Free Edge of Forever by Taryn Elliott Page A

have woken you up.” He sighed. “So this is how it’s going to be between us? You’re never going to talk again? If you think that’s going to work then you’re delusional, babe.”
    She scowled at him.
    “You can give me the bratty scowl all you want. I’m not going to shut up, and I’m not going to let you shut me out. Aimee stole a lot from me, too. I loved them, too.”
    She turned her face to the window.
    “Yeah, go ahead and sulk. That’ll make the next few months awesome.”
    He pulled up to the front of the store and went inside. He came back out holding a bag and went to her side of the car. She slapped the lock on the door and stared ahead.
    “Oh, nice. What are you eight, for fuck’s sake?” He pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
    She held her arm against her chest and wouldn’t look at him.
    He reached into the car and she jerked back. He pressed his thumb into the lapbelt’s buckle and unleashed her.
    Fiona sat up in the back. She tucked her big head on Bella’s shoulder and nudged her. Automatically, she nuzzled against the warm dog. Fiona backed up and sat down on her seat again with a low chuff of a bark.
    Logan eased her legs out and turned her so she faced him. “Let me see.”
    She tried to take the bag from him. She could take care of herself.
    He dumped the bag on her lap and took out the water and stack of napkins he’d taken from the store. He wet down a few and held out his hand palm up.
    His green eyes were blazing with anger and hurt. She sighed and laid her hand on top of his. He gently blotted her flesh, murmuring soft apologies as he wiped away the abused flecks of skin.
    He unearthed the bag at her feet and found the silvery gel that she used as a barrier on some of the worst of the burns that had thickened. His touch was so gentle and compassionate, in direct opposition to the emotions in his eyes.
    The ball of tension got bigger with every act of care until her chest felt too full, her eyes stinging with blocked tears. At the bottom of the knapsack, he took out thin cotton coverings for her hands. They looked like huge oven mitts.
    Where the hell had he gotten those?
    They were perfect to cover her hands and not stick to every little bit. It would also keep her from staining everything. Half her sweatshirts were ruined from the greasy ointment.
    Lastly, he got out her pills. Couldn’t he have given her those first?
    Why didn’t she think to ask for them?
    He opened the bottles, shook out one tablet from each. “Open up.” His eyebrow rose. “Don’t give me that look.” He rattled the two pills in his cupped hand. “So you mean to tell me that your ribs don’t hurt like a bitch?”
    They did.
    Everything hurt, dammit. She huffed out a breath and opened her mouth.
    “Good girl.” He pulled out a straw from the bag and tucked it into the water. She closed her lips over it and took a long drink. His nostrils flared and a muscle in his jaw flexed as she kept swallowing.
    She finally sat back and let the straw go. The seatbelt made a sharp zipping sound as he buckled her up.
    “I’m going to take Fiona for a quick walk.” He cursed under his breath. “I didn’t ask if you needed to use the restroom.”
    She shook her head.
    “All right.” He stepped back and slammed her door.
    She flinched. She’d really ticked him off. Well good, maybe he wouldn’t talk to her the rest of the trip.
     
    ∞♦ ∞
     
    Logan opened the door for Fiona. She stared at him expectantly. One more female that wouldn’t talk to him.
    “Need to do your business?”
    She tilted her head and thumped her tail once. Jesus, she was a big fucker. She took up over three quarters of the seat. He unearthed her leash from the pocket behind his seat and clipped it to her collar.
    Instantly she was up and out of the car.
    Guess the leash was her signal.
    He looked over at Isabella. He knew she was grieving and he had to get some patience shored up again. But the fact that she