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“You live here?” Griff’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“I do now. I had nothing keeping me in San Diego, and I needed to be here more.”
Griff turned onto Main Street. He’d been back in the States well before her move to Colorado. Granted, he’d been in Bethesda, Maryland, working to regain mobility. Still, he could have called her.
But he hadn’t. She didn’t need the burden of a broken man. She deserved a man who was whole, fit and mentally stable.
That man wasn’t Griff. Not since the crash.
He slowed where the road ended in a T-junction in Fool’s Gold and turned left onto Main Street. The Mountain Medical Clinic was on the corner, lights on inside. Griff pulled into the emergency entrance, shifted the truck into park and climbed down. “Stay here. I'll be right back.”
She raised a hand and waved weakly, her eyes still closed. “Not going anywhere on my own.”
Griff hurried through the door.
A woman looked up from the reception desk. “May I help you?”
“I need a gurney, a wheelchair or something. I have someone in my truck who was injured in an automobile accident.”
The woman leaped from her seat. “Is he conscious?” She waited for his answer.
“Hopefully, but I won’t know until I get back out to her.”
“I’ll get one of the orderlies to bring a gurney out to you.”
“Great. I’ll be outside waiting with her.” Griff spun and rushed back out to his truck. He’d been gone a minute, maybe two. A short amount of time, but too long for his comfort. A person could die that quickly.
His heart racing, blood thumping through his veins, he yanked open the door and stared down at Rachel.
She lay still, her face so pale, and her breathing barely making her chest rise.
Panic threatened to overwhelm Griff. He touched her shoulder gently. “Rachel,” he said softly.
A second passed, and another.
A little louder this time, he said, “Rachel.”
Her eyes blinked open, and she stared up at him. “What? Do I look that bad?” Her lips curled up at the corners, and she closed her eyes again. “I must. You look scared.”
Letting go of the breath that had lodged in his lungs, Griff smiled. “You look amazing for someone who just survived a wreck.”
“Liar.” She opened her eyes, her lips twisting. “Now, I know seatbelts work." A slight smile made her mouth widen. “I’ve always wondered.”
“Come on,” Griff said. “Let’s get you inside.” Unwilling to wait a moment longer, he unbuckled her belt and scooped her into his arms.
She draped an arm over his shoulders. “You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet.”
He carried her toward the door. "Good thing that's all it takes to impress you." Taking it slowly, he tried not to limp, but he couldn't help it.
Her brow furrowed. “Did you hurt yourself rescuing me?”
He shook his head. “Old injury.”
“Put me down. I’m sure I can walk on my own two feet.”
The sliding glass doors opened, and an orderly pushed a gurney through the opening.
“Ah, your chariot has arrived.”
