In Too Deep (Wildfire Lake)

by Skye Jordan

  I pick up a rag she insists is clean but wouldn’t pass my inspection and wrap the wound. She looks up and sways. I grab her other arm and step close to support her. “If you pass out, I will call 9-1-1, and you’ll be embarrassed as hell.”

  She huffs a laugh. “That’ll keep me conscious.”

  I pull her into step toward Levi’s truck. He’s already gotten out and is collecting the bags of presents, but stops when he sees us. “What’s going on?”

  “She cut herself,” I tell him. “She needs to go to the ER.”

  Levi opens the passenger’s door, tosses the bags in back, and steps aside. “Only you could have such shitty timing, Rivers. The ER? On Christmas Eve?”

  “Suck it, Asher.”

  We’re all one big happy family now, and KT and Levi bicker and tease like siblings.

  Once we’re on the road to the ER, Levi looks at KT. “You heard Santa’s coming to the hospital tonight, didn’t you?”

  That makes KT laugh. “Maybe he’ll have some common sense for me.”

  “We can only hope,” Levi quips.

  “Ha,” KT says.

  When we reach the ER, it’s quiet, and they take KT back right away. Levi hangs in the waiting room while I get KT settled.

  A nurse takes all the information, then leaves.

  “You can go,” KT says. “I don’t want to hold you up from Levi’s family.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll just wait to hear what the doctor says.”

  “No, really,” she says meeting my gaze deliberately. “You can go.”

  She gives a little side-eye toward the nurse’s station, where the nurse who was just here speaks to a doctor in blue scrubs. He’s sandy-blond, square-jawed, and fit.

  “Isn’t he a little too pretty for you?” I ask, knowing KT usually goes for rough-around-the-edges types, though she hasn’t gone for anyone since she’s been in Wildfire.

  “After six months with no sex? No, he’s not too pretty. Now get out of here before Chloe comes. And tell her to wait outside for me.”

  I shake my head. If KT’s well enough to think about flirting with the handsome doctor, I suppose it’s safe to leave her with the blond version of Doctor McDreamy. “Okay. Have Chloe call me when they figure you out.”

  “That could take years.”

  I laugh. “Maybe we can all go to Santa Barbara tomorrow together.”

  “Sure, whatever,” KT says as the doctor approaches. “Get out.”

  I turn and almost bump into the doctor. I don’t recognize him as a local, but I definitely see why KT would be interested. “Excuse me, sorry.”

  “I don’t mean to run you out,” he says, his voice deep and smooth. He’s definitely got charisma. “You’re welcome to stay.”

  I glance at KT, who’s giving me a very clear don’t-you-dare stare, and smile at the doctor. “No, I think she’s in good hands. Thank you.”

  As I make my way toward the exit, I hear the doctor say, “Ms. Rivers, I’m Doctor Latham. KT?” he says with curiosity. “Are those initials from you first and middle name or is KT your given name?”

  I’m chuckling as I exit the ER, and link arms with Levi and smile as we make our way to his truck.

  “She wouldn’t let me stay,” I tell him. “Wants to flirt with the doctor.”

  “That’s a good sign.”

  “Not so sure. The first thing he asked was about her name.”

  “Ah.” He grins before he steps back and closes my door.

  KT doesn’t like to go into why she went by the initials, and when KT doesn’t like something, no one can be as stubborn as that woman. It had taken Chloe and me years to get her to fess up, and the only reason Levi knew was because I told him. It will be interesting to find out if KT tells the handsome doctor her given name.

  Levi slides behind the driver’s seat and leans over to kiss me. “Hi.”

  I smile. “Hi.”

  Everything seems to make me smile nowadays, but especially Levi. Our relationship has grown and deepened, allowing us both to release residual uncertainty, which has made our relationship stronger than I thought a relationship could ever be.

  But I’m still worried about KT’s arm, and I text Chloe on the way to Levi’s parents. Then I’m swept up into the Asher family madness, and it’s tough to think about much else. There are three new babies having their first Christmases and six others wound up and spinning like tops. It amazes me how I’ve become accustomed to the commotion. How we can carry on full conversations while the kids are going crazy, but somehow, it all works.

  The adults sit around the big living room while the kids take turns unwrapping presents. Chloe texts to tell me KT got stitches and they’re back at the marina, safe and sound.

  When I look up from the text, I’m overwhelmed, yet again, by the crowd and chaos. “Man, you’ve got a big family.”

  “We have a big family.”

  I feel the rightness of that statement deep in my heart. “Yeah, we do.”

  When the kids are done, and the whirlwind of wrapping paper and boxes and bows settles, Levi asks me to pull out his mother’s champagne flutes while he opens a bottle of Dom Perignon.

  On our way back into the living room, I ask, “Is this one of your family’s traditions?”

  “Not exactly.”

  I pass out the glasses, and Levi follows, pouring champagne. Just before I sit down, Levi takes my hands and lowers to one knee.

  “What are you—”

  He draws a small box from his pocket, and my body becomes that bubbly bottle of champagne, tingling from head to toe. He opens the box, presenting me with a beautiful engagement ring of platinum and diamonds, one I’m having a hard time seeing through my tears.

  “We’ve finally found our way back together,” he says. “Let’s make sure we never lose each other again. Marry me, Laiyla.”

  I pull in a breath to answer, but my throat closes, so I nod, and when air finally reaches my lungs, I say, “Oh my God. Yes.”

  He slides the ring on my finger while the rest of his family toasts to us. I wrap my arms around Levi’s neck, and he holds me tight.

  “I love you so much,” I whisper.

  “Love you too, Ladybug. Love you too.”

  Also by Skye Jordan

  WILDFIRE LAKE SERIES

  In Too Deep

  Going Under 9/2020

  Swept Away 11/2020

  THE WRIGHTS SERIES

  So Wright

  Damn Wright

  Must be Wright

  MANHUNTERS SERIES

  Grave Secrets

  No Remorse

  RENEGADES SERIES:

  Reckless

  Rebel

  Ricochet

  Rumor

  Relentless

  Rendezvous

  Riptide

  Rapture

  QUICK & DIRTY COLLECTION:

  Dirtiest Little Secret

  WILDWOOD SERIES:

  Forbidden Fling

  Wild Kisses

  ROUGH RIDERS HOCKEY SERIES:

  Quick Trick

  Hot Puck

  Dirty Score

  Wild Zone

  COVERT AFFAIRS SERIES:

  Intimate Enemies

  First Temptation

  Sinful Deception

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  About the Author

  Skye Jordan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels. She was born and raised in California and has recently been transplanted to Northern Virginia.

  She left her challenging career in sonography at UCSF Medical Center to devote herself to writing full time, but still travels overseas on medical missions to teach sonography to physicians. Most recently, she traveled to Et
hiopia and Haiti.

  Skye and her husband are coming up on their thirty year wedding anniversary and have two beautiful daughters. A lover of learning, Skye enjoys classes of all kinds, from knitting to forensic sculpting. She is an avid rower and spends many wonderful hours on the Potomac with her amazing rowing club.

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  You can find Skye online here:

  Skye’s Starlets | Website | Email