night, Colton.”

“Night, Gia.” I run my fingers through her hair and continue doing that until I feel her body go limp. Pulling my chin back, I look down at her through the dark and see she’s asleep, and then rest my head back against the couch, following behind her.

And for the first time in what seems like forever, I don’t dream about getting shot and almost losing my legs. I dream about making a beautiful girl, with eyes the color of emeralds, mine. When I wake up with Gia still in my arms in the middle of the night, I vow to make that dream a reality.