“I’d hire her here, but the hours are terrible for someone with kids.”
Troy shrugged. “Maybe you can ask around.”
“I will.” She took his hand in hers. “If it’s broke, you’ve got to try to fix it, don’t you?”
He liked the feel of her fingers wrapped around his. “Hadn’t really thought about it that way, but maybe I do.” He cleared his throat. “Which brings up another subject. Did you ever call your father back?” Rex had called while Sin was taking a shower.
She tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t allow it. “I didn’t have time.”
“He’s worried about you.”
“He shouldn’t be. I’m fine.”
“I think he wants to apologize for last night.”
“Oh, save me.” Senada laughed. “You don’t know Rex. Even when he apologizes, he somehow makes it seem as if I’m responsible.”
Troy rubbed his jaw. “Maybe he’s changed.”
Senada shot him a doubtful look. “Not that I can see.”
He tugged at her hand and held her gaze. “But you’ve changed. You’re not seventeen anymore. It might be time for you to be the leader.”
That stopped her. She thought about it. He could see the wheels turning, then a waitress called her name. She leaned closer and gave him a quick kiss. “If you really want to fix something,” she said in a sexy voice, “the ice maker’s broken again.”
He swatted her on the behind as she left and sighed. How was he going to go back to Tennessee without her?
He brooded over that the rest of the night and checked on Sin throughout the evening. He kept remembering when she went into insulin shock, and the possibility that it could happen again scared the spit out of him.
“I haven’t seen you eat anything in a while,” he said around midnight when she was pouring two pitchers of beer.
She glanced at her watch and made a moue of surprise. “I’m going to snitch something in a few minutes. It’s been busy tonight, hasn’t it?” She set the pitchers on a tray and handed them to a waitress.
He didn’t like the circles he saw under her eyes. “You look tired.”
She tossed him a suggestive smile as she grabbed a cloth to wipe the bar. “I had a very active night last night.”
“You should have rested more today,” he grumbled. “Did you take your insulin when you were supposed to?”
Senada sighed and turned away. “You know, Troy, sometimes you can be a real killjoy.”
“Does that mean you haven’t?”
She turned back toward him. “No. It means I don’t want to discuss it with you.” She lowered her voice. “I’m in charge of my insulin. Okay? Diabetes is a fact of life for me, but I don’t like being made to feel like an invalid.”
“It was that reaction you had at your father’s ranch. You didn’t see how pale you were, how lethargic.”
Sin had her own feelings about that experience. It had been plenty scary for her. “If it will make you feel any better,” she told him, “I didn’t enjoy feeling that way, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I don’t repeat the experience.” She paused, looking into his eyes and feeling the undertow of her uncertainty about her disease. She fought that undertow every day.
“The truth is, Troy, it will probably happen again. Sometime, someday, I won’t do something I was supposed to because I’m not perfect, and it might happen again. I have to live with that, but I’m not your responsibility, so you don’t need to worry about it. I’m making sure nobody feels responsible.”
Troy looked at her as if she’d slapped him.
Confused, she tugged gently at his sleeve and tried for a smile. “You’re supposed to be relieved, unburdened,” she said. “I don’t expect you to take care of me. That’s supposed to make you feel better.”
His eyes darkened and he backed away. “Yeah. Sure.”
That night, he made love to her again and again throughout the night. When morning came, he didn’t ask if he could watch her give herself her injection. He’d learned, ironically enough, that while Sin might give him her body, she would never afford him every intimacy. The knowledge lashed at him.
Troy brushed aside that issue in favor of making some headway about her father. “He wants you to come to the ranch today,” Troy told her after breakfast.
“It’s not a good day for me. I’m busy,” she said as she cleared the table.
Troy followed her into the kitchen. “He’s expecting you.”