by Deanna Chase
“But secondly, if it was a date, then it’s none of your damned business,” she added, plowing right over him. “You can’t have this both ways, Rhys. You had your shot. In fact, you had about a million of them. You’re the one who put the brakes on whatever that was between us last year. And you’re the one who keeps telling me we’re better as friends. Fine! Friends it is. But you don’t get to act like you have any say in who I see. Got it?”
Rhys swallowed and nodded since he didn’t trust himself to speak. If he did, he might beg her to show Chad the door and meet him back at his place in a half hour.
“Good.” She sucked in a deep breath, visibly trying to calm herself. “Now that we have that settled, I think it’s best if we take a break from each other. I need some space.”
He hated that idea. The truth was he really missed her. Missed her laugh, her smile, her willingness to call him out on his crap. She was strong and full of fire and the only woman he wanted to spend time with. But the way she was looking at him, her eyes pleading with him to give her a break, there was only one thing he could do. “Sure, Muffin. We can take a break. I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk again. I’m sorry. I…” He sighed. “Don’t take too long, okay? Who else am I going to get to watch the Hallmark channel with me?”
That got a chuckle out of her. “I bet your mom would be up for it.”
He scoffed. “Please. Mom is a Game of Thrones type. She’d probably throw her popcorn at the screen.”
Hanna reached up and patted his cheek. “Just record them on your DVR. Maybe next month sometime, we can have a marathon.”
“Can we turn it into a drinking game? A shot every time a town festival needs to be saved or an almost-kiss is interrupted?”
“Sure,” she said, sadness creeping into her dark gaze. “We can do that.” Then she turned and walked out.
Rhys followed, but he stood at the bar and watched as Chad stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and let him guide her out of the pub.
So this is what my life is going to be like without her, Rhys thought as he felt the pangs of loss course through his body. Way to go, dumbass.
Chapter Seven
Rhys hopped out of the shuttle in the parking lot of Redwood Coast Adventures, adrenaline still coursing through his veins. The hang gliding trip had been exhilarating. He loved the freedom and the opportunity to get out of his own head when he was flying through the air, nothing but the wind between him and the earth. Usually the activity left him feeling centered, more in control, as if letting go while up in the air helped him get right with his world. But not this time. Today, all he could think about was Hanna walking arm in arm with Chad.
Hanna hadn’t done one thing wrong, while Rhys had been an ass. And he hadn’t just been rude to Chad, he’d snapped at Clay and Sadie, too. Yesterday hadn’t been his best day. He’d apologized to his coworkers, but he hadn’t talked to Hanna yet. Chances were, she wasn’t interested in hearing from him anyway. Who could blame her? He’d dated her for a few months, called it off, and then proceeded to keep his distance because it was just too damned hard to be around her and be unable to touch her or kiss her or…
Rhys shook his head. That line of thought was getting him nowhere. He needed another fix. Another flight. Another adventure. Something to get Hanna and Chad off his mind. He walked toward the small office, intent on booking another round on the hang glider, when he spotted a familiar RAV4 with a daisy decal on the back of the SUV. His gaze immediately locked on the custom license plate. BAKE4U. There was no mistake. That was Hanna’s RAV4.
He glanced around the parking lot, noting a small crowd of people at the nearby food truck. Then the driver of the shuttle called to them, indicating it was time to board. The crowd moved as one and at first, he didn’t see her. But then a tall man quickened his pace, revealing Faith Townsend and Hanna, moving quickly toward the bus.
Rhys took off running toward the shuttle, his heart pounding against his ribcage. “Hanna!”
The woman in question paused and glanced around in confusion. Then she spotted him, and a look of complete defiance claimed her pretty face. She waited with her hands on her hips for him to catch up to them.
“Hey,” he said, giving her an easy smile and then nodding at Faith. “What are you two doing here?”
“Skydiving,” Hanna said, her tone laced with a challenge.
Rhys blinked. “What?”
“Let’s go, ladies,” the bus driver called. “It’s time to get moving.”
