“It’s number three, right?” Kelly asked.
Cassidy nodded, grabbing her phone and reading a text.
As they stepped out the church door, Turbo pulled out of the parking lot in his pickup. Gram’s white head bounced beside him in the passenger seat. Kelly watched in confusion as Turbo grinned and waved. Hadn’t Tough brought Gram? How was Tough supposed to get to the rehearsal dinner, which was going to be more like a picnic since they were holding it at the park?
When they’d been outside, Tough had mentioned he was riding with Turbo since the car he’d driven was full of cereal.
Dusty laughed from behind her. “Tough, looks like you’ll have to ride with me. Turbo just took off.”
Kelly turned, meeting Tough’s eyes.
He didn’t say anything, and neither did she. If he wanted to ride with Dusty, Kelly wasn’t going to argue with him.
“Here, Tough.” Dusty bumped his arm with her shoulder and handed him a helmet. “I’ll even let you drive.”
With one last look at Kelly, Tough turned away, still not speaking.
Kelly was just ducking into her car when a rumbling noise made her turn and look. Tough drove Dusty’s bike with Dusty crouched behind him. His face was hidden behind the dark helmet, but the rest of him couldn’t look any better in his tight tee, jeans, and those stinking cowboy boots, which gave her heart a thrill every time she looked at them. Dusty had her hands wrapped around his broad shoulders. Kelly told herself that the nasty, wicked feeling that ripped through her was not jealousy, but she was lying, and she knew it.
She fingered the rock on her third finger. It should come off. She needed to tell Preston.
Swallowing the acid that burned up her throat, she turned back to her car and got in.
They pulled out, but she lost them immediately in traffic. However, when she arrived at the park, they weren’t there. The nasty feeling, the one she’d never felt before in her life, but which had become common fare in the last thirty minutes, pulled tight across her chest. She hopped out of her car and went immediately to where the nanny, Catherine, was trying to ride herd on the kids.
“Let me help.”
Catherine, as capable as she was, gave her a grateful look. “Jamal wanted to fish in the reservoir, but I didn’t want the twins that close to the water.”
Kelly looked over at the sparkling water of the reservoir.
“That’s great. I’ll take Jamal over.”
Jamal eagerly ran to where he’d laid his rod and tackle box, gathering them up and running ahead to the reservoir. Kelly followed more sedately but was grateful she had a valid excuse to avoid the stares and questioning glances. First Tough was making out with her, then he’s off riding with Dusty on her motorcycle. Everyone had to wonder what was going on, what had happened. Kelly had to admit she had no idea.
It would have been one thing for Tough to ride with Dusty, but for them to be out cruising together...she couldn’t think of it. Finding a bench, she was going to sit down, but Jamal came over.
“I have an extra rod. You can use it if you want.”
“I’ve never fished before.” Although someone had recently asked her if she had fins. She almost smiled at the memory before she remembered that the person who had asked that was now cruising around with another woman.
“Really? Never?”
“Nope.”
“Here, take this.” He handed her a small, round container.
“What’s this?”
“Worms.”
Kelly blinked. She held the container a little farther from her body. “Do they bite?”
Jamal’s eyes drew down. “I don’t think so. I don’t think they have teeth.” He took the container from her and opened the lid. Kelly took another small step backward. Her knees hit the edge of the bench. Jamal waved the container around. “You have to dig in and grab a worm. Then we put him on the hook, and that’s what brings the fish.”
Kelly put her best appease-the-child face on and tried not to let on that she didn’t want to touch the worms. “Could you show me once, first?”
“Sure.” Jamal smiled and puffed out his chest. Kelly grinned to herself. Lots of people enjoy fishing. It was probably fun. Once one got past the worm part.
BY THE TIME TOUGH FINALLY pulled Dusty’s bike into the park and shut it off at the pavilion they’d rented, everyone was sitting down, eating.
