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They drove back to the boarding house and unloaded the groceries. By then, it was time for Danny to go to work.

Danny went through the motions of working at the Crawdad Hole. The highlight of her evening was knowing Jacques was there, her vigilant sentry, doing what he’d been assigned.

To protect her.

She ate gumbo with him on her break, paying for his meal with her tip money. It was the least she could do since he was forced to sit there for hours.

Some of his teammates filtered in and out during the evening, and J.D. LaDue sat with him at the bar for two hours, bending Jacques’s ear with stories of wrestling alligators and run-ins with drug-trafficking mafia.

Throughout J.D.’s monologue, Jacques managed to look interested while keeping an eye on Danny.

His attention might have felt stalker-like if he hadn’t been so darned nice and concerned about her feelings. That night, they took turns showering, drank wine and watched an episode of a baking show to wind down before bed.

What man voluntarily watched baking shows? He’d insisted it was perfect. Short, stress-free, except when one contestant’s cakes had slid off the platter, and just what Danny had needed after darting between tables, keeping track of a dozen different orders for food and drinks and cleaning up spills.

When it came time for him to go to bed, he asked if she wanted him to stay until she fell asleep. She told him no. Before he made it to his room, she’d changed her mind. He hadn’t been mad. He just came back, sat on his end of the sofa and held out his hand.

Once again, she laid her hand in his. This time, it took her longer to drift off. The warmth of his hand sent heat through her body, making her want more than just to hold it.

He hadn’t pressed her for more. She appreciated that he hadn’t. At the same time, she found herself wishing he would make the first move. The more time she spent with him, the more she longed for his touch. Not just on her hand, but her entire body.

He stayed until she fell asleep.

Like the day before, when she woke, he wasn’t at his end of the sofa. He was up, dressed and quietly making coffee and omelets.

“You don’t have to wait on me every day. I should,” she yawned and stretched across the length of the sofa, “be cooking for you.”

“You work a late shift. I’m an early riser.” He scooped fluffy scrambled eggs onto two plates. “It makes sense.”

Toast popped up from the toaster on the counter. He added the slices to the plates and set them on the table. “It’s ready when you are.”

She tossed back the blanket and rose. “I’ll only be a minute.” Danny dashed into the bathroom and gasped at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a wild thing with her hair an uncontrolled bush around her head. She yanked her brush through the curls and secured the length in a ponytail. Then she brushed her teeth and splashed water on her face, drying it on the towel she’d used the night before.

Still wearing the T-shirt and leggings she’d slept in, she shrugged, vowing to be up before Jacques the next morning so she wouldn’t be such a wreck.

He’d called her beautiful yesterday in her apartment.

Her heart fluttered at the memory. Then she snorted at her morning appearance: bed hair and a faded, very wrinkled T-shirt.

Not wanting to keep him waiting longer, she hurried back out to the living area.

Jacques was carrying two mugs of steaming coffee. He’d added silverware, a tub of butter, a jar of jelly and the salt and pepper shakers to the table. He set the coffee down and pulled out her chair.

Danny sat as politely as a woman in sloppy clothing could. She didn’t know why she felt like she had to try harder. He knew she’d been through Ranger training. There was nothing polite or fancy about eating MREs in the field. She’d been one of the guys.

But somehow Jacques brought out all her girlie feels. He made her feel more feminine than she’d felt since before Ranger school. He made her fully aware of the differences between his male body and her female anatomy.

Stop it.

She was only staying with him until they found her attacker. They weren’t dating. He wasn’t her boyfriend. He was her protector.

Danny lifted her coffee mug and inhaled the rich, flavorful scent. She took a tentative sip and immediately burned her tongue.

“Sorry,” he said. “I meant to tell you it’s hot.”

“Not your fault,” she said. “I got in too much of a hurry for the caffeine.” She lifted her fork and dug into the eggs. “What’s the plan for today?”

“More interviews with your former classmates, and hopefully, Swede will have tapped into the duty log.”