Christ, he was stupid. Yelling at Grace while she’d been at the top of a goddamn pile of boulders? What the hell had he been thinking?
Actually, he knew what he’d been thinking. That the woman was in a precarious position. It had scared the crap out of him, and yelling had been a reflex.
When her foot slipped and her head collided with the rock… Logan’s muscles tensed again just thinking about it.
“So how long have you two been dating?” the nurse asked conversationally as she continued to work on the stitches.
Grace’s brows rose so high they almost went into her hair line. “Oh, no. No, we’re not dating. We barely know each other.”
“Oh, sorry. I just assumed because he stayed with you…” She trailed off.
“It was my fault she fell,” Logan said quietly from his seat in the corner, hating how true that was.
Grace frowned. “No, it wasn’t. I was the one who climbed to the top of the rocks.”
Yeah, to take a call from her father. He’d only heard the tail end of that conversation, but he was sure it was one that could have waited for later.
“Well, that’s very nice of you.” The nurse’s eyes skimmed across to Logan. “You’re one of the guys who are on the internet, right?”
His jaw tightened and he saw Grace visibly tense. “Yes.”
“You poor thing.” The nurse shook her head, returning her eyes to her work. “I’ve seen the media crawling through town. I think they should just leave you alone.”
Logan relaxed, and he noticed Grace do the same.
The nurse stepped back from the bed. “Okay, all done, darling. The stitches are dissolvable so no need to return for removal, but I’ll get the doctor back in here to have a final look before you go. She’ll also go through concussion care with you.”
Grace gave the woman a small nod. “Thank you.”
When the nurse left, Grace lay back against the pillows, eyes closing. For a moment, she almost looked peaceful. The strain lines around her eyes softened. The muscles in her body visibly relaxed.
Logan could almost convince himself she didn’t have secrets weighing her down.
Her eyes slid open and looked his way. “Are you okay?”
Logan almost laughed. Was he okay? “Grace, I don’t mean to state the obvious, but you’re the one in the hospital bed with stitches and a concussion.”
“A mild concussion.” She tilted her head to the side. “And I’m fine. You, on the other hand, look far from okay.”
Obviously, he was doing just as shitty a job at hiding his self-loathing as he was at distracting himself from it. He sighed. “I shouldn’t have yelled across to you.” What he should have done was make his presence known in a much gentler fashion. Stupid idiot. “I’m sorry.”
She was shaking her head before he finished, but stopped at a slight wince. “You do not need to say sorry. Like I said, this isn’t your fault. I climbed up there. This is on me.”
“Was the call really so important that you needed to?”
Something crossed her face. Worry? Anxiety? “It was my dad. There wasn’t enough signal on the ground, so I was trying to get higher.” She shot a resigned look to her phone, which had yet to turn on since falling on the rocks. Logan was pretty certain it was past saving.
“Is everything okay?”
She flattened the sheet on top of her legs. “He’s okay.”
He was coming to realize that she was very good at doing that. Answering his question but also not. Rewording his sentence to suit her answer.
“I’m sorry I was late,” he said quietly. “I got held up at Blue Halo.”
Her gaze flashed up, narrowing. “You need to stop apologizing. Like I said, none of this is your fault. You aren’t responsible for me.”
“I disagree.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but at that moment, the door opened and a new doctor walked into the room. Where the last doctor had been a middle-aged woman, this one was a young male.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Dr. Cassidy. Dr. Jenkins got rushed to an emergency, so I’ll be checking over Miss Castle before she leaves today.”
Grace’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Hi.”
Logan gave the doctor a nod before the guy glanced down at her file.
“So, a mild concussion and ten stitches at the back of your skull.”
“Feels about right.” Grace chuckled softly. Logan didn’t even crack a smile.
Placing the file down, the doctor grabbed a penlight from his pocket, leaned over and shone it in her eyes.
Logan saw the change in her immediately. It wasn’t obvious, and the doctor probably didn’t even notice. Her muscles tensed and her spine straightened. She leaned back a fraction, like her instinct was to get away from him and she had to force herself to remain where she was.
Whereas the female doctor had explained what she was doing before any procedure, this guy didn’t. He simply leaned into her space. Had he not studied bedside manner?
Still, though, her response wasn’t what it should be. And it wasn’t the first time. He’d felt her tension and fear each time he’d touched her, and assumed it was a response to him. Maybe due to what he was capable of. Maybe because of what she’d done to him and his team. But now he wasn’t so sure. Her fear went beyond them.
Was it all touch she was afraid of?
The thought left an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. Because there had to be a reason behind it.
Out of instinct, Logan rose to his feet and moved to her other side. She hadn’t seemed to mind when he’d carried her to the car. In fact, she’d curled into him. Did that mean she was starting to feel safe around him?
