“I understand that.” Warner couldn’t hear an old OX song without thinking of the moment he found his father dead. He shook off the thought. “She’s a strong woman. I don’t suppose there is anything that could take her down.”

“You two gossiping like little girls makes me wonder about how strong you big men are though.” They both looked up to see Clara standing in the doorway.

Her hair was wet, and much darker than normal. She wore a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. She obviously had skipped the bra and that had Warner looking away and down at the table.

Clara sat down at the table and Christian pushed the mug toward her.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Christian walked around her and gave her a kiss on the head. “I’m going to head upstairs. Tori is supposed to Skype.”

“Where is she?”

“L.A.” He stood up straight and held his hand out to Warner who shook it. “Thanks for taking care of my girl.”

He looked at Clara who smiled. “My pleasure.”

Christian headed upstairs leaving Warner and Clara in awkward silence.

“I assume you know why I’m a chicken in the dark.”

He reached for her hand. “I don’t think that way. You have every right to have been frightened.”

“It was a long time ago. It upsets me more when I get upset over it.”

He understood that emotion. “It looks to me that everyone takes good care of you though when you need it.”

She smiled. “Yeah. The Kellers work that way.”

“I’ve already seen it quite a bit in less than a week.” He ran his thumb over her knuckles. “It’ll never go away. You just learn to deal with the situation that frightened you.”

Clara narrowed her eyes. “You’re talking about your dad, aren’t you?”

“I found him.”

“Warner…”

He sat back and shrugged. “He ran the car in the garage. I sometimes wonder if he meant to take me with him in his forever journey.”

“Why?”

“Because I was home asleep in my bed.”

Clara covered her mouth. “That’s horrible.”

“It is what it is. And if I never get a record deal or sell one song, I’ll know I’m a survivor. So are you.”

“I guess us kind should stick together, huh?” She moved in closer to him.

Warner rested his forehead against hers. “You’re willing to risk it all over some slob like me?”

“You may not have been raised a Keller, but something tells me you have the same kind of fight in your blood.”

He grinned. “I like that.”

“Stay with me, Warner. Just hold me all night.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Let’s both sleep our demons away wrapped in each other’s arms. Nothing more—just comfort.”

He knew he shouldn’t accept the invitation, but he couldn’t help it. This had gone far beyond needing her voice. He needed her.

Chapter Six

The private world beyond Clara’s door told Warner exactly who she really was and it brought a grin to his lips.

Her bed was unmade. The girly rose covered comforter was bunched up at the bottom of the bed as though she had been too hot to sleep with it. There were miscellaneous clothes strung over the back of a chair in the corner of the room and a pile of shoes making their exit from the closet by way of potential avalanche.

A guitar sat in the corner as well as a keyboard. Sheets of music lay on the floor next to them in a pile.

Clara was carefree and this proved it to him. Nothing was too important and Warner liked that. Living with his grandmother that hadn’t been the case; a perfectly organized and tidy house was more important than anything, including the happiness of her grandson.

But Warner knew a creative mind. He had one too and his apartment didn’t look much different. Though, had he brought her to his house, he’d have been running amuck trying to pick up everything. Clara embraced her individuality, he decided, because she didn’t seem to worry what he might think. And he thought the mess was lovely.

Clara turned to him and smiled. “You’re eyeballing my mess.”

“I am not.”

“Yes you are. You think I’m a pig. My mother always warned me that someday…”

“I didn’t take you to my house, did I?” He laughed. “Your room looks fine.”

“I have too much to do to worry about duvets and pillow shams.”

“Do whats?”

Now she laughed. “Nothing.” She moved in closer to him. “I know this seems silly. And I’d understand if you’d want to go.”

“Why would I want to go?”

“Because I don’t have sex with men I only met.”

Warner took a step back to distance himself from her. “You said sleep over and that was all. Clara, I’m not the kind of man…”

She moved into him again. “I know you’re not. That’s why I asked you to stay.” She rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Being trusted wasn’t something he dealt with a lot. He usually hid from any reason to be trusted. There was always the chance he’d let someone down.

Clara picked up an old T-shirt and a pair of shorts off the pile on the chair. “I’m going to go change. I could find something for you to sleep in if you’d like. Christian should have…”

“No,” he interrupted thinking that borrowing her brother’s pajama bottoms was certainly crossing the line. “The boxers I have on are new, no holes.” He laughed. “If you’re comfortable that will work for me.”

Clara grinned and her cheeks flushed pink. She nodded and headed to the bathroom with her pajamas.

When the door had closed he went about getting undressed. Maybe if he were in bed, covered up, it would ease her.

He toed off his boots and pulled off his socks, stuffing them into the boots. He shimmied out of his jeans and pulled off his T-shirt then folded them nicely and set them on the floor in a tidy pile.

Warner quickly fixed the sheets on the bed and climbed in as the bathroom door opened.

As awkward as she looked trying to be normal, he knew Clara Keller wasn’t used to bringing men home.

She turned off the light and climbed into the bed next to him. She turned to face him. “Thank you for staying with me. John turning off the lights shouldn’t have set me off like that.”