Page 129 of The Rescuer

“No, but I could have been the male nurse.Hehasn’t seen it before.”

“Are you so sure about that? He’s a nurse. Now stop gawking and help me out of this thing.”

A choked sort of noise escaped him. “But you’re naked under there.”

“Yes, I know. What’s the problem?”

“I …”Get ideas I shouldn’t, and given that you’re hurt …“Nothing. No problem.” He sprinted for the bag and plopped it beside Neve. “Let’s get your street clothes out before we strip you down.”

A moment later, he was hooking her bra and letting out a snicker. “This is different. Putting your braoninstead of taking it off.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” she giggled. The happy sound struck a warm chord deep in his chest, and in that moment he knew she was going to be all right. He planted a soft kiss on her shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

Excitement and the lackof sleep caught up with him on the drive back to Fall River. Maybe it was time to get a few conversations out of the way and keep himself awake at the same time.

“You’ve had a tough month, and the last few days have been especially rough. How are you doing with processing it all?”

She propped her elbow on the window frame and leaned her head against it. “It feels like I was in the middle of a bad movie, and my mind’s not ready to admit it happened yet.” She turned toward him. “Except the part where the hero rescues the girl.”

“Not sure how much credit you can give the rescuer,” he snorted. “Hero” didn’t sound right, so he didn’t repeat it. “Especially when the girl did all the work to get herself rescued. Using the tailpipe to hit the rock? Genius. Although”—he dragged out the word—“you did go against my advice when you left the scene.”

“I didn’t want to die there.” An honest, simple statement, and his heart lurched in his chest. Her head swiveled toward him. “As for the pipe, I didn’t think my voice would hold out if I kept yelling. The dark timber seemed to absorb it.”

“It muffles everything for sure. Makes it hard for a sound-sweep search.”

“What’s that?”

“Like it sounds. I call out or whistle or make some kind of noise and wait and listen for a response. You heard me and responded, and the metal sound traveled. Like I said, genius. I wish all my rescues were as smart as you.” He caught himself. “When I was actually rescuing people, that is.” A lament he couldn’t hold back threaded itself through his words.

She placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. “Thank you. For coming to get me. I know I didn’t show it, but I was overwhelmed with joy whenI realized it was you and that you were actuallythere.I knew then that I was finally safe.”

His chest expanded, with what, he wasn’t sure, and a knot of emotion wedged in his throat. He picked up her hand and kissed it, fighting for control over his voice. “I had to find you. I had no choice. I was going abso-fucking-lutely nuts. Ask Shane.”Or not.He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of her talking to Shane anymore.

A wistful smile curved her kissable mouth. “I do believe I’ve come down with a serious case of Reece Rescue Syndrome.”

Pleasure, with a sprinkle of self-consciousness, made him chortle.

A few beats of silence passed. Her tone struck a tentative note when she next spoke. “Back in the woods, when you found me …”

His eyebrow lifted expectantly.

“You said you loved me,” she continued. “What does that mean?”

He looked from the road to her. “The words are pretty simple. You need me to spell them out for you?” Maybe if he did, she’d say them back and soothe his longing to hear them from her mouth.

As he turned his attention back to the quiet highway, she slumped against the window. “What I’m trying to understand is whether a future for us is anywhere on your radar, where we’re both together in the same town.”

“About that. You and I need to talk.”

Chapter 35

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Reece could feel thetension rising off of Neve in waves. “Talk about … what?” she ventured.

“A couple things. First I need to clear something up.” He sucked in a breath. “I know I’ve been dodging your question about the money.”

In his peripheral vision, she adjusted in her seat. “It’s been you all along, hasn’t it?”

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