Page 10 of Two Risks I'd Never Take Again

“Sorry to be a distraction. My shoulder hurts too much to get a t-shirt on right now.”

I adjusted the heat to keep him warm enough. Just the sight of him without a shirt kept me warm enough. “Regarding the hotel idea, are you crazy? You have a prescription that needs to be filled. And you’ll continue wincing every time you take a deep breath until you get those meds in you. Besides that, how are you planning to eat?”

“I’ll order out.”

“Let me point out that you can’t use your hands. Are you planning to have the delivery guy feed you? That wouldn’t be weird at all.” I rubbed my temples. “And weren’t you listening when the doctor said to make sure someone stayed with you because you might have a concussion?”

“I forgot about that.” His shoulders sagged, and he leaned his head back.

“One more minor, teeny tiny point. You have no wallet. How do you plan to pay for the hotel, food, and whatever else?”

His eyes closed, which made me feel bad.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you, but I don’t know why you are so set on not telling anyone at the ranch what’s going on.”

He sighed and grimaced. “My dad is away on his honeymoon. Finally. I almost ruined his relationship with Lilith once, and I refuse to be the reason he has to cut his trip short. Everyone at the ranch would gladly help me. They’d also call him. He’ll be home in a week. I can survive that long.” Garrett folded his arms across his chest, which showed off his biceps, but that treat only lasted a second. After a grimace, he dropped his arms into his lap.

“Shoulder?”

“Yeah. But it should start to feel better now that everything is where it’s supposed to be.”

“One week?”

He nodded.

Growing up, I’d learned to trust people based on two things—their family and their actions. Most of the time, kind people raised kind people. And while small-town rumors could sometimes be awful, they sometimes spread truth. I’d learned that the hard way. Beau Henry was as good as they came, and everything I’d heard about Garrett made it seem like he was as good and kind as his dad.

The fact that I liked the way it felt to have Garrett brush his thumb along my hand had nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with my decision. Probably.

I shifted into drive. “All right. I know where you can go, but I have to make a quick stop on the way.”

He stayed quiet as I drove toward Stadtburg. If I hurried, it would still be dark when we got to town. I stole a glance at the man beside me. His eyes were closed, but his pain was still obvious.

As I passed the spot where I’d picked him up, I slammed on the brakes.

“Sheeeeeeets and towels! Are youtryingto inflict pain?” He peered at me through one open eye. “Please don’t do that again.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I eased off the road. “I remembered my umbrella. I like that one.”

I ran to the side of the road, using my phone’s flashlight to avoid stepping in large patches of mud and tripping in the dark. When I picked up the umbrella, I saw the wallet next to my tire tracks.

After struggling to fold the umbrella, I tossed it into the backseat half open. Hopefully it wasn’t bad luck to have an umbrella open in a car. Did half closed make the luck less bad?

“I think I found your wallet.” I held it out to him.

He looked at the wallet, then at his bandaged and braced hands.

“Right, Sorry.” I opened it and pulled out the ID. “The picture doesn’t look like you right now, but it has your name on it.”

“Thanks. Now you can—”

“Don’t even say it.” I dropped the wallet into the cup holder and started driving. “All the other reasons for not going to a hotel still apply.”

If I went much longer without sleep or food, I’d be a monster. After dropping him off, I had to go get his prescription filled, but the closest all-night pharmacy was in San Antonio.

I could stay awake a while longer. I had to.

When we arrived in town, the sun was just spreading light across the horizon. Usually, I loved the glimmer of daybreak. Today it taunted me.

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