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He huffed out a laugh. “Thanks.”
“Hey, I just say it as I see it.” Ally stood and grabbed the tray of coffees. “You guys have some talking to do.”
“Yeah, we do. But not now.” He glanced into the ambulance again. “Now I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
Ally’s face softened. “She’s a lucky woman. We all care about her.”
He couldn’t help but feel like he was the lucky one. From the moment Lucas got the call about the pier, Griff had been beside himself with anxiety. The two of them had run from his apartment to the pier, and as soon as he saw the blaze he’d wanted to run to the office to be sure she wasn’t there.
It had taken all of Lucas’s strength to hold him back.
Then, when he saw her running along the beach, her body orange from the reflected flames, a sense of relief had washed over him. So strong he’d almost laughed out loud from it. All he’d wanted to do was scoop her up and take her far away from the danger.
But that wasn’t Autumn. She didn’t run away from things, she confronted them. He could learn a thing or two from that.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to keep her in there much longer,” one of the paramedics told him as they climbed down from the ambulance. “And she refuses to come to the hospital to get checked out. Do you have somewhere you can take her and keep her warm?”
“Yeah.” Griff nodded. “I’ll take her home.”
“Good. Her temperature’s almost back to normal, and there are no other signs of distress. She needs to get some sleep, but it’ll be better if you’re there in case of any trouble. If she gets cold again, call nine-one-one right away.”
“I will.” He nodded. “Thank you.” Taking care of her was all he wanted to do.
Tonight and forever.
He’d lost her once today. He wasn’t planning on doing it again.
* * *
Autumn sat up suddenly, panic taking over her body. There’d been a fire! She tried to scramble out of bed only to find a strong, warm hand restraining her.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Griff murmured as he leaned over the bed from where he was sitting on a wooden dining chair. Had he been sitting there all night? It looked uncomfortable as hell. He must have knots in the knots of his muscles.
“What’s happening with the fire?” she asked him, looking down at her body. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and a thick pair of leggings.
“It’s out. Lucas called about a half an hour ago.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Did he say what the damage is?”
“The restaurant and the office are gone, but the front part of the pier is unharmed. They’ll inspect it later this morning. We should know more then.”
Autumn nodded, feeling her eyes well with tears. “And your boat?”
“It’s damaged. I don’t know how badly.”
“Oh god. I’m so sorry.” The tears spilled over as she reached out to touch his arm.
He covered her hand with his own. “It’s okay. Nobody was hurt, and that’s all I care about right now. Insurance can sort out the rest.”
“I’ll need to call mine first thing. I should probably make a list.” She looked around. Why had Griff brought her here instead of taking her home? “Oh damn, I left my purse at home.” Another thought occurred to her, and her mouth dropped open. “Lydia,” she whispered. “I left the door open. She’s still there.” She tried to scramble to her knees. “I need to get back.”
“Lydia’s here.” Griff inclined his head to the bedroom door. “She’s sleeping on the sofa. And… uh, somebody else is here to check on you, too.”
Autumn frowned. “Who?”
He cleared his throat. “Your dad. He came as soon as Lydia called him.”
“Dad’s here?” She glanced at the door, not sure how to feel about that.