“They have drinks,” he said as he took his helmet off. Dusty said she’d promised to bring tea, so they’d gone across town to the only store that carried the kind of tea she wanted. Tough suspected something wasn’t ringing quite true, and he wanted to blame Turbo, but for once, Turbo looked extremely uncomfortable, having somehow gotten stuck in a corner beside the red-haired librarian...Harris, he thought her name was.
“It was a nice ride.” Dusty smiled at him and blinked her eyes. Was she flirting? He really wasn’t used to all this talking and being around people. He supposed he had Kelly to thank for it. She’d forced him to make eye contact...no, he’d forced himself. Just like he’d forced himself to talk to her. He was glad he had. Not so glad he couldn’t get his mouth to work earlier when Dusty suggested he ride with her. He’d wanted to go with Kelly. But she hadn’t spoken up, and his tongue might be getting better at moving when it was supposed to, but it hadn’t done it then.
He grunted at Dusty and grabbed the gallons of tea from her saddlebag. He scanned the pavilion again. Where was Kelly? Her car was in the lot.
Cassidy walked over to him, her plate filled with jello, mac and cheese, and other foods for the twins. “She’s fishing with Jamal.”
Tough jerked his head. “Thanks,” he mumbled, not even wanting to know how Cassidy knew he was looking for Kelly.
“Hey, no problem. Why don’t you go tell them that we’re eating? I think they probably know, but it might remind Jamal that he’s hungry.”
He nodded, turning and striding toward the reservoir, which wasn’t far away, just around the bend. Sure enough, Kelly stood along the edge, in her yellow shirt and blue skirt, holding a fishing pole.
The end of it tipped down. She didn’t seem to notice that she had something on the line. But Jamal yelled, jumping up and down. She jerked then started to wind the line in as he encouraged her. Whatever she had, it looked heavy.
She got the fish to shore, just as Tough reached her. In all the excitement, he didn’t think she’d noticed him. Or maybe she was deliberately ignoring him. At any rate, he looked around for a net and didn’t see one.
“What is it?” Jamal asked.
“I’m not sure,” Tough said. “It kind of looks like a big goldfish.”
Kelly gasped at the sound of his voice and jerked the rod up as she turned. She hadn’t been ignoring him, apparently. The fish, which had been flopping on the ground, jerked in the air when she lifted the rod.
“I wouldn’t...” Tough reached out to grab the line, intending to pull the fish back on the ground so it didn’t slip off the hook, but he was too late.
The fish fell off. The hook jerked back from the released tension. He lurched to cover Kelly.
She squealed. “Ouch.”
Had he hurt her? He backed away. A red spot began on her shoulder. Just a pinprick at first. But then it grew bigger. Shiny, thin metal poked out. The hook had embedded in her shoulder. So deep he couldn’t see anything but a small flash of metal and the fishing line coming out of her blouse.
He pulled the lighter out of his pocket and burnt the line, disconnecting her from the fishing rod, at least.
He looked around. Jamal had thrown the fish back into the pond, and now he stood beside him, staring at Kelly. “It’s in her shoulder, isn’t it?” Jamal said. “That’s why she’s bleeding.” The boy looked a little green and glanced away. “Hey, something has my line!” Jamal shouted, and he ran off.
“Say something, Kelly.” It bothered him how she just stood there.
She grimaced. “I’m afraid if I move, it will hurt.”
“They’re not going to bring the hospital to you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “This is a great time for you to find both your tongue and your sense of humor.”
“Sorry. What do you want me to say? You’re going to die?”
Her eyes flew open wide, and she affected a simper. “Oh, my gosh. Do you really think so?”
His lips twitched. “No.”
Her eyes narrowed again. “Hauling girls around on motorcycles must really make you happy. That’s two jokes in less than a minute.”
“Girls have never made me happy.” They still didn’t. There was just one. There had always been just one.
“This is not the time to step out of the closet.”
One side of Tough’s mouth hitched up. “Now you’re making jokes. I wish you’d take this seriously. You’re going to stand here and bleed to death.”
