Holding Strong
Page 29

Now this was a topic Denver could sink his teeth into. He and Cannon had been friends forever, and he respected him more than any man he knew. “Cannon has it set up so that everyone takes turns pitching in, some once a week, some an hour every day. Now that Cannon’s made it big, Armie carries the lion’s share of the load. He sets the schedule and lines up the volunteers. Whenever Cannon is out of town, Armie runs things.”
“He’s an employee, or a partner?”
“Both, I guess.” Denver had never really gotten into the details with Armie, but knowing Cannon, he assumed Armie was well compensated for all the time he contributed. “Armie has a high energy level and refuses to have idle time.”
Grinning, Dean said, “I thought he spent all his free time with the ladies.”
“He fits that in, believe me.” There were times when it seemed Armie wouldn’t sleep for days on end—and yet he never dragged.
Laughing, Dean pulled a card from his pocket. “Give Armie my message. And hey, next time you’re in Harmony, let’s grab dinner.”
“Sure.” Since Harmony wasn’t that far, just a little south in Kentucky, he got down that way often. Denver pocketed the card. “I’d like that.”
When the elevator stopped, Dean stayed inside, but held the door open after Denver had stepped out. “You know,” Dean said, “I wouldn’t have let that motley crew around my lady, either.” After that parting shot he allowed the doors to close.
Huh. So Dean had understood more than he’d let on.
Denver had a lot to think about—later.
Right now, he only wanted to see Cherry.
To his surprise, when he opened the hotel room door, he found the bed empty. As he slowly let the door shut, he heard the shower running. Heat expanded and his body grew taut as he set down his packages...and headed for the bathroom.
* * *
SHE’D STRUGGLED TO pin up her hair, to start the shower, to stand under the spray and wash from head to toe. Now slumped against the tiled wall, Cherry realized her mistake. Never in her entire life had she been so drained. Even staying upright seemed to take an incredible amount of energy—energy that had quickly faded away.
Home, alone, she wouldn’t have bothered.
But it was bad enough to be so pathetically sick with Denver. She wouldn’t be grungy, too. Besides, she honestly believed she’d feel better once she was clean.
Instead, she wasn’t sure she could muster up the strength to turn off the taps, much less get dry, dressed and back in the bed.
She literally wanted to sink down to the tub and go back to sleep, even with the water raining down on her. If she knew for certain she wouldn’t run out of warm water or drown herself, she might’ve done just that.
In fact, it was still a toss-up.
That thought had barely cleared her brain before the shower curtain opened and Denver stood there, his smoldering gaze going all over her. He appeared stern, and a little turned on.
A unique combo.
“Damn, girl, what do you think you’re doing out of bed?”
A lump of misery caught in her throat. “I was... I can’t...” She braced a hand on the shower wall and said simply, “Big mistake.”
He reached in and turned off the water. Grabbing up a big white towel, he wrapped it around her and, uncaring if he got wet, lifted her out against him. One-handed, he flipped down the toilet lid and lowered her to sit.
“Denver...”
“Hush. I’ll take care of it.” Going to one knee, he dried her calves, up her legs, over her belly.
She held herself as upright as possible, completely mortified, all too aware of where and how he touched her. For him it seemed so impersonal; for her it was as personal as it could get.
When his gaze met hers, he said, “Breathe, girl. Slow and easy.”
The husky timbre of his voice made her want to melt. “I’m sorry. I thought—”
“You should have waited for me.” More gently, he dried her breasts, and as the soft terry towel moved over her nipples, she swallowed hard. The cooler air after her shower made her shiver—and made her nipples draw tight.
“Almost done,” he told her, and he sounded as strained as she felt. Finally giving up on her breasts, he briskly dried her shoulders and gently patted the towel to her face. “Up you go.” He drew her to her feet and supported her against his body.
So warm. Closing her eyes, Cherry honestly thought she could doze off just like that, with him holding her so carefully.
After he dried her shoulders and the small of her back, he spent an inordinate amount of time on her bottom, looking over her shoulder until she said sleepily, “Denver.”