GAME ON - GoM 2

16

The bookstore felt like a safe haven for Alex. Cool, quiet, it invited her to breath deep and let go of so many things upsetting her. She knew what bugged her the most about Claire's crazy place. Over the last couple of days, having the Holsters in town had relieved her of some of the burden she felt on her shoulders, having to decide what to do, and when, and how. And their presence also worked to keep her loved ones a little more protected, since the brothers were used to this kind of fight and knew better than her how to keep everybody as safe as possible.

With Aidan and Mark gone, she was back on the hot seat. Which also meant that there was no way to keep Tom away from the front line. Even with his amazing speed to heal, their three showdowns with those ruthless scumbags had taken a heavy toll on him. He wasn't in shape to fight again so soon, let alone the next day. But there was no way he'd fall behind if they tried Claire's silly idea. So she needed to find an alternative in order to protect Tom, even against his will.

Noon flew by while she dusted the shelves off to the music beat until the books shrank in fear.

The bells hanging from the door startled her. It was two p.m., there was nobody on the street. She turned around and found Tom coming into the store.

"Hey," she murmured, surprised.

He studied her for a moment before saying, "Cooler now?"

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, sort of. It's just that..." She trailed off, spotting the Yukon parked outside the bookstore. "You leaving?"

"I'm going home to get some clean clothes. And more arrows. I'll be back by nightfall."

"Oh."

Tom frowned and stepped closer to her. "You thought I was just bailing?"

"What? No! Yes... I don't know. Sorry, of course you're not."

Tom flashed a tight smile and reached out for her hand. She took his only as the first step to throw her arms around him. He held her in silence, kissing her hair when she hid her face against his chest. Alex needed a couple of minutes to bring herself to step back, away from him.

"Go," she said, forcing a smile. "Else I'm gonna lock you up here."

"You mean you wanna bang the dude in the backroom?"

She knew he wasn't faking to be still offended, and his words pulled a soft chuckle from her lips. "Actually, I was thinking those throw-pillows at the kids' corner."

"The same where my son sits when he visits."

"You're right. On the rug, then?"

"Hum."

This time she giggled. Tom brought her close again to kiss her.