Page 37 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She glanced over to see someone carrying a person over their shoulder. The breath caught in her lungs. She looked closer. The person wasn’t wearing a helmet or uniform and they were covered in soot.

Medics and firefighters rushed to the person. They helped lower the victim to a gurney. As though the person could sense she was staring at them, they looked in her direction.

In that moment their gazes connected. It was Logan. She was certain of it.

And then her gaze moved to the figure on the gurney. Mabel! She wasn’t moving. Brooke’s chest tightened. Her friend just had to be okay.

Her heart raced as she ran to Logan. Before she could wrap her arms around him, he started coughing. He bent over, bracing his hands on his knees.

After a moment, he straightened. Her gaze searched his. “How’s Mabel?”

“I…” He had another coughing spell. “I don’t know. She was unconscious when I found her.”

They both moved closer to where the paramedics were working on Mabel. The woman’s eyes were open now. That definitely had to be a good sign.

After they loaded Mabel into the back of an ambulance, Brooke turned to Logan. He reached out to Brooke. When his hand touched hers, she winced and yanked it away.

He turned her hand over and saw the angry red burn. “You’re hurt.”

“It doesn’t matter.” At least it didn’t in that moment. She wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for saving Mabel. You have no idea how worried I was about you.”

She held him tightly. She didn’t ever want to let him go. She’d never come that close to losing anyone she loved. And now it was time for her to keep her promise to herself.

She grudgingly pulled back. Her gaze met his. She wondered if he could see in her eyes how she felt about him.

“Logan, I have something I need to tell you.”

“I have something I need to—” His words cut off into a string of coughs.

A medic arrived at their side. “We need to get you on oxygen.”

Logan nodded as he struggled with his coughing. Once it subsided, he said, “You need to look at her hand. She’s burned.”

“Both of you need to come with me. Now.” The young man led them over to another ambulance.

She was worried about Logan. His cough didn’t sound good. Before they could hook him up to oxygen, Logan made a big deal out of her injury. It was nothing in comparison to his smoke inhalation.

In the end, they both got treatment and were transported to the hospital. Brooke messaged her boss to let her know what had happened. Clara and Selena both met them at the emergency room with worried looks on their faces.

Chapter Eleven

It was a close call. Too close.

Logan had spent the night in the hospital under observation. He didn’t regret his actions. He was relieved that he’d acted fast enough to save Mabel.

There had been a moment in the fire when he thought he wasn’t going to get to see his little girl grow up or Brooke’s bright, shining smile again. In that moment, he’d realized just how much Brooke had come to mean to him—to mean to his daughter.

He loved Brooke.

He hadn’t wanted to. He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t put his heart on the line again after his divorce. He’d put up walls to protect himself.

And along had come Brooke with her brilliant smile and amazing kindness. She’d broken through every wall he’d put up. She reached his heart and brought him back to life out of his zombie-like existence.

Now he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. He just hoped she felt the same way. He was still worried about vocalizing the depth of his emotions for her. What if he scared her away? What if she didn’t feel the same way? It didn’t matter. He couldn’t put this off any longer.

He’d attempted to tell Brooke how much he cared about her at the fire scene, but his problems breathing had prevented that. And since then there had been medical staff and co-workers in and out of his hospital room. When they were finally alone, he was so exhausted that he didn’t even remember falling asleep.

The next day, he was released from the hospital. The first place he went was to Mabel’s hospital room. He was relieved to see she was doing well. A number of known health issues had contributed to her passing out while cooking chicken, which had started the fire. She would be in the hospital for a few more days until doctors were certain she was stabilized.

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