AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Guilty as charged. I take it you’re the Evan I was corresponding with,” I say.
Which means he’s not only the plumber and grass cutter, but he manages the property as well.
Behind Evan, I spot the paramedics with a stretcher. He follows my gaze, then turns back and says, “It’s going to be okay.”
The dog that he was surfing with whines. He must realize Evan is planning to go with me in the ambulance and that dogs can’t join.
Unless they can?
Evan turns to the couple on the couch. “Boone, Bonnie, can Harry hang with you?”
Upon hearing his name, Harry wags his tail.
Despite the circumstances, I smile. I love animals in general, and dogs and cats in particular. This specific canine is gorgeous too, and his face reminds me of that of his human.
“Sure thing,” Bonnie replies with a heavy Southern drawl.
“Thank you,” Evan says. “And thanks for calling 911 when you did.”
A tooth is missing from Bonnie’s otherwise very toothy grin. “Any time, sugar. Any. Time.”
Flirting so shamelessly in front of her husband? Then again, maybe Boone is her brother? Or—and this might not be a kind thought—could he be both?
Harry wags his tail at the arriving paramedics, but they ignore him and focus on me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Evan put on some clothes.
What a pity. His shirtless torso would’ve been a welcome distraction on this otherwise unpleasant trip.
After a bumpy ride on the stretcher, I find myself inside the ambulance, a (regrettably) fully dressed Evan at my side.
“Did the EMTs give you any grief?” I ask. “I thought only family was allowed to ride in the back.”
For the first time in our acquaintance, Evan smiles, and it’s like a sunrise over a calm ocean. “Palm Islet is a relatively small town. I know the EMTs, and who they allow in the back is up to their discretion.”
If true, the EMTs in question must find Evan trustworthy.
Hmm. The odd thing is that I’m starting to find him trustworthy as well, and that’s unheard of for me. After Reagan’s father evaporated from our lives, I stopped trusting the males of my species. Then again, Evan saved my life, and the only other man who’s done that was the doctor at Coney Island Hospital seven years ago. I trust him too, though I thankfully haven’t needed to see him since.
I clear my throat. “Sorry about earlier. I dislike hospitals and took that out on you.”
Evan waves it off. “I hate hospitals myself. If our roles had been reversed, I might’ve acted the same way.”
The deep pain behind those words is evident in the storm in his eyes. It makes me want to rise from the stretcher and give him a huge hug, but instead, I reach out and clasp his big hand in both of mine. “What happened?”
He stares at our joined hands in confusion, then meets my gaze. “How do you know that something happened?”
I bite my lip. “Because I hate hospitals for the same reason. Something bad happened to me there.”
His eyebrows snap together. “What was it? Are you okay?”
“I am now.” I take a breath and blurt, “I almost died at a hospital. If it weren’t for this one surgeon, I wouldn’t be here today.”
The full story is that I did the aforementioned almost-dying after childbirth, but I don’t want to share that part, partly because the details are grisly to men, but also because, for some unfathomable reason, I don’t want him to know that I’m a mom.
Wait. What? That last bit is so dumb I want to slap myself. Am I picturing us in a relationship or something? In any case, what’s the logic for hiding Reagan? Because Evan so obviously hates kids? But how did I?—
“I’m sorry,” Evan says softly. “That’s a terrible thing to go through.” He takes a breath of his own. “My mother was ill for a long time before she passed, and we practically lived in the hospital. Now anytime I drive past it, the memories are…” He trails off.
