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“He’s a vet. An animal doctor.” I floated, suddenly tired. Was it my head or this pretty woman stroking my cheek? She smelled delicious, I thought again. I could spend all day taking in her scent and be a happy man. “I’m an animal, I guess, so that might be all right.”
“He’ll know if it’s okay for you to walk out of here or not,” Jamie said.
“Good thinking.” I continued to stare up at her. The day’s event pushed into my mind. My dad. Going to prison. A cop in prison. Why did I care? I didn’t want to. “It’s been a very terrible day. If you can believe it, falling and subsequently being found by you is a big step up.”
“I’m sorry.” She clucked her tongue in a way that seemed too matronly for her. “You were trying to run it out, right?”
“Exactly. But that root bit me.”
She smiled. “I think you’re fine if you’re cracking jokes.” She picked up her phone. “Breck hasn’t texted me back. He might be with one of his furry patients.”
“Good. No Breck then? He’ll give me so much crap for this.”
“Can you stand?”
“Do I have to?” I asked, only half joking. It was quite pleasant there in her lap.
“Unless you want to stay out here all night, yeah.”
I reluctantly rose to my feet. The gash in my head stung, but I no longer felt as if I were drunk. “I’m good.”
“Well, let’s go back together, okay? That way I can keep an eye on you,” Jamie said.
“You’d be a good nurse,” I said as we started walking down the trail arm in arm.
“Only if she were naughty.” She winked at me, her ponytail bouncing sassily to and fro.
I’m pretty sure she winked anyway. I wanted her to have winked at me, I realized. However, the knot on my headmayhave affected my vision.
I almost tripped again.
2
JAMIE
On a whim, I’d decided to go down to the river for an afternoon run. I’d taken part of the day off, leaving it in the capable hands of my assistant Maisy. Most mornings I ran before going to work, but as the days began to shorten and the sun rose later, I knew I would soon have to change my routine to the gym. For now, I enjoyed being outside as much as I could. The summer had gone by quickly. Between reopening my inn and my friend Tiffany getting married and Stormi engaged, there had been copious gatherings and celebrations, all increasing the pace of my already busy life.
Today, however, I’d decided to take a breather and make a little time for myself. Running along the river was one of my favorite routes. I did not expect to find an injured Darby Devillier lying in the grass. Having seen only his tennis shoes sticking out on the trail, I’d thought for a few seconds that he was a dead body. I read a lot of mysteries, and my imagination had always been a little overactive. Fortunately, as I came fully around the bend in the trail, I found Darby very much alive. Bleeding and groaning, but alive.
Darby’s eyes had been glassy, and his usual reticence seemed to have been knocked out of him. In fact, he was saying a bunch of funny things. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought he was drunk.
Now, as we walked toward the park, he seemed better, although walking at a slow pace. I had my arm in his as we walked, just in case he stumbled. If I had to, I’d call 911. So far, he seemed fine. I understood his desire to stay out of urgent care. My insurance was remarkably lame. When I added in the co-pays and deductibles, it was basically useless.
When we reached our cars, I asked him if he could drive. He assured me he was fine. I decided to follow him in my car back to the apartment building where we both lived. “I’ll be right behind you, just in case.”
“I’m sorry I ruined your run,” he said, dipping his chin into his chest.
“It’s no big deal.”
Yes, this living in the same building thing. Yet another coincidence. My one-night stand on an impulsive night in Cliffside Bay, California, seemed to be the gift that continued to give. First, to my great surprise, Darby Devillier was living in Emerson Pass, having accepted a teaching position at the high school. Two, I’d rented an apartment in the very same building. And there were only six apartments in the whole place. What were the odds? I had no idea. I’m sure there was some calculation one could do, but that wasn’t really my specialty. Ask me what wine to serve with salmon, though, and I was all over it.
I took another good look at him as he leaned against the side of his car. He touched his hand to the back of his head. “No more fresh blood,” he said.
“That’s good. But I still think you should get it checked out.”
“We’ll see.”
“I know, it’s expensive. But teachers have good insurance, right?”
