Page 21 of Mountain Defender

Pink creeps across her cheeks. Then a pleased smile curves her lips. “So… what did you ask them to get?”

I perch on the edge of the bed; close enough to Rory that our legs brush each other. A spark of electricity arcs from her leg to mine, sending an unexpected rush of heat through my body.

No, I remind myself sternly,we’re only friends.

“Well,” I answer, forcing my mind back to safer topics, “I may have asked them to get lots of cheese. Muenster, cheddar, that stinky gorgonzola…”

Rory makes a cute face at me. “It’s not stinky. It’s pungent. There’s a difference.”

I shoot her a skeptical look. “It smells pretty bad to me. But anyway, there’s cheese. And crackers, those fancy ones you like. Plus, some of that red pepper jam. And salami. Apparently, thegrocery store in Bliss doesn’t sell prosciutto, so Winter thought that would be the next best thing.”

“Gage.”Rory’s voice pitches up. “You didn’t have to get all that.”

“I know you haven’t been very hungry. Not that I blame you; most hospital food is crap. But I thought it would be nice to have something you like when you get home.”

A beat later, I realize my mistake. “The cabin,” I amend. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine.” Rory touches my hand. “I know what you meant. And thank you, Gage. That was so?—”

“Is someone ready for a ride?” An overly-chipper voice interrupts us as a nurse arrives at the door, pushing a wheelchair in front of her. She beams at me before turning her attention to Rory. Her smile fades briefly before returning, brighter than ever. “I’m here to escort you out. How does that sound?”

Rory drops her gaze to her lap. Her hand releases mine. In a soft voice, she says, “It sounds good. Thank you.”

An unsettled feeling worms into my stomach.

Something’s wrong.

Not the stuff she’s already upset about. Something else.

“Ror.” I pitch my voice low so only she can hear me. “What’s wrong? If you don’t like this nurse… Alec ran background checks on everyone, but if you want me to find someone else?—”

“No. It’s okay.” Eyes still downcast, Rory adds, “Everything’s good. Let’s get out of here.”

The whole way home,it niggled at me. Logic could explain Rory’s sudden shift in mood to any number of things—side effects of the concussion, a sore throat from talking, or fear ofgoing to stay at the cabin, which, although very nice, is just another reminder that she can’t go home.

But it didn’t feel like any of those things.

Was it because the nurse looked at Rory’s bruises? Was she feeling self conscious about them?

That’s another thing I can understand. Feeling insecure about an injury. And if that’s what was bothering Rory, I didn’t want to bring it up and make her feel worse. Instead, I’ve been talking about pretty much anything pleasant I can think of, from Knox and Lark’s upcoming wedding in July to Dewey’s newest trick, which is balancing a treat on his nose and catching it.

Rory’s quiet through most of it, just smiling softly and nodding, but once we pull through the reinforced gate and onto the GMG property, she turns towards me and asks, “Is everyone here? All your teammates? Do they want to talk to me now?”

I don’t miss the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes or the stiff set to her shoulders. And of course, it makes sense she’d be worried. I hadn’t wanted to talk too much about the specifics of investigating her case, at least not while she was in the hospital, but I should have prepared her better. Poor Rory is probably imagining a full-on interrogation instead of the gentle approach we take with our pro-bono clients.

Not that Rory’s a client, exactly. Yes, we’re taking on her case. And no, we’re not going to ask her for money. But she’s my friend. Enzo and Winter adopted a dog from her rescue. Rory’s best friend, Isla, is married to Knox’s old Green Beret teammate.

Which reminds me…

“Are Isla and Matt coming to visit?” I ask. “I know they just had their baby, but?—”

“No,” she replies with a firm shake of her head. “Absolutely not. Isla just gave birth last month. She and Matt need to be home with Dove, not flying halfway across the country to see me for no reason.”

Noreason?

I’m not sure I agree with that.

I guess I can understand not wanting to ask her friend to fly with a newborn baby. Although I’m not sure how Rory convinced Isla of that. From what I understand, they’ve been good friends since college, and Rory flew there to see the baby last month…

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