“You heard me,” Hanna said, waving Faith onto the bus. Once her friend stepped inside, Hanna turned to him. “Someone told me hang gliding was too dangerous, so I changed plans.”
“But skydiving?” Rhys asked. “You couldn’t find anything a little closer to the ground?” The thought of her free falling through the air terrified him. Rationally, he knew Redwood Coast Adventures had a stellar reputation for safety and if he was going to recommend a skydiving outfit to anyone, it would be RCA. But that didn’t mean accidents couldn’t happen. There’d been one just last month down in southern California where a shoot didn’t open. Panic started to claw at his throat.
“Nope,” she said and disappeared onto the bus.
Rhys moved to follow, but the bus driver frown at him. “You’re not on my list, Mr. Silver. Did you sign up for this adventure, too?”
He shook his head. “No, but—”
“Sorry. We’re all booked. But if you go see Jesse at the reservation counter, I’m sure she can fit you in later today or next weekend.”
Rhys looked up into Hazel’s friendly eyes and just shook his head. He was there often enough that the entire staff knew him. He could push his luck and probably get a seat on the bus, but he backed off, knowing Hanna wouldn’t appreciate his interference. Besides, what good would that do? He could spend the entire bus ride out to the plane trying to talk Hanna out of going, but he’d only make a fool of himself. She wasn’t interested in his opinion. She’d made herself abundantly clear. Instead he nodded to the bus driver. “Thanks, Hazel. Have a safe trip.”
“Always.”
The shuttle door closed, and Rhys stood there in the deserted parking lot, watching the bus disappear down the street. He slowly made his way back to his Jeep, climbed in, and took off without making another reservation to fly. All he could think about was Hanna falling out of the sky. And the next thing he knew, he was pulling his Jeep into another parking lot, the one adjacent to the drop zone used by Redwood Coast Adventures. Rhys killed the engine and waited, ignoring the warning in his mind that he was being unreasonable. He just needed to make sure she was safe, and then he’d go.
The sun shone overhead, and the day was one of those perfect spring days, no fog in sight. If he was being honest with himself, it was the perfect day for a skydiving trip. One couldn’t ask for better conditions. That didn’t mean his insides weren’t jumping around like crazy, though.
The distant whine of the plane sounded overhead, and Rhys glanced up, catching the first jumpers as they hurled through the air. There was no way to know which of the jumpers were Hanna or Faith, so Rhys kept an eye on all of them, holding his breath while the first pack opened up and the chute shot into the air. Three more followed without incident. The last two were still lying flat-out, no chute in sight. Not yet anyway.
“Come on,” he said, counting down from ten as a way to calm himself. Ten, nine, eight, seven—” Whoosh. One chute deployed. “Six, five, four—” Whoosh.
Relief flooded through Rhys, and he sat back in his Jeep, wondering if he should ask his doctor about anxiety meds. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d been skydiving more times than he could count. He’d even considered becoming an instructor at one point. The fact that he was sitting in his Jeep, spying on Faith and Hanna to make sure nothing went wrong with a jump that was statistically safer than the risk of a car accident, was mildly insane.
Shaking his head, he cranked the starter, put the Jeep
in reverse, and started to back up. Only when he glanced back at the drop zone, he noticed the wind had picked up and one of the jumpers was struggling to keep their feet under them as they landed. He stepped on the brake and put the Jeep in park just in time to see the jumper lose control and fall face-first into the dirt as the chute dragged them a good ten feet.
The instructor was already running in the person’s direction. Rhys pushed his door open and immediately heard Faith Townsend cry, “Hanna! Ohmigod! Are you all right?”
Rhys took off at a dead run. “Hanna!”
Faith turned, and her mouth dropped open into a shocked “O” at his presence, but Rhys only had eyes for the girl who was now sitting up and clutching at her ankle.
