Brooks stared at me for a moment before rising and stalking out of the hospital room.
I peered after him, wondering what he was doing. After several minutes, he returned and took his seat.
“A mountain lion?” His voice was raspy, like he was trying not to yell.
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
“And you weren’t carrying bear spray or anything, were you?”
“No.”
With a growl, he got up and stalked from the room again.
I bit my thumbnail and waited for him to come back.
When he did, I asked, “You can yell, if you want.”
“I’m not going to yell.”
“Why not? Is it because I’m pregnant and you don’t want to yell at a pregnant woman?” I asked, finally broaching the subject that I’d been too chickenshit to bring up again.
The door of the hospital room opened, and a nurse entered with a cheery smile. “You’ve got some visitors waiting to see you out in the lobby. You up to seeing them?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t. Brooks and I were right in the middle of a conversation, and I didn’t know how he felt about me being pregnant.
Archer came in first, followed by Salem, Hadley, and their husbands. Hadley burst into tears the moment she saw me. Declan pulled her to him and patted her on the back.
“What the hell were you doing out at Prospector’s Peak so early in the morning?” Salem demanded. “And alone, no less? And with terrible weather rolling in?”
“Not to mention a mountain lion that was stalking her,” Brooks added.
I glared at Brooks.
“Mountain lion!” Hadley screeched. “There was amountain lion!”
“You outran a mountain lion?” Salem yelled.
“Technically, I fell into a mine shaft to get away from it. I didn’t outrun it.”
“This isn’t funny,” Hadley snapped. “You could’ve died.”
“I know that,” I said tiredly. “Believe me, I know that.”
“Did you have bear spray?” Salem asked.
I winced. “No.”
“Have you learned nothing from Hadley’s bear experience?” Salem demanded.
“It slipped my mind,” I muttered.
As in, I hadn’t been in my right mind at all.
“All right, you’ve said your piece,” Brooks announced. “Lecturing her isn’t going to change the past. If I thought it would, I’d still be on a tirade. Let’s move on.”
Archer’s gaze bounced between me and Brooks, but he remained silent.
“You’re right,” Hadley said with a sigh. “We’ll let it go, won’t we, Salem?”
