On her way? To where? Reno? Shay wasn’t sure that was where she wanted to go now. She really had no idea where she should go.

Dragging her gaze away from the window, she looked at Josh, but he was busy driving. Moments later he angled into an empty parking space and shut off the engine, then swiveled his head in her direction.

She didn’t move from her seat, but when he continued staring at her, she said, “What?” As if she didn’t know he was waiting for her to get out.

“Good luck, Shay.”

Not ready to face the inevitable, she looked away from him and scanned the stores as if she was carefully selecting which one to shop in. That’s when she saw the beat-up black truck the creeps had been driving. At least she thought it was theirs. They’d been headed this way, so it only made sense that it belonged to them. It was parked in front of a restaurant so she figured they were inside eating.

Great.

With a glance at Josh to see if he’d noticed, she found him watching her, his right arm resting on the console between the seats.

I’ve got it! “I thought of a time when I wasn’t swayed,” she said, glad for a reason to postpone getting out. “Just today, in fact.”

His eyebrows rose. “Oh?”

Proud of herself, she smiled. “Yes. When those creeps insisted I get in their truck and I flat-out refused.”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, they insisted?”

Guess she'd never told him what had happened. “Well, they offered me a ride, but I got a bad feeling about them, so I said no. They implied that I wasn’t safe out there all alone.” The memory sent a sharp pang of fear into her chest. “I told them no again and I started walking the other way. They, uh, they turned their truck around and when they stopped next to me they demanded that I get in.” She paused a beat. “That’s when you showed up.”

Fury swept over his face. “Holy crap, Shay. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, she said, “I don’t know. I guess I was just glad you came along when you did.”

She looked at the black truck parked at the diner and Josh followed her gaze.

“That’s their truck, isn’t it?”

“I think so.” Her voice was soft.

He sighed and shook his head.

There was nothing he could do. She just had to face her reality. She threw open the passenger door and gingerly hopped to the ground.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

Confused, she looked at him. “To get some shoes and be on my merry way.” Just like you said.

He looked at the black truck again, then back at her. “Get in.”

Her right hand rested on the door frame. “What?”

“You heard me.”

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

A partial smile curved his mouth. “Please.”

“But you drove me all the way here. So I would leave.”

“I don’t think you’re equipped to protect yourself against those guys, or other guys like them.”

Not equipped? What did that mean? Not sure if she should be insulted or not, she stayed where she was. Then, remembering that she was supposed to stop letting herself be swayed, she turned and began hobbling away. That would show him that she could do what she wanted even if someone was trying to convince her otherwise.

A moment later she heard his door open, then slam shut, and then he stood in front of her—tall, ripped, hot. His hands were on his hips as he stared down at her. “What the heck are you doing?”

Shay crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever the heck I want to.”

He stared at her a moment, and then he smiled.

Stop being so gorgeous, would you?

“You can be stubborn when you want to be, Shay.”

“I guess that’s better than not being equipped, whatever that means.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry I said that. From where I stand…” His gaze slid up and down her body, sending a wave of heat through her. “You’re equipped just fine.”

Was there a double meaning there? Not sure, but happy that he’d apologized, she said, “Thank you.”

“Now, would you please get back in the truck?”

Not that she didn’t want to climb right back in with him, but she wanted to make sure this way he had of boomeranging between her getting on and getting off and getting in and getting out wasn’t going to strike again. “And then what?”

“And then I’ll take you home.”

“Home?” She didn’t have a home.

He spread his arms to the side. “To my cabin.”

Suspicious that it wouldn’t last, she narrowed her eyes. “For how long?”

He rolled his eyes. “For however long it takes.”

Still uncertain—she didn’t want to have to hot foot it back to town with blistered feet—she asked, “For however long it takes to do what?”

He turned and walked two steps in the other direction before coming back to the truck and leaning against the side and crossing his arms. “Look. I know you have nowhere to go and I don’t feel like being responsible for throwing you to the wolves, okay?”

“Okay. But that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Which is?” His voice was very soft, like he was doing all he could to control his exasperation.

“How long is this generosity going to last?”

He chewed on his lower lip for a few moments. “Maybe we can work something out. Like, maybe you can…I don’t know…keep the house clean, cook the meals, do the laundry. Crap like that.”

Hope blossomed within her. I might have somewhere to go! “I also know how to garden.”

“And work in the yard,” he added with a smirk.

“And then you’ll let me stay?”

He stared at her a moment. “We’ll see how it goes.”

She knew that was the best offer she was going to get that day, so she held out her hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

His gaze went to her hand, and when he wrapped his large hand around her smaller one, a jolt of energy arrowed right into the heart of her, and she knew this was going to be a very interesting job.

* * *

What was he getting himself into? Why had he suggested she come back to his cabin? This was supposed to be his time off, time to recharge his batteries before preseason practice started. How would having some woman he’d barely met living at his place help?

Still, the thought of those scumbags forcing her into their truck to do who-knew-what with her brought out the protective side of him. Shoving her out there, into their eager embrace, sat wrong with him. The vibe he got from her, like she was vulnerable, just made it all the worse.

Even as a kid, Josh had been a big guy. Maybe because his parents had feared he could easily become a bully, they’d taught him that he should look out for the little guy, the underdog. That he should stand up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves.

If anyone needed that kind of protection, it was Shay. At least in relation to the scumbags of the world. Of which there were many.

Bringing her back to the cabin was the only option. The girl was clearly homeless. How could he turn his back on her? He couldn’t, that’s what.

“I know you don’t have any shoes,” he finally said as they stood next to his truck. “And I can only assume you don’t have any clothes in that little purse of yours.”

A soft blush rose on her cheeks, which Josh found endearing. She nodded. “Yeah. When that jerk shoved me out of his car, he took my suitcase with him.”

“That sucks.”

“Yes it does.”

He stared at her. Did he want to take the next step? He could certainly afford to, but where would it lead? How far down this road of helping her did he want to go?

“What?” she asked.

Josh lifted his gaze to the stores that lined the parking lot, then he looked at her. “I suppose I can buy you a few things.”