Shelter for Elizabeth (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 5) by Susan Stoker Page B

who’d rescued her, and she certainly hadn’t mentioned anyone with the unbelievably cliché name of “Tex.” He’d have to talk to his sister privately about the man. While he was proud of Beth’s computer abilities, what she was doing was illegal, and the last thing he wanted was for her to get caught. She had enough on her plate as it was…she didn’t need any more hassle.
    Wanting to get Beth’s thoughts off her computer, he asked, “What’s with all the candles?” Cade liked it when Beth was relaxed, and now that she knew some random hacker wasn’t messing with her data, she’d put the computer aside again and had folded against him. But with his question, he felt her tense up. He hurried to reassure her. “I wasn’t making fun. I like them, it’s just that I haven’t seen them before.”
    Cade looked around the room and noted just how many there were. There were some tealight candles on the kitchen counter, and a variety of colors and sizes of them in a box on the floor next to the sliding glass doors that led into the courtyard.
    “Now that I think about it, you have a ton of them, Beth,” Penelope chimed in. She leaned over and picked up one from the coffee table and smelled it. “This one isn’t even scented.”
    “Uh, yeah. I thought they were…but I bought the wrong ones.”
    “I have a friend who sells the really good kind. I can hook you up if you want?” Pen asked, trying to be helpful.
    “It’s okay.”
    “Well, if you want more, just let me know.”
    “I will.”
    Cade felt Beth relax against him again as they turned their attention back to the movie, now that the drama of the night was over. Something niggled at the back of his mind, but he pushed it aside, lost in the softness of Beth’s body against his.
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    T hree hours later , well after Penelope had left, Cade stood at Beth’s door looking down at her. “I feel like we spend a lot of time standing here.”
    Beth smiled and wrinkled her nose. “I know, right? It’s just a door, but sometimes it feels like I really am in jail.”
    “You really shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”
    “I’m trying to get better.”
    “I know.”
    Beth looked away, then brought her eyes back up to his. “What if it doesn’t ever get easier? I don’t want to be like this for the rest of my life.”
    “All you can do is go one day at a time. Don’t borrow trouble, sweetheart.”
    Beth sighed and slowly leaned into Cade, resting her forehead against his chest. “I want so badly to be like everyone else.”
    “I like you just the way you are.”
    Beth felt his words rumble through his wide chest and into her own body. “If I was like everyone else we might have normal dates.”
    “I don’t know. This one was pretty good. We hung out, watched a movie, laughed, and now we’re going to kiss each other good-night.”
    His words brought her head up, and she saw the blinding smile aimed at her. “First, I’m a total computer geek. I love it, but unfortunately it’s not exactly the sexiest thing in the world. Second, it might have been a good night here, but I want so badly to be able to hang out with you in public. A restaurant, a bar…your place.”
    “Done.”
    “What?”
    “We’ll start with my place. I’ll come and get you and we can hang over there. It’s not as cool as your apartment is though. It’s a bachelor pad.”
    “I’d love to see your place,” Beth said wistfully. “And meet your friends. You’ve talked about them so much, I feel like I know them.”
    Cade laughed. “You can meet them, but I swear if Driftwood or Crash hit on you, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
    “They’re the playboys, right?”
    “I guess that’s as good a label to give them as any,” Cade said easily.
    Beth wrinkled her forehead. “Who are the others again?”
    “Let’s see. Firefighters first. Taco was here at your place when you tried to super-fry your chicken. He wasn’t the asshole who tried to force you