Rescue Me by Kathy Coopmans

both killed in a car accident when I was four and Shelby was two. I remember a few things about them, but really not a lot except for the fact that my mom loved daisies and my dad would bring them to her all the time.”
    She pauses for a second. “Well, anyway, it was tough at first because my grandparents were older and Shelby and I were both so young, but they were great. We were loved and we never went without a thing. When I got older, my grandmother used to tell me how much I reminded her of my mother. She said I always put everyone else before myself the same way my mom did. I don’t know. I always used to look after Shelby and take her with me everywhere I would go. Shelby and I stayed very close, even when I left for college. For the first year I came home almost every weekend, but then I met Joel. I was so into him that I started coming home less, and Shelby and I grew apart for several years.” “Really, why do you want to know all this?” she asks, shaking her head.
    I stop us and look deep into her eyes. “I told you. I want to know everything about you Erin, and I mean everything. I want to know you here-” I say, kissing her forehead. “I want to know you here-” I add, kissing down the side of her neck. “And I want to know you here,” I finish, bringing my lips within an inch of hers. “I admire your strength so much, Erin. Please don’t ever doubt that.”
    She takes in a sharp breath and I wonder what she is thinking right now. I hope this night was as perfect for her as I wanted it to be.
    I hate to take my arm from around her but I know that I have to in order to get my keys, so I pull myself away. Erin shudders a bit as if she is cold.
    “Here, put this on,” I tell her, handing her one of my work sweatshirts that I retrieve from the back seat. She slips it over her head and knowing that just about every inch of her is covered in my clothes makes my dick twitch in my jeans. But there is so much more to this courageous woman than an incredible body. I want to know every part of this woman right down to the mind sitting behind those deep blue eyes of hers. She’s remarkable and all I want to do is spend the rest of the night letting her know.
    I help Erin get into my truck, then I climb in. When I turn to reach into the back seat to grab my phone out of my bag, Erin lets out a soft scream and throws herself up against the side of the door. She starts crying hysterically and I have no clue what is going on.
    “Erin, what is going on? You’re scaring me here,” I say, turning to her with concern. When she doesn’t answer me right away I instantly go into panic mode. I have no clue what happened. She was fine a minute ago and now she is shaking and bawling uncontrollably. Undoing my seatbelt, I hop out of the truck and sprint to her side. I pull open the door and she looks up at me with bloodshot eyes. I hurriedly take a step back as I see fear and anger all over her face.
    “Erin, sweetheart, I don’t know what is happening here, but whatever it is, let me help you. Please.”
    As if a light bulb has gone off in her head I see her demeanor change from fear to humiliation. Slowly I make my way to her and place my hands on her thighs. She slightly winces from my touch.
    “Erin? It’s me, Adam. Whatever happened, I am not going to hurt you. Let’s just get home, okay? If you want to talk about it we can, and if not, then that’s okay, too.”
    Without saying a word, she retreats back into her seat, withdrawing my hands from her legs. I make my way back around and settle myself into my seat, wondering what could have set her off as I pull out and drive us towards home. I have no clue what to do or what to say and with Shayne and Luke being gone, the only other person I feel comfortable talking to is Antonio. I glance at the clock on my dash and see that it is still fairly early, and I pray like hell that he is home.
    We finally pull into the garage, but before I can even get the truck