Page 44 of The Ice Queen in the Corner Office

“Are you sure you don’t want us to call for an ambulance?” One of the women, a fit, outdoorsy type with a warm smile, asked.

“No,” I said. “I’ll take him to urgent care. We’ll be fine.”

I thanked them profusely and then got in the driver’s seat of Alex’s car and closed the door. He was laid out in the back seat, his eyes closed, his face creased in pain.

He had to be hurting, but he hadn’t complained once, not even when we’d accidentally banged his ankle getting him into the car. He’d also made no smart-ass comments about us almost dying, lost in the wilderness less than a mile from the trail head, which meant he was in even more pain than he was letting on.

I started the car and backed out of the spot. I drove slowly, trying not to jostle Alex too much, but I still heard a couple sharp intakes of air from him, which meant I wasn’t entirely successful.

Once I got to town, I parked in the grocery store lot and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed May.

“Hey, Jill,” she said. “Do I need to help you hide a body?”

“Alex broke his ankle. I need to know how to get to the hospital.”

“You broke his ankle,” she asked, genuine shock in her voice. It stung that she thought I was capable of something like that.

“You broke his ankle, by suggesting Alex take me on a hike. What were you thinking, May? Neither one of us knows anything about the wilderness, much less the wilderness around here.” Okay, so I might have gotten a little screechy, but now that we were back in town and close to safety and medical care, I was feeling a delayed panic reaction. As well as a good deal of hurt and anger. And an overwhelming sense of guilt. My emotions were all over the place.

“It’s not her fault,” Alex muttered from the back seat. I spun and glared at him, but his eyes were closed.

“The hospital is…Where are you now? I guess you don’t know any landmarks around here.”

“Just give me the name, and I’ll plug it into my GPS.”

“Right. Okay. The nearest hospital is about an hour away, but Doctor Roy ought to be able to fix a broken ankle. She’s at Catalpa Creek Medical Center.”

“Thanks.” I typed the address into my map app and got back on the road.

“Why are you so mad at her?” Alex asked. “I’m the one who went to her for advice instead of asking you.”

“I’m not mad.” I tried to sound calm, because I knew I shouldn’t be mad. But I was. Mad at May for not knowing how much I hated hiking, mad at Alex for refusing to go back to Atlanta when I asked him to, but mostly I was mad at myself.

I shouldn’t have plowed blindly into the woods, and I shouldn’t have gotten so angry at Alex. I shouldn’t have been on that date with him in the first place. Everything had happened because I hadn’t stuck to my own rules, because I’d let emotions and my attraction to Alex get in the way. It wouldn’t happen again.

I parked in front of a small, concrete building with the name of the practice on the door in tiny letters.

“I’ll get someone out here to help you,” I said.

I hopped out of the car and sprinted for the door of the clinic. I needed to get away from Alex and the pain I’d caused him. I needed to get away from myself.

***

I hurried up the stairs and into my room, shutting the door behind me.

Alex was going to be fine. I’d stayed at the clinic long enough to hear that the break was clean and should heal without surgery. I’d stayed until May got there and agreed to give him a ride back to the inn.

Then, I got back in Alex’s car and drove back, because I needed to get away from him. I needed to get as far from him as fast as I could. He did things to me, made me act irrationally, and it wasn’t okay.

No one would miss me. They all had their own lives.

I yanked my suitcase out from under the bed and started stuffing clothes from the dresser into it. I needed to get home. I’d get back to my quiet condo, my job, and my schedule and everything would be fine. When I strayed from that course, bad things happened, people got hurt, and I felt…I felt lost.

I was never lost, never confused, never out of my element, and that’s how I liked it.

A small knock at the door startled me and I dropped a ball of panties into the suitcase. Gah, what was wrong with me? I always folded everything neatly, even my panties, even when I was in a hurry.

“Jill. Can I come in?”

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