“Let’s get the gear off of you first, and then we’ll check on your leg, okay?” Rob, the instructor, said in a kind and gentle voice. “That gust of wind just came out of nowhere. We’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“Hanna?” Rhys dropped down on the other side of her, noting there was a scratch on her face and dirt everywhere. “What’s wrong, love?”
She turned to him, her expression pinched with pain. “It’s my ankle. I twisted it.”
“Just twisted?” Rhys took her hand in his and caressed her thumb, trying to soothe her.
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. Everything’s going to be fine. As soon as they get you free of this gear, I’ll get you to the hospital.”
Hanna groaned.
“Best to get an x-ray, Han,” Faith said.
“Definitely,” the instructor said as he slipped Hanna’s harness off.
Rhys stood and swept Hanna up into his arms. “I’ll take her.”
“What about my car?” Hanna asked. “It’s back at the office.”
“I’ll get it and meet you at the hospital,” Faith said. “Just give me your keys.”
Hanna dug into her pocket and handed the keys to her friend. “Guh. Why am a such a klutz? Everyone else managed to land on their feet just fine.”
“It’s not your fault, love,” Rhys said. “The wind just picked up at the last minute. It happens sometimes.”
“He’s right,” the instructor said. “You were doing great until the wind hit your chute.”
“Okay.” Hanna leaned into Rhys’s chest and closed her eyes. “Can we go? It hurts.”
“Sure.” He nodded to Rob. “I’ve got her from here.”
“Let me know how it turns out, okay?” Rob asked. “We take injuries seriously around here.”
“I know you do,” Rhys said. “I’ll give you a call.” He nodded to Faith. “You don’t have to come to the hospital. I can get her home.”
Faith shook her head. “No. I’ll meet you there.”
“Whatever you want, Faith. See you later.” He tightened his hold on Hanna and took off to his Jeep at a clipped speed.
Chapter Eight
Hanna sat on the exam table, cursing herself. Her throbbing ankle was going to wreak all kinds of havoc on her work schedule. And dammit, why had Rhys been there when she’d face-planted? Now not only hadn’t she proved that she was just as capable at extreme sports as he was, she’d utterly embarrassed herself, too.
“Hey, you,” Rhys said as he strode back into the exam room holding two paper coffee cups from a local café. “Faith brought these for us. She took the time to head down to Roosters instead of grabbing the sludge from the cafeteria.” He handed her one of the cups. “She had to get back to Keating Hollow to pick Zoey up from a friend’s house. She said to call her later to let her know how you’re doing and that she’d drop your car at your place and just walk home.”
“Okay.” Zoey was Faith’s soon-to-be stepdaughter. Hunter must’ve been working. Hanna closed her eyes and leaned back on the table. A tech had already taken her in for an X-ray, and now they were just waiting for the results.
“How’s it feel?” Rhys asked, sitting down next to her.
She shook her head. It hurt like hell, but dwelling on it only made it worse. Talking distracted her from the pain. “What were you doing at the drop zone?”
Rhys let out a sigh. “Just watching. I’d just got done with a sunrise hang gliding session and…” He shrugged. “I probably should’ve just gone home, but I wanted to make sure you landed safely.”
Hanna turned and met his gaze. “I guess it’s a good thing. Turns out I do need someone to babysit me.”
He took her hand between both of his. “You definitely don’t need a babysitter, love. But I am glad I was there. You can’t drive no matter what the diagnosis.” They both glanced at her right leg that was wrapped up in a bandage and an ice pack. “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
The truth was Hanna was pissed he’d followed them. It made her feel like he didn’t trust her to take care of herself. On the other hand, she was so grateful he was there to take care of her. He always knew just what to do or say to comfort her. She just wished it wasn’t necessary at all. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He rewarded her with a sweet smile and dipped his head to give her a soft kiss on the back of her hand. “Me, too, Han.”
The door swung open, and the tall, redheaded doctor strolled in. She flashed Hanna a brilliant smile. “Good news, Ms. Pelsh. No break.”
Hanna let out a sigh of relief. “That is good news.”
