Page 52 of The Rescuer

“Yes, I have, and the breathing technique too. Work is ninety-nine percent stress, and it helps me slow everything down. I thought she could use that, and it was all I could think of to calm her.” Reece was the poster child for serenity,especiallyunder fire. His toolbox was no doubt overflowing with tricks way beyond her measly little breathing technique.

“Well, I think it was damn brilliant.” He held out his fist for a bump. “Great job. I’m glad you were there today.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself.” Her face heated as she met that fist bump enthusiastically. He was full of compliments today … and yesterday.Don’t get used to it. It’s just an anomalous blip on his behavior radar.

As soon as they crossed that line into Fall River’s town limits, they’d be right back where they’d started out the day before—except for that one little inconvenient detail recorded on a crisp legal document.

Chapter 14

Fate Dives Overboard

When they hit theoutskirts of town, Reece turned right. Normally, they would go straight down Bowen Street, past her clinic, to the Miners Tavern.

Neve glanced out the window. “Where are you going?”

“The rec center. I want to see if they’ve started on the ice sculptures yet.”

Ice sculpting was an annual tradition in Fall River, where local artists would carve blocks of ice into incredible creations. The start date was always a moving target, though. Sometimes the ice arrived the day before Thanksgiving, and sometimes the day after. Either way, rolling past the rec center to see the latest goings-on would be a welcome slice of normal pie in an otherwise bizarre twenty-four-hour stretch.

As they looped through the park, it became obvious the ice hadn’t made it yet. Bodies moving across the ice rink caught Neve’s eye. “Looks like they’ve got a pickup game going.”

“Yeah, kinda thin, though. You gonna play this weekend?”

“I don’t know. Depends on what kind of workload I’m facing after skipping school for two days.”

Her ringing phone jarred her. More jarring was the name on the Tahoe’s center screen.

“You gonna answer that?” Reece prompted.

“And have you listen in? No way.” She tapped the red button. “I’ll tell Leo my ‘news’ later and suffer in private, thank you very much.” Between the crash and returning to the quiet streets of Fall River, Neve had managed to slide the weight of what they’d done to the back burner, where it had been quietly simmering. Now that reality reared back into her consciousness, though, she shriveled inside. How would she extricate herself from a marriage she’d never planned on? Well, she’dplannedon it since elementary school, but it had never gone down likethisin her dreams.

A new thought jarred her. “Reece! If this turns out to be binding, and we can’t get it annulled, we’re each going to have a divorce on our record!”

He slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road and lay his head back against the headrest. “Then maybe we stay married.”

She blinked. “Are you nuts?”

“Probably. Okay, so maybe that’s not a great idea.” He let up on the brake, and the Tahoe began moving again. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay?” He reached across the console and squeezed her arm. “Until we have more information, there’s no point in worrying.”

He parked between his red truck and Dixie’s car in the lot behind the Miners Tavern.

“I thought the tavern was closed today,” Neve remarked.

“It is. Knowing Dix, she’s here on a cleaning frenzy while the place is empty.” Reece cut the engine and tossed Neve her keys before hopping out of the SUV, taking his bag with him. “Hey, why don’t you come upstairs for a minute and see how Mr. Whiskers is doing? He’s really filled out.”

A chance to see how much the cat had improved? That would be a bright spot. As anxious as Neve was to get away from Reece so she could sort her thoughts, she couldn’t resist this chance to see the cat thriving.She unfastened her seat belt and joined Reece by the back door. “Only for a minute.”

He unlocked the door and held it for her, calling out, “Dixie? I’m back.”

Before they were fully inside, Dixie rushed through the doorway that connected the dining area to the rear entry. She was out of breath, and steam puffed from her mouth.

Neve wrapped her arms around herself. “Why is it so cold in here?”

Reece placed his bag on the floor. “What’s going on?”

“The heat stopped working, and one of the pipes is busted.”

Dixie’s husband, Dewey—who doubled as the tavern’s cook—appeared behind her … which was a little tough to tell because Dixie’s ample frame overshadowed her husband’s shorter, wiry one. “I had to shut everything off.” His voice was its usual rasp, like sandpaper on metal.

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