“Thank you,” Patrick said over his shoulder. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for her and for taking care of her now.”
Guilt rose up in Daniel’s chest. “You’re welcome, but you don’t have to thank me. I’d have done it for anyone in the same situation.”
Patrick gripped his arms and held him at arm’s length. “But it was Shelby, and for that, I’ll be forever in your debt.” The older man dropped his hands and stepped back. “I’m sorry, but for two weeks, I thought she was gone for good.” He scrubbed his hand through his graying hair. “You’ve given her back to me.” Patrick straightened. “Thank you.”
Made uncomfortable by all the emotion in the man’s face, Daniel cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on something.” Leaving Shelby’s grandfather in the hallway, he hurried down the stairs to the main level and went in search of Kate. She had to find someone else to be Shelby’s bodyguard.
His chest tightened when he stepped through the open door of Kate’s office.
Kate sat at her desk. Debra sat in a chair to the side with a computer tablet resting on her big belly, writing on it with a stylus.
“I rescheduled your appearance at North Carolina State, apologizing for the inconvenience. They were understanding and concerned about today’s bombing.”
Kate looked as smooth and together as she normally did. “I want you to cancel all my meetings for today. I want to spend time getting to know my granddaughter.” She glanced up. “Daniel, good. I wanted to speak with you.” She turned to Debra. “Do you mind?”
Debra rose with a smile. “I’ll go make those calls.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Please, Daniel, have a seat.”
He crossed the floor, but veered toward the window instead of the chair. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather stand.”
Kate nodded and pushed back, rising to stand beside him.
For a long moment, neither said a word.
Kate sighed. “It never ceases to amaze me that while our lives are so chaotic and stressful, the world around us continues on. The trees produce leaves, the sun shines and the birds sing.” She laid a hand on his arm. “What’s troubling you, Daniel?”
“I want you to find another bodyguard for your granddaughter.” He hadn’t planned on blurting it out like that, but there it was.
Kate’s hand dropped to her side and she faced him. “Are you worried you might take another bullet?” She stared at him. “I will understand. You’ve put yourself on the line for me already and have the injuries to prove it. I know it’s wrong of me to ask you to do it again.”
Daniel shook his head. “It’s not that. I’m not afraid of being shot at.”
“Are you afraid you aren’t recovered enough to do the job?”
“No.” He pushed his hand through his hair. “I’m not afraid of the job. I just don’t think I’m the right man to protect her.”
Kate snorted softly. “You’re the only man I trust to protect her. You threw yourself in front of a shooter to save my life. Your dedication to duty and your selfless disregard for your own life make you the only person I know of who could protect Shelby the way she needs to be protected.” Kate touched his arm again. “Please, Daniel. If she truly is my daughter’s daughter, I owe her and her mother, God rest her soul, my promise to protect her.”
“Do you have any doubt she’s your granddaughter?” Daniel asked, staring down into the bright blue eyes so like Shelby’s.
The former vice president’s eyes misted. “I thought my daughter was dead. I never would have given her up willingly.” She hung her head and turned away, her voice thick. “That was the darkest moment of my life. I didn’t want to live.”
Daniel’s heart squeezed at the raw emotion.
Kate spun back toward him, tears trembling on her lashes. “I’ll do anything to protect her. I want her to know how much I loved her mother, how much I could love her and how much I want to be a part of her life.” She reached out to him, taking his hand. “Daniel, please help me to keep her safe. I’ve only just found her. I don’t want to lose her.”
Daniel didn’t want to be affected by her plea, but he was. This woman was strong, gutsy and willing to take on any political battle to right a wrong. And when it came to her family, she’d lay down her own life to protect them. She was a real, genuine, good person and it seemed there were too few of those to go around. Especially in the world of politics.
Kate let go of his hand. “Of course, if you feel that strongly, I’ll find someone else. But I won’t feel as confident that he’ll protect her like I know you will.”
Daniel turned back to the window. The trees were still green, the sun was shining and nothing out there had changed. As Kate had said, the world would continue on despite their problems.
If he left Kate to find another bodyguard, she’d worry that her granddaughter wouldn’t have the protection she needed. Whether or not that was true, Daniel couldn’t disappoint Kate. And now that he’d saved her from a burning building and possibly from drowning in her bath, he had a responsibility to keep Shelby alive.
Would he trust someone else to be there when she needed him? And the thought of another bodyguard rushing in to save her when she lay naked in a bath didn’t sit right with him.
“Daniel?”
He drew in a deep breath and turned. “Don’t worry. I’ll do the job.”
Shelby dressed in the same outfit she’d worn from the hospital, provided by her grandmother. The feel of luxurious cashmere beat the heck out of the blouse she’d worn for two weeks straight, but it still made her uncomfortable, knowing someone else had purchased the garments for her.
She was not a charity case, and she refused to be treated as such. More determined than ever to reclaim the life that had been interrupted so brutally, Shelby stepped out of the room and went in search of her grandfather.
She knocked on the door across the hall. After a moment, when there was no answer, she turned toward the staircase.
Before she took one step, a low sexy voice asked, “Going somewhere?”
Shelby gasped as a shadow detached itself from the wall beside the staircase and Daniel stepped into the light.
“Don’t do that,” she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her racing heart.
He spread his arms wide, all innocence. “Do what?”
“Scare me like that.” She braced herself as she faced the man who’d upended her self-control and left her head spinning and desire rising like molten lava through the vent of a volcano. Heat rose up her cheeks as she recalled his hand stroking along her naked back and clamped around her rib cage and thighs as he’d carried her to her bed. The man had seen more of her than a bodyguard should ever see, and it made her hot all over knowing it. Why did he have to be so darned handsome and aggravating at the same time?
She pushed past him and marched toward the stairs. “I’m looking for my grandfather.”
“He was headed into Mrs. Winston’s office a moment ago. I’m sure he’s still there. Is there something I can help you with?”
“No. I’m quite capable of helping myself.”
“Good enough.” He fell in step behind her.
She could feel