Dr. Cassidy nodded as he straightened. “Definitely a mild concussion. I’m going to check your heart rate now.”
Even though the doctor warned her this time, the second he lifted her wrist, her heartbeat picked up. The female doctor had done the same thing, but Grace’s heart rate had remained steady. In fact, she hadn’t reacted at all when the female nurse had touched her. Leaned over her body.
It was specifically a man’s touch.
Her reaction wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone looking at her, anyone who couldn’t hear her heart pounding in her chest. It was as if she’d trained herself to remain calm, even though calm was the last thing she felt.
Dr. Cassidy frowned before releasing her wrist. “A bit high, but you might just be nervous. I’ll check your stitches, if that’s okay.”
She gave a small nod before lowering her chin to her chest.
The doctor took a minute to look over the injury before dropping his hands and stepping back. “Stitches look good. Your job will be to keep them dry for the next forty-eight hours. You only need to come back in if you have increased pain. For the concussion, it’s best to have someone with you the first night. Just so they can wake and check on you every few hours.”
“I can do that,” Logan said, before thinking better of it.
Grace’s gaze flew toward him, but the doctor was already talking again.
“Great. Well, it was lovely meeting you both. Please don’t hesitate to pop back in if you need us.”
The second the doctor was gone, Grace argued. “You don’t need to stay with me tonight, Logan.”
“You’re right. I think it would be best for you to stay with me.”
She was already shaking her head as she climbed out of bed. In the process, her hospital dress rode up—and Logan’s gaze zeroed in on a scar on her inner thigh.
A knife wound. It sat high, long enough to disappear under her sweatshirt.
What the hell?
“I’m really grateful for you bringing me here and staying with me, but you don’t need to invite me into your home out of some misplaced guilt. Not to mention wake me every couple of hours overnight.”
Pushing the scar to the back of his mind until later, Logan stepped in front of her. “You need someone. I’m happy to be that someone.”
She looked more confused than anything else. “I don’t…” She sighed, before looking down and shaking her head.
Like his hand had a mind of its own, Logan reached forward, placing his fingers under her chin and tilting her head up. He tuned into her heart rate, grateful that it remained steady. “You don’t what?”
“I don’t understand why you’re being nice to me after…after what I did. I know that you feel responsible for my fall but—”
“It’s not just that. It’s the right thing to do.”
When Grace remained silent, Logan’s hand itched to run down her cheek. See if the rest of her was as soft as what he’d already touched.
He only just stopped himself.
“I have a spare bedroom. And I would feel a lot better if you stayed with me. I’ll worry all night otherwise. You’d be doing me a favor.”
He got a small smile from her. “Really? I would be doing you a favor?”
“Yes.” He didn’t smile back, instead telling her what he thought she needed to hear. “And you can trust me.” He had a feeling she took a while to trust. But he hoped she at least knew that he wouldn’t hurt her.
The smile slipped from her lips. And for a moment, her silence was loud. Loud with internal conflict. Uncertainty. She wanted to trust him, but she also didn’t.
What had this woman been through?
She wet her lips. “Okay. Thank you.”
Giving her a small nod, he turned, leaving the room and giving her a moment to get changed. When she walked out, he again had the urge to touch her. To put his hand on the small of her back. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t question it either.
Once they were in his truck, Logan headed to her motel. “I’ll drive to the motel first and you can grab your stuff.”
“Thank you.” She fiddled with the phone on her lap. “I’m guessing this thing isn’t salvageable. I’ll need to replace it tomorrow.”
“To call your dad?”
There was a pregnant pause. “Yeah, to call my dad.”
“What about your mom?”
Another pause. God, this woman seemed to have more secrets than a secret service agent. And that was saying something. “I’m not so worried about her.”
Truth. But she didn’t volunteer why she’d be worried about her father and not her mother.
He didn’t press.
“What about you?” she asked. “Family?”
“Yep. I have my mom and dad, and my older brother. They don’t live in Idaho.” He hesitated for a moment, just stopping himself from telling her where they lived. He didn’t necessarily think she would tell reporters, but his mom, dad and brother had been hurt enough. Logan wasn’t taking any chances.
Like she knew exactly what was running through his mind, her head quickly turned toward the window. To hide the hurt?
“He’s married with kids. I don’t see them often enough,” he finished.
A short pause. “You should visit them. I don’t get to see my dad nearly enough.”
Again, just her dad. “You must miss him.”
She nodded absently. “Yeah.”
Whether she realized she was doing it or not, her fingers were grazing her thigh, right over the scar he’d seen. And yet again, he was left wondering what exactly this woman was hiding.
