Trey shot her a glance in the rearview mirror. “Thad’s fiancée is on her way. She’s a nurse and can remove the shrapnel and clean the wounds.”
Not completely satisfied with Trey’s response, Shelby sat back in her seat, chewing on her bottom lip.
Her grandfather patted her knee. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your grandmother.”
Shelby covered her grandfather’s hand. “It’s okay. I guess I understand why you didn’t. A woman willing to give up her baby isn’t worth knowing.”
“My mother didn’t give up her baby knowingly,” Trey said, his jaw set in a hard line, his fingers tight on the wheel.
“I didn’t know she was lied to. All I knew was I had a baby to raise by myself. What did I know about raising a kid?”
Shelby’s fingers squeezed around her grandfather’s. “Apparently you knew enough to raise my mother and me.”
“Not enough to keep Carrie safe.”
“You did the best you could. You couldn’t have known she would die in a car wreck.”
Patrick lifted Shelby’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. How can I forget when you look just like her?” He smiled, then his lips turned down at the corners. “When I thought I’d lost you as well, I had to get help.”
“I’m glad you did.” Memories of being abducted washed over her, and she relived the terror of being so helpless. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home on time that night.”
“You think I could be mad about that?” Her grandfather laughed, choking on a sob. “You couldn’t have known someone would target you.”
“Yeah, but if I had left when there were more people out, I might not have been captured and imprisoned in that horrible basement.”
“Well, it’s all over now. We have to count our blessings and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
And that was where Daniel came into the picture. If he was to be her bodyguard, he’d be around all the time.
Shelby’s insides quivered, her core heated and her palms grew clammy. “I don’t like living in someone else’s house. I’d rather go home to my own home, with my own bed to sleep in and the people I know and love around me.”
Patrick nodded. “I’d like nothing better. But it’s clear someone wants to get to Kate through her family. And like it or not, you’re part of Kate’s family.”
At that moment, they pulled up to a gate. Trey pressed a remote-control button on the sun visor and the gate opened. They wound along a driveway and through parklike manicured lawns and gardens, and finally stopped in front of a huge white-painted brick mansion with black shutters and red accents.
Shelby gulped, her pulse quickening, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. “For the record, I don’t like it. I don’t know the woman, other than that she’s the former vice president. I don’t like putting my life on hold because someone doesn’t like her. I’ve already missed enough time at school. I have no idea how I’m going to catch up. And holy smokes, who lives in a house this big?”
“You will.” Daniel climbed out of the SUV and opened Shelby’s door for her, his face grim, his jaw hard. “Perhaps you need to understand a few things.” He held out his hand, pulled her out of the vehicle and stood her in front of him.
“Don’t get all he-man on me,” she said, pushing his hands away before the feel of him made her do something truly foolish. “You’re just the bodyguard.”
“I might only be the hired help, but Kate Winston was a good vice president and she’s an even better person. She didn’t have to come to your rescue, but she did. And she doesn’t have to provide you protection. But she will.” He gripped her arms and glared down at her. “I suggest you be grateful you’re alive, thank Kate for making that happen and stop whining about school.”
Shelby opened her mouth to tell the man she wasn’t whining, but he stood so close she could feel the heat from his body and the intensity in his gaze. All the words she could have shouted back at him died on her lips and she shut her mouth with a snap. It wasn’t in her nature to be so angry. And, damn it, Daniel was right.
She should quit worrying about school. Free from her kidnappers, no longer confined to the darkness, she had a lot to be thankful for. And she had yet to thank this man for saving her from the burning house.
Her grandfather chuckled as he rounded the vehicle. “Shelby has a mind of her own, but I do believe she’s met her match.” He glanced up at the house in front of him, his smile fading. “Kate sure has done well for herself,” he stated.
Shelby stepped back from Daniel, her voice caught in her throat as a surge of emotion welled up in her. She was lucky to be here, and she should accept a night’s protection from the woman who’d been someone special to her grandfather forty years ago.
Slipping her arm through her grandfather’s, she leaned into him. “In case I haven’t told you yet, I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”
He pressed her arm to his side. “Never.”
Shelby stared up at the house and shook her head. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” Shelby glanced at her grandfather.
For a man who didn’t know a stranger and always had a smile on his face, he looked pretty grim. “I could never have given her all this.”
A thread of anger shot up her back, stiffening her spine. “You’d have given her everything she needed.”
His lips twisted. “But not this.”
“Funny, I grew up in your house, and I never longed for anything.”
“There were a few times I was hard-pressed to put food on the table.”
“We always had plenty of love.”
“Remember the time after the hurricane that almost destroyed the bar? I didn’t know how I’d get back on my feet.”
Shelby hugged him to her side “Everyone on the Outer Bank helped us rebuild.”
“When you didn’t come home...” His face blanched and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. “Hell, Shelby, I could replace a bar, but I could never replace you.”
Shelby blinked to keep tears from welling in her eyes. All the time she’d been held in captivity, she’d worried about her grandfather. He didn’t have anyone else in the world. And neither did she. At least, she’d thought she didn’t have anyone else. Things were changing.
The other SUV pulled to a halt behind Trey’s. Kate, Debra and Thad stepped out.
“I hope you weren’t waiting on us.” Kate hurried forward. “Please, come inside. I’ll have Maddie make tea and coffee and find something for lunch. Lucy’s on the way. She’ll help Daniel and anyone else with injuries from the explosion.” Though her knees were scuffed, her pretty gray suit was wrinkled and dirty and her hair was mussed, Kate marched up the steps like a force to be reckoned with.
Shelby and Patrick both drew in long breaths and followed her up the steps into the house. Shelby told herself it would only be for a day. Maybe two, then she was going back home. She didn’t belong in this big old mansion.
Most of all, she wanted to get away from the bodyguard who had such a low opinion of her and who got her stomach all tied in knots every time she glanced his way.
Before Kate reached the top of the steps, Trey and Sam got there and threw open the doors. She smiled at them and stepped inside, then turned to welcome her guests.
Beneath the smudges, her cheeks glowed a soft pink as Patrick stepped past her.