She smiled. Then her face melted into a worried frown. “Do you really think I need to go to the hospital?”
He paused. “Can I look?”
“Of course.”
“Well...you’re probably going to have to unbutton your shirt. Maybe just two buttons.”
“I’m sure I can trust you to be the perfect gentleman.”
She must have forgotten how much trouble he had being the perfect gentleman while they were lying on the ground and he was begging to kiss her.
He didn’t answer her. But, as she unbuttoned her shirt, he slid it over until the hook was visible. Actually, just the end of the hook was visible.
“How bad is it?” She turned her head, almost bumping his cheek with her nose.
He took a breath.
“That bad?”
“Well, the thing is, with fishhooks, they have those little barbs on them, to keep from losing the fish. Which means you can’t really pull it backward. You kind of have to push it through.”
“And you can do that?”
“Well...no.” He let go of her shirt. “I could if the other end of the hook were visible—the sharp end. But it’s buried in your shoulder.”
If it were him or one of his brothers, they’d take a pair of needle-nose pliers and manipulate the hook until it broke the skin, then pull it out. But he didn’t want to do that with Kelly.
“So, ER?”
“I think that’s best. I’ll take you.”
She bit her lip. “I’d appreciate that. I’d hate to ruin the meal for Cassidy.”
He put an arm around her, to steady her, of course, and they started walking to the car. “The last I looked, Turbo was stuck beside Harris and looking as miserable as I’ve ever seen him. I hope Harris stays there all night.”
Kelly chuckled. “You’re mean.”
“Not so. I’m sure Harris is a very nice person, but she’s not buying Turbo’s crap. Good for her.”
Chapter 10
The Emergency sign flashed above the hospital door. Kelly waited while Tough got out and walked around the car to help her out. The ride wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. Her shoulder throbbed, but there was no new sharp, unbearable pain.
Tough opened her door, and Kelly put her feet on the ground carefully, keeping her right arm from moving. Tough reached in and gently took her left, helping her to stand.
They’d chosen the smaller hospital on the edge of town over the larger one in the middle of the city, and it seemed like a good choice. There was no one in the waiting room, and the nurses took her right back. She exchanged her shirt for a hospital gown, and Tough strode in after she was decent. Decent except for the unsnapped shoulder, which exposed the bit of metal and line sticking out of the fleshy part of her shoulder.
His brows drew together, and she wanted to reassure him. “They’ve already given me a shot of Novocain. She said the doc would be in in about twenty minutes once it takes full effect, and they’d have it out in less than five.”
He studied her shoulder before saying, “Sounds easy.”
“Yeah.” She fiddled with the edge of her gown. “Tough?”
“Mmm?”
Her heart thumped in her chest, and she didn’t lift her eyes from staring at her hand in her lap. “I’m going to break off my engagement.”
She had promised herself she wouldn’t chase Tough, and she wasn’t going to. But it was fair to let him know where she stood.
“Why?” He sounded truly baffled.
Her mouth worked up and down. “Why? Well, because, because I...”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “Think hard.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “It’s been a crazy day.”
“Yeah. Don’t make a rash decision.” His serious expression confused her.
Was he trying to talk her out of breaking up with Preston? Sure seemed like it.
“It’s not rash. I’ve been having some thoughts about it for a while now.” Since her car crash and she met Tough for the first time as an adult.
“He can give you everything you’ve always wanted.” The muscles in Tough’s cheeks worked as he stared straight ahead. She didn’t try to get him to meet her eyes. “You two could do a lot of good together if you teamed up. That’s what you want. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
He ran his hand over his head and paced to the window and back. “If you’re worried about what happened earlier, you were pretending, remember?”
“Of course,” she said, but it came out more like a whisper. He hadn’t seemed like he was pretending when he ran his lips down her throat and nipped at her necklace. Nor when he begged her to kiss him. His “please” rang in her ears still. Had he really been pretending?