“The bad news is it’s a pretty intense sprain.” She held up an X-ray to the light. “We’ll send you home with an air cast. Stay off it until the swelling goes down and you can put your weight on it without much pain. The in-house healer has a salve for you that will do good things for the inflammation. Use that twice a day. Once the pain is manageable and you can move it, there are exercises for you to do to promote healing and range of motion. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Hanna said. “How am I supposed to work? I’m a baker.”
The doctor gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sit on a stool with your foot up and direct someone else to do the manual labor.”
Hanna pressed her palm to her forehead. “Oh, gods. My mom is going to love this.”
“Is Mom a little overprotective?” the doctor asked.
“No.” Hanna grimaced. “She’s my business partner.”
The doctor winced. “Need a note?”
That got a chuckle out of Hanna. “No, but thank you for the offer. We’ll work it out. Maybe I can bribe my cousin to put in more hours.”
“Do what you have to, Hanna. Just don’t mess around with that foot. If you don’t give it time to heal, you could do some permanent damage.”
“I’ll make sure she stays off it,” Rhys said, squeezing her hand. “Even if I have to bake her cookies myself.”
Hanna snorted. “Sure, Rhys. Like you have time to do my job, too.”
He winked at her. “The pub isn’t open at five in the morning, is it?”
“No but—”
“Friends, remember? It’s what we do.”
“This one’s a keeper,” the doctor said, grinning at Rhys. “Easy on the eyes, too.” She made a note in her file while Hanna silently wished for the floor to open up and swallow her. When the doctor looked up, she said, “I’ll have the nurse bring in the salve and some herbs for the pain and inflammation. Then you’re free to go. Don’t hesitate to come back in if you don’t start to see some improvement within the next five or six days. Got it?”
“Got it.” Hanna tried to wiggle her toes and winced. They were swollen, and they looked and felt like overstuffed sausages.
The doctor walked out, leaving her and Rhys alone again.
She glanced at his handsome face and bit back a sigh.
“What?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you don’t want my help. I’m good at taking direction.”
She snorted. “No, you aren’t. Didn’t I tell you I needed some space?” The words were an accusation, but she smiled at him and added, “And yet, there you were, ready to rescue me when I made an ass of myself.”
His lips twitched, and Ha
nna could tell he was trying to suppress a grin. “I was just surprised to see you getting on that bus. That will teach me not to tell you there’s something you can’t do.”
“I guess so.” She laughed. But then their eyes locked, and silence fell between them. Hanna suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach while gooseflesh popped out on her arms the way it always did when sparks danced between them.
“Damn, Hanna,” he said, his voice so rough she actually shivered. “Are you cold?”
She shook her head, her hand tightening on his.
He broke their eye contact and glanced down at their entwined fingers. When he met her gaze again, he said, “It looks like no matter what I do or say, we always end up right back here.”
Hanna actually chuckled. “I hope you don’t mean the hospital.”
He glanced around the room and slowly shook his head. Then he leaned in and gently brushed his lips over hers.
Every thought fled Hanna’s head. All she knew in that moment was Rhys—his slightly earthy scent, his soft lips, his rough hand caressing her cheek. Mine, she thought. This was what she wanted. What she’d always wanted. She lifted her free hand and pressed it against his muscular chest while he deepened the kiss. He tasted of coffee and a hint of maple syrup and love.
“Hanna,” he whispered against her lips and pressed his forehead to hers. “What are we doing?”
“Kissing. I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the concept.” She smiled and ran her tongue over his bottom lip.
He let out a small groan and claimed her again. The kiss was hot and needy, and if her ankle wasn’t still throbbing, Hanna was sure she would’ve sat up and wrapped her legs around him.
But it was a good thing she didn’t, otherwise when the door swung open a second later, they would’ve been in a compromising position.
“Hello, hello,” the nurse said, smiling at them and holding a white paper bag. “How’s it going, Hanna?”
“Um, okay,” she said, brushing her fingertips over her lips.