He would. Soon enough he would. Nausea twisted her insides, and she choked, black spots in front of her eyes.

“Mama!” The cry pulled her head up.

Hawk had an arm around Aric. “Wait, kid. Grabbing her isn’t smart.”

Because she might not realize it was her son touching her. The knowledge was bitter. And forced her to get control.

Seeing her expression, Hawk let Aric go. “Slow, kid.”

Aric ran over, stopped before slamming into her…and hugged her leg.

Bending, she put her arms around his shoulders. He was shaking almost as hard as she was.

It took a minute, two, an eternity before her breathing returned to normal. Okay, okay. She had this. She was fine.

When she straightened, Hawk wasn’t in the room any longer.

Over at the wooden smoker, Hawk checked the state of the salmon strips there. Because he needed something for his hands to do.

Jesus, he’d sent her right into a fucking panic attack. What the fuck had he been thinking? That she was interested in him?

Not hardly. She tolerated him because of Aric, because her kid needed him. She might even like him in a friendly way. Not because she saw him as a man.

Pretty fucking familiar, wasn’t it?

He rubbed at the ache in his chest. He hadn’t intended to scare her, but hell, it seemed that she saw him as being as terrifying as her rapists.

Most women did.

The knowledge was bitter. Because he…liked her. Liked everything about her, from the haunted brown eyes to the thin, callused hands. The way she adored her kid and the unhappiness she showed when she had to accept charity.

He liked her spirit, her courage…and yeah, he was a guy, so he’d noticed the sweet breasts, the curve of her hips. He wanted her in his bed, under him and over him. If she wanted to sit on his face, he’d be all for it.

Instead, he’d scared her into nearly puking.

Now, every time she looked at him, she’d want to run—be looking for those escape routes she’d just learned.

Way to go, asshole.

A minute later, he heard Aric’s high little voice. Over at his house, they were leaving. Obviously, Kit wasn’t sticking around to eat pancakes.

He pulled in a slow breath, unhappiness settling like an unbalanced load in his gut. The Hermitage was home, his sanctuary, but Kit needed to be here. She didn’t have anywhere else to go while she finished recovering.

She wouldn’t accomplish much healing with him here, scaring her.

Aric was pretty much back to normal. If he had his mom, he’d be fine. Hawk wasn’t his security blanket any longer.

No point in hanging around, was there? He let out an unhappy sigh. Time to go shut up the house and get his ass out of here.