Lost and Found Pieces 2

to do something no one would budge me.”
Shock slammed through her at his words. Beautiful? Seriously? No. She frowned and had to force herself to concentrate on the rest of the statement. Yeah, she could see that. She’d experienced his stubbornness a couple of times.
“Regardless, your life is on pause for me.”
“No, it’s not,” he contradicted. “I don’t have any classes till spring quarter.”
She blinked, the news coming as a shock to her. She hadn’t realized he had anything scheduled. “Still,” she started, but he held up a hand.
“Roz, I’m exactly where I want to be,” he told her, leaning forward on his elbows. “You aren’t keeping me from anything, I swear to you. My cat is here, and my condo leased, so if I’m not here, I’m homeless. Are you trying to make me homeless?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Of course not! I, I just,” her hands went up in the air. Unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears and her heart began to race. Mac reached across the table and cradled her hands in his own, running his thumbs over hers. Immediately, the panic began to ease like it had never been. Roz registered the change in her body and looked at the cause. The man was smiling at her like nothing had happened, but he was too smart not to realize what had happened, surely.
Rationally she knew he wasn’t here under duress, but she had to make sure. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to be here,” she finished lamely.
He shook his head at her, smile tilting his bearded face. “I don’t feel obligated.”
She winced. “I guess I don’t understand why you would stay here, then. I don’t talk very much and when I do it’s to bitch about something. I’m a passable cook but you’re way better, I admit that now, so I know it’s not that.”
“Would you believe me if I said I enjoyed your mountain, the cabin, and your company?”
Roz looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, but he seemed completely sincere. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“You’re not right in the head,” she muttered.
Mac chuckled, making a face at her. “We’ll be ‘not right in the head’ together, then. I like you Roz. I like the retreat you’ve made here. You’re not the only one fighting demons. We can’t stay indefinitely. Eventually you’ll go back to Atlanta and I’ll go back to Columbus, but for now it’s a nice respite.”
She blinked, her blood chilling. The thought of Mac leaving put her on edge, and she had a startling realization. When had her safety shifted from the cabin to him? The thought of being in the house without Mac didn’t make her happy. It made her feel a little panicky and out of control. She drew in a deep breath. You’re going to have to get used to the idea, she told herself. At some point you’ll each go your separate directions.
Her fear didn’t ease the second time she thought it either. Mac was her rock, her touchstone. He had literally saved her life and he’d been protecting her ever since, even though the danger was well past. He’d walked into her home and made it better for them both and had not asked for anything in return.
If he thought he was going to be leaving soon, though, he was not as attached to her as she was to him, apparently. Time to scramble to begin rebuilding the wall around her emotions.
“I know,” she said, voice cool, though her heart was quivering. “I’ve gotten used to our… arrangement.”
He stared at her, and there was something brewing behind his eyes. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but it put her on edge. “What?”
Mac blinked, then gave her that crooked smile, but this time it seemed a little sad. “Nothing, Roz.”
For some reason her heart hurt and she wasn’t sure why. She had a feeling she had just missed something important, but she wasn’t sure what.

Chapter Three
Mac tried not to be resentful as he cleaned up their dinner and put the leftovers away. Roz had gone into the living room to do something, and he wondered if she even realized how much she had hurt him by her cool response. Or was she still so lost in herself that she didn’t even see why he was here.
Some part of him was hoping that she would understand that he wouldn’t have completely upended his life for just anyone. He had only done it for her.
In spite of the traumas she’d suffered, he could see the woman shining beneath, and he knew that she would overcome everything life put in her way. He just had to give her time.
She didn’t seem to realize that he had feelings for her. It wasn’t a surprise to him, though. Roz had met him the first time with a shotgun in hand, and he was intrigued. She struck him as a woman who could protect herself, completely. It was only later that he realized how brittle she was emotionally. There was an incredible protective shell around her that kept her from feeling too many emotions, and he was still outside that shell, even after all they’d been through.
Offering to come home with her after the Columbus fiasco had been a spur of the moment decision, but he didn’t regret it. Never would. It had given him even more insight into her amazing heart and her will to survive. Roz was beautiful to him, and he loved everything about her.
Would he like to be closer to her? Of course. But he was very aware that physical closeness was a balancing act with her. She didn’t mind hugs as long as she saw him coming and he thought she’d gotten used to his little, everyday touches, but he didn’t dare lean in for a kiss. He didn’t know the details of her rape, but he could see the effect it had left upon her, and in spite of his need for her he would never