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He pushed to his feet. “Can you stand?”
“Yeah,” she said. “At least, I think I can.”
He bent, draped one of her arms over his shoulder and slid his arm around her waist. “It’s a slippery slope and steep, but the sooner we get clear of the vehicle, the better.”
“Then let’s go.”
Pushing past the pain in his leg, he guided her up the embankment, sliding backward several times until they reached the road above.
Once there, she leaned into him. “Wow. I must have hit my head harder than I thought.” Her words faded, and her knees buckled.
If Griff hadn’t been holding her around her waist, she’d have dropped to the ground.
He scooped her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to his truck. He fumbled with the door handle, finally getting it open. Then he placed her in the passenger seat, leaned the chair back and strapped her into her seat belt.
As he did, her eyes blinked open. She tried to sit up, but he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Lay still. We need to get you to a hospital.”
She shook her head and winced. “No. I was on my way to see a friend. I’d rather go there.”
He shook his head. “You’ve suffered head trauma. You could have a concussion or bleeding on the brain.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Okay. If you insist. Though I feel fine, except for this splitting headache. And maybe I have a concussion. I swear I’m seeing things. Don’t I know you?” She opened her eyes and frowned up at him. Then her eyes widened. “Griff?”
Now that he could see her in the light from inside his truck, he brushed her hair away from her bloody cheek and stared down into familiar blue eyes. The voice, the black hair and blue eyes … but not here. That’s what confused him. He hadn’t expected to find her here in Colorado. He was more familiar with this face back in San Diego. “Rachel?”
She nodded and then shook her head. “I never expected to run into you here.”
“I was going to say the same thing,” he said. “What the hell?”
“No kidding.” She laughed and winced. “Can we get me to the little hospital they have in Fool’s Gold? I could use some pain relief. Then we can sort out how we came to be in the same place at the same time.”
He closed her door and hurried around to slip into the driver’s seat. Griff shot a glance her way as he made a U-turn and continued to Fool’s Gold.
She lay quietly in the seat beside him.
Griff alternated between joy and despair at seeing the woman he’d been thinking about before his world and the helicopter had crashed around him.
“Why are you in Colorado?” she asked, her eyes still closed, her face pale.
“I was on my way to interview for a job,” he said, his lips pressing into a tight line. The last time he’d seen her, he hadn’t needed a job. He’d been an elite Navy SEAL and damn proud of it.
Rachel turned to look at him, her eyes searching his face. “I thought you were committed to life in the Navy.”
He couldn’t face her, though he could see her frown from the corner of his eye. He forced a shrug. “Things change. I’m out and need to be gainfully employed.”
“Where were you going for your interview, and why so late?” she asked.
“I was on my way to Lost Valley Ranch to interview for a position with the Brotherhood Protectors.”
Rachel chuckled and winced. “Well, isn’t today just full of coincidences?” Her lips twisted into a wry grin. “I was on my way to Lost Valley Ranch to ask for help from those Brotherhood Protectors.”
He shot a quick glance in her direction. “Seriously?”
She nodded and pinched the bridge of her nose. “A lot has happened since our—” she paused, “since the last time I saw you.”
Griff wanted to sayNo shitbut nodded instead. “We can catch up later. Right now, we need to get you checked out and file a report about the four-wheeler driver. He could have gotten you killed. And he didn’t bother to stop and render assistance.”
She snorted. “I doubt he would. I have a sinking feeling he’s part of the problems I’ve encountered since moving here over three months ago.”