“Don’t throw away the chance to do what you’ve always wanted to do.” He looked her in the eye, then. His face was blank. There was no pretense or hidden pain. She had to assume he was sincere.
She was the one who looked away first. “I have to tell him what I did.”
He nodded slowly. “I admire honesty.”
She glanced up, and their eyes met again. Held. Seconds of silence ticked by as she tried to figure out if she was misunderstanding him.
The doctor bustled in, breaking the elongated silence. “Okay. Is that shoulder nice and numb?”
The nurse followed him in and arranged instruments on a tray. “You’re going to want to be on this side, sir. Give her your hand. This shouldn’t hurt, and we’ll be done in no time, but a little distraction will help push things along.”
Tough moved silently. He paused before touching her fingers. She didn’t move. Not to hold his hand. Not to pull away.
He slid his hand along hers, the roughness of his callouses sending burning currents up her arm. On its own, her hand flexed and turned, their fingers twining together like they’d done it all their lives, instead of this being the first time. Her hand fit perfectly in the larger cradle of his, and her heart felt warm.
She didn’t want to ruin the feeling by examining it too closely, so she closed her eyes. His thumb moved along the surface of her hand, just a gentle touch. She opened her eyes to watch. His hand dark. Hers light. His rough, hers smooth. His nails blunt and still with a little bit of black grease stuck in several. Hers pink and shiny. His wrist thick, hers much smaller with golden bracelets dangling.
So different. Yet it felt so perfect to have him holding her.
He wanted her to stay with Preston.
There was a tug on her shoulder, and the doctor moved and held up a pliers-type instrument. “It’s out,” he said with a smile. “I’m putting a little Neosporin on this, then you’re free to go.”
“No antibiotics?” Tough asked, causing Kelly to turn her head. He’d spoken. Wow.
“Nope.” The doctor put a hand on her shoulder. “If you haven’t had a tetanus shot, I recommend scheduling that immediately. That will be in your discharge instructions. With this being a small hospital, we don’t see enough people through here, and the vaccine expires before we use it. So we don’t stock it. Otherwise, I don’t expect any problems. Any other questions?” he ask
ed.
“No,” Kelly said.
Tough walked out behind the doctor, and she put her shirt, which was slightly worse for wear, back on, before gathering up her stuff and walking out into the hall.
Tough leaned against the wall, his head tilted back, eyes closed.
“Napping?”
He straightened. “Yeah. Been a day.”
She noted the tightness around his eyes; he’d been up early and probably had little time between work and the rehearsal. She fought the urge to trace his jaw with her fingers or rub his tense shoulders. He blinked.
“It sure has. I can drop you off at the shop,” Kelly offered, looking away.
He shook his head. “No. I’ll see you to your car, if you’re sure you can drive?”
“I can. Now that there’s not a fishhook stuck in my shoulder.” It was sore, but there was a feeling of relief, even if it was only mental, with having it out.
He nodded. “Well, good. I’ll find my own way home.” He shortened his stride to match hers.
She fingered the key and stopped. “I’m not going to just leave you here at the hospital.”
“And I don’t want you to drive me home.” He kept walking.
“Why not?”
“I just don’t.”
She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “Your girlfriend’s going to be there, and you don’t want me to see her?”
“Does it matter?” he asked, stopping beside her. She glimpsed maybe a hint of bitterness or resentment in him for the first time. But he blinked, and the tightness around his eyes was gone as if she’d imagined it.
“Of course not.”
He stared at the wall. Finally, he shifted. “I’ll drive you home.”
“No. If you don’t want me to take you home, that’s fine.” She felt like stomping as she walked by him and out the sliding doors into the hospital foyer and waiting area.
He matched her stride. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re being a chauvinist.” She didn’t slow down, and she didn’t bother looking at him.
The outside doors opened automatically, and they walked through. She thought he wasn’t going to answer her, and she told herself she didn’t care.
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