Free Rescuing Lilly by Hallie Miller Page A

until she began to relax. The more she thought about how she was going to pay off the cards, the more she realized she needed to start looking for a job. She couldn't stay here forever, despite how much she was starting to like Jake. She decided she would ask him if she could use his computer while he worked tomorrow and maybe take a trip to town to see what was available.
    Once she dried off, she threw on some flannel pajama bottoms and an old baseball tee. She tip-toed downstairs towards Jake's office. The door was slightly cracked and she could see him hunched over the desk. His shoulders looked so broad and muscular as he leafed through various papers in front of him. His hair had a messy look like he had just run his hand through it. She didn't think it was possible for him to be any sexier. She hated thinking that she would have to leave him soon and figure out what she was going to do about her situation. She lightly knocked on the door.
    "Yeah?" Jake answered gruffly.
    Lilly pushed her head inside of the room, still keeping the rest of her body out in the hallway. "Oh, sorry Jake, I know you're busy. I just wanted to say goodnight," she whispered as she stared at the floor.
    Jake looked up from his desk when he heard her voice, concerned why she sounded so scared and subdued. "Hey, honey. Its okay I'm not too busy. Come on in."
    Lilly walked over to him slowly, craving one of his big hugs. Somehow they always seemed to make her feel so much better, like there was really a light at the end of the tunnel and he would lead her to it no matter what happened. She had never felt so cared for by any other man and she barely even knew him. As she walked closer, he turned his chair to the side and held out his arms. When she got within arm's reach, he lifted her under the arms and sat her on his lap.
    "What's wrong sweetheart? You've been acting kind of strange tonight," he said, rubbing her back as he held her.
    Lilly snuggled closer up into him, resting her head under his chin. "Nothing," she said, none too convincingly.
    Jake leaned back and lifted her chin with his finger until she was looking him in the eye. "You can talk to me, you know that right?"
    Thoughts of how she could leave swarmed her head fighting the other thoughts of how to tell him what was wrong. When she couldn't choose either, she just nodded her head. "I just wanted to say goodnight."
    Jake continued to rub her back and kissed her on the forehead. She settled her head back under his chin. "Hmmm," Jake mumbled. "All right. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
    "Okay," she whispered, "I do have a question though."
    "What's that, sweetie?"
    "Would you mind if I went into town tomorrow?"
    Jake stopped rocking his chair for a moment. "What do you need in town? I was thinking about heading there this weekend anyway. How about you just come with me?"
    Lilly thanked God he wasn't looking at her face the way she blushed. "Oh, I just wanted to get out of the house for a little while... nothing really important."
    "Oh okay. Well, how about I ask Sylvia if she wants to take you. I don't want you going by yourself since you don't know your way around yet."
    "I don't need a babysitter. I can find my way around," Lilly spat out, becoming frustrated with her crumbling plan.
    "Excuse me?" Jake began, leaning back to glare at her with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know where the attitude came from, but I don't want to hear it. You can go with Sylvia or you don't have to go at all."
    The finality of his sentence made Lilly's blood boil. She hated being told what she could and couldn't do. She struggled out of his lap while he tightened his hold on her waist. "I can't believe you!" she yelled as she twisted in his lap. "I'm not a child! I can find my way around just fine!"
    "Well you're certainly not acting like an adult. I'm not changing my mind about this. If you don't want to go with her then you and I can go down there on Saturday," he stated calmly. He