Organically Yours: Sanctuary, Book Five by Abbie Zanders (classic books for 11 year olds .TXT) 📗

A simple question but one with many answers.

What should she tell him?

That people treated her differently once they found out?

That she didn’t want to be seen as weak or sickly, just because she had more challenges than some?

That she was afraid if he knew, it would change things?

They were all true.

What she said was something that encompassed all those things at a higher level. “Because I refuse to be defined by it. Because when you look at me, I don’t want that to be the first thing that comes to your mind.”

He made a sound, a masculine mash-up of a snort and a chuckle. “Trust me, that is not what comes to mind when I think of you. You are one of the strongest, most capable women I’ve ever met. Definitely the sexiest.”

She smiled a little at that, but it was short-lived. “You can’t tell me it doesn’t change things.”

To his credit, he didn’t rush to deny it. “You’re right. It does change things.”

Her heart sank.

“But that’s not a bad thing. It just gives me more reasons to want to take care of you.”

“I don’t need a keeper.”

“No,” he agreed. “I’m not suggesting you do. What I am saying is, I want to be the one you lean on when things get to be overwhelming. The one who gives you massages and comes up with creative ways to keep your joints flexible. And just to be clear, those desires have nothing to do with the fact that you have lupus and everything to do with the fact that I’m falling in love with you.”

She sat up, and with some difficulty, she twisted in his arms to face him. “You are?”

“I am.”

She stared into his eyes, finding nothing but sincerity.

“Are you okay with that?” he asked softly.

“More than okay with that,” she whispered. “I especially liked the part about creative ways to keep my joints flexible.”

“That was your favorite part?”

“Well, after the part about you loving me. I’m not sure if you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I’m not sure you do either. I don’t want to scare you, but what I feel for you ... well, let’s just say, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And I can’t guarantee I’ll always be able to stand quietly on the sidelines, especially if your health or happiness is involved.”

His words and the intensity in his eyes set off a fluttering in her chest. There was that SEAL again. The one who would do whatever it took to achieve an objective. If his current objectives were to make her happy and keep her healthy? She was oddly comfortable with that.

“I think I can live with that,” she told him. “As long as you realize that I never have been and never will be the type of woman who responds well to heavy-handed tactics.”

His hands flexed around her hips. “How about these handed tactics?”

She tucked her face into his neck and sighed. “Less talking, more massaging.”

* * *

Early the next morning, Doc went with Tina to check out the damage. It didn’t look quite as hellish in the light of day, but it was still a painful sight. She’d put so much time and effort into making it a success. The Mill wasn’t just a business. It was her laboratory. Her baby.

Now, it was gone.

On top of everything else that had happened over the last couple of weeks, it was almost too much to bear. It might have been were it not for the incredible man by her side.

“It’s no accident that Doc came into your life at this particular time. You’re meant to be together.”

Maggie’s words seemed more insightful than the hopeful, romantic notions Tina had originally thought them to be.

After they looked around, Doc accompanied her to the Sumneyville police station to talk to Chief Freed and Fire Chief Petraski. Doc hadn’t asked if she wanted him to, but she didn’t mind because the truth was, his presence didn’t weaken her. It made her stronger.

Bonus: Tina didn’t particularly care for either chief. In her opinion, they were nothing more than overgrown bullies with badges and—she believed—the primary malcontents behind local anti-Sanctuary sentiment.

“What’s he doing here?” Joe Eisenheiser asked, narrowing his eyes at Doc when they walked into the police station together.

Joe was one of the two full-time police officers in Sumneyville. Jerry Petraski, Chief Freed’s nephew and Fire Chief Petraski’s son, was the other.

“Providing moral support,” Doc said simply.

Joe ignored him and spoke only to Tina. “This doesn’t concern him.”

“It concerns me,” Tina said, “and I want him here. Chief Freed said he wanted to talk to me this morning. Is he here? Or should we come back another time?”

“Follow me,” Joe said, grudgingly leading them to a small conference room. “Have a seat. I’ll let the chief know you’re here.”

Doc held out the chair for Tina to sit down before taking a seat himself.

“So, you and Joe are good buddies, huh?” Tina asked once the door closed solidly behind Joe.

Doc smiled. “We’ve never been formally introduced.”

“But he knows who you are.”

“Yes. He knows.”

Tina waited for him to say something more. He didn’t. Instead, Doc looked pointedly around the room.

He met her eyes and mused quietly, “Do you think they watch a lot of cop shows?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Tina’s lips quirked. The room did look like something right out of a crime drama. The furniture consisted of a plain, rectangular table and a set of uncomfortable metal chairs on either side. There were no windows. The walls were painted a drab, depressing shade of off-white. The only splash of color was the black corded phone hanging on the wall next to the door.

She wondered if Doc’s question was also a veiled warning that perhaps they were being watched or listened to. The room didn’t have the massive two-way mirror most made-for-TV interrogation rooms did, but when Tina looked around, she did spot a security camera mounted in one corner near the ceiling.

It seemed a