Page 36 of Love in Overdrive

Chapter 12

Cade told her to stay off her feet, but Laney couldn’t do it. She needed to do something to help. Heck, the man got wood, started a fire, and cooked dinner over the open flames. No wonder her brain saw him as a hero.

She hobbled to the tiny bedroom and gasped. Mold covered the one and only bed.

Wait. Did something move? Laney leaned in, watching. Was it a figment of her imagination? Heck, she thought she’d seen Bigfoot earlier. When the sheet moved again, she shrieked. Jumping back, she smacked into something hard. Strong arms encased her.

“What’s wrong?” Cade’s deep voice brushed her ear.

“The bed… it moved.” She pointed.

“I got this. Go into the other room.” He grabbed the broom and a fireplace poker and entered the bedroom. The look on his face said he was prepared for battle.

“Don’t kill it.” The idea of some furry woodland creature being exterminated sent a queasy rush through her stomach.

Cade’s sigh floated back into the room. “Should I throw him a going away party as well?”

Laney rolled her eyes.

The scuffle was loud but short. Laney covered her ears at the screech of… something. A racoon? Squirrel? She didn’t know or want to.

“Get the door.” Cade came rushing from the room with a wiggling sheet.

She pulled the door wide, then ducked behind it.

A minute later, Cade was back, closing the door. “The trash panda had made a home in the mattress. I evicted him for the night. And yes, he’ll live.”

“Thank you.” She ran her hands over her arms, trying to wipe the goosebumps away. “I’m not sleeping in there.”

“You take the couch.” He pulled the couch closer to the fire.

Laney covered her ears at the screech of the metal legs on the tiles. When he finished, he grabbed one of the wooden chairs.

“You’ve got to be kidding. You can’t sleep on that. There’s no padding on it.”

“That’s fine. I will be awake most of the night, just in case our friendly robber comes this way.”

“You can’t.”

“I can. Trust me. I have spent nights in worse places than a wooden chair.” Cade helped her to the couch and handed her a bag of snow. “Mind if I have a look?”

She shrugged.

He slipped off her shoe and gently rolled up her pant leg.

She took a good whack to the shin. A bruise the size of a baseball was already a dark purple and her leg appeared swollen. “The good news is the skin’s not broken. Wiggle your toes.”

She covered her wince with a cough as she did.

“Ice it, and we’ll see how it is tomorrow. If you can’t walk, I’ll go ahead and come back for you with help.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

“Stubborn,” he muttered under his breath, but she’d heard it. “Okay, but it could be a mile or ten for all we know. So, ice it.”

She gave him a salute and put her leg on the couch pillow, and plopped the ice bag on top.

“The old logs are burning fast. I’ll grab some more.” Cade stepped out to get more wood to last until morning.