He scooped the eggs onto plates and carried them from the kitchen, relieved to escape the close quarters with Jane. As he put the plates on the table, the buzzer from the washing machine went off. “That’s your laundry. You can start eating without me, if you want.”
He strode into the laundry room and transferred the clothes from the wash to the dryer. When he returned to the kitchen, she’d placed silverware, napkins and their coffee on the table.
“The toast just popped up. Butter and jam or just butter?”
“Just butter for me. I don’t even know if I have jam.”
She brought the toast to the table, as he sipped his coffee.
“Why are you waiting on me? You’re the accident victim.” He took the plate of toast from her and pulled out a chair. “Sit.”
She touched her bandaged head. “I feel fine, except that my head throbs when the ibuprofen wears off.”
“You might need stitches.” He held up a hand. “You should see your doctor when you get home.”
“Maybe I don’t want to go home.” She crunched into her toast, and a shower of crumbs fell onto her plate.
“You can’t hide from him forever.”
“Really?” She speared a clump of eggs on her plate. “Do you think you could find me a job in Paradiso?”
“A job.” He sputtered up his coffee. “Here?”
“Seems like a good place to lie low for a while. Maybe you know someone who could, you know, hire me off the books for a bit just so I could make a little money.”
The thought of Jane staying in Paradiso sent a cascade of emotions tumbling through his system, but the ones that affected his body got the jump on the ones that affected his mind, and he blurted out, “Yeah, I do.”
“You do?” She scooted up in her seat, wrapping her hand around her coffee cup. “Who? Where?”
“It’s nothing fancy, but the woman who makes the soup you had last night runs a small café in the middle of town and her niece is heading back to college and can’t help her out anymore.” Why was he dragging Rosie into this? “Do you have any experience in food service?”
“I do. I worked in fast food in high school and did some bartending in college.” Her light brown eyes widened for a second, and then she rushed on. “I’d be happy to help your friend out with her business, and if she needs to get rid of me when her niece comes back, no problem.”
“We’ll go see her today.” Rob shoved some toast in his mouth to keep himself from offering her anything else. At least if she stayed, he’d have some time to find out her real story.
As if to avoid questions, Jane kept the conversation through breakfast light and superficial.
After wolfing down most of her food, she waved a fork at him. “You’re not in uniform. Do you have to work today?”
“Not until later.” He eyed her hair tousled around the bandage and a small bruise high on her cheekbone. “Are you sure you don’t need medical attention?”
“Why?” She clicked her coffee mug onto the table. “Do I look like I do?”
“You look...” He was going to say she looked even more appealing than she had last night, but his big mouth had already gotten him into enough trouble. “You look amazingly well after walking away from that accident and spending the day in the desert.”
She patted her head. “I feel fine and so grateful to have gotten away from...my ex.”
The buzzer from the dryer in the laundry room saved him from analyzing why she paused before mentioning her ex-husband—but he’d come back to that.
He jumped up from the table. “Your clothes are done. You can take a shower, and I’ll take you to Rosie’s.”
“She’s the woman with the café?”
“That’s right.”
“Thank you so much.” Jane rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m glad you stopped.”
“I don’t know what you thought you were going to do out there at night by yourself with just a knife.”
“I—I must’ve been stunned, disoriented.” She sipped her coffee and her eyes met his over the rim. “Where is that knife?”
His heart stuttered in his chest. He had no intention of arming his strange guest. Of course, she could’ve grabbed a kitchen knife at any time last night and stabbed him through the heart—if she’d wanted to.
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I think I left it in my truck. Why’d you have it?”
“Excuse me?” She folded her hands on the table like an innocent schoolgirl.
She always answered a question with a question to buy time. He didn’t need the academy to teach him that—he’d lived it with his familia.
“The knife. Why did you grab a knife, of all things, when you escaped from the burning car? Why not grab your purse? Your phone?”
“I didn’t grab the knife. It was in my pocket.” She slurped the dregs of her coffee. “Protection.”
Man, she was good.
“You don’t need protection here.”
Her jaw hardened. “I appreciate that, but I’d still like my knife back... Sentimental value.”
“Sure.” He raised his hands as if in surrender. “I didn’t mean I was keeping it forever. You can get it when we go out to the truck.”
“I can wait. I don’t need it now.” She laughed, which snapped the wire of tension stretched between them. “Point me to the laundry room, and I’ll get my clothes.”
“Through the kitchen.” He leveled a finger at the slatted door between the kitchen and the laundry room.
She gathered the plates on the table, including his, and placed them in the sink on her way to the laundry. “Thanks for the breakfast.”
Several seconds later, she emerged, clutching her pants and T-shirt to her chest. “The sooner I shower and dress, the faster I can get out of your hair.”
“Happy to help.”
Nodding, she sidled out of the kitchen and turned the corner to the hallway.
When he heard the door snap close and the water start, Rob let out a
