Page 6 of Road Trip
I took her delicate fingers in mine and shook just as—
“Ahhh!” That stitch hurt even more than the previous ones and my hand involuntarily tightened on her fingers.
“I’m sor—”
“No, hold on if it helps.” She covered my hand with her much smaller one. “Everyone, even a big lug like you, needs a hand to hold when we have boo-boos.”
Her smile was sarcastically sweet. With her holding my hand, the thoughts racing through my head slowed down and faded for a few moments. I stared at her, wondering again just how she’d ended up in my path tonight of all nights. If I were in my right mind, I definitely wouldn’t have been wondering what it would be like to kiss her sassy mouth. Definitely not. Right?
“Only a couple more pulls, big guy,” my torturer said, interrupting my thoughts. “You’re not showing any signs of concussion, so we won’t have to keep you overnight. You likely passed out from the adrenaline rush. Do you have someone—”
I said, “No” as Abra said, “Yes.”
The doctor looked between us and got a big grin on her face. I just stared at Abra, who smiled coyly at me. I felt the last tugs from the stitches, but I was so focused on her mouth, I barely felt them.
“That’s it, Officer. Keep them dry. This bandage is waterproof, and we’ll give you a few more to get you through the next couple of days. See your personal physician to get them out—”
I knew I should be listening to her care instructions, but all I could focus on was this tough little woman’s hands on mine.
“Officer? Officer Graham, did you—”
“I’ll make sure he does what he’s supposed to. Can you, um, give us a minute?” Abra asked.
The doctor finished putting the bandage over my wound and gave my uninjured butt cheek a smack. I yelped, and Abra just laughed. Then we were alone.
Neither of us said anything for a moment. She cleared her throat and looked around before speaking in a quiet voice.
“I hope you don’t mind me coming in for the save. I remember you saying you hate hospitals—”
“No. Thank you. I do hate them. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
She nibbled on her lip for a minute.
“I’m not an axe murderer, I don’t have any huge skeletons in my closet, I’m not a grifter…I just…do you have any place to go? I thought I could get you out of here. We can figure out how to get you home.”
“I don’t want to go home,” I blurted out.
She cocked her head to the side.
“I mean, I was kind of running away.” A nervous laugh came out.
She was still holding my hand.
God, she is beautiful.
“Running away, huh? What could you possibly have to run away from? Psycho girlfriend? Bill collectors? Jury duty? Come on! What could be so bad?”
“Besides gang members trying to kill me?” That quieted her. “I’d just left town after testifying at an ugly trial. My little sister broke up with her boyfriend and showed up on my doorstep…it’s been a week from hell to say the least.” I laughed humorlessly, realizing my hell was only beginning.
Abra stepped closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll tell you a secret,” she whispered. “I’m an expert at running away. I do it all the time, even if I don’t have anything to run away from. I’d be a great accomplice.” Her smile fell a little. “Unless there’s someone—”
“I’ve got no one. My grandparents, parents, yeah, and my sister, but—”
“Great. So, if you were running away, did you have someplace in mind?”
Sure I did. No way was I going to admit where I was going to her yet.
“Sort of. Where were you heading? Home or someplace—”
