Page 27 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
“No. I just need to get some ice on it, take some more ibuprofen, and rest.”
“So stubborn.”
“Exactly. So, let’s go,” she whispered, unable to speak any louder at this point.
With Bryce’s help, she stood, gathered her purse and started walking toward the office. She noted him favoring his left leg, but before she could ask him about it, Clay spotted them and hurried toward them. “Are you sure you’re okay, ma’am? I went ahead and called the cops to report it, but I can still call an ambulance.”
“I’ll be sore for a while, but I’m all right, I think. Thank you.” What was one more sore place on her already bruised and battered body?
“Well, it’s not much, but the tree is on us. And your friend can come back and get one, too.”
“That’s very kind of you, thank you.”
Three police cruisers pulled into the parking lot. She recognized Dylan. Abby Jones climbed out of the second car, and Tom Williams bolted from the third.
“Jade!” Abby rushed toward her. “You okay?”
“I’m alive. That probably wasn’t on the agenda for my attacker. The strand of lights is back there. Can you bag it and see if there are any prints other than mine and Bryce’s on there?”
“Of course. What happened?”
Her head pounded and her throat hurt. She seriously didn’t want to deal with this tonight.
“Save your voice,” Bryce said. He gave the woman the short version.
“I’ll sit in my vehicle and write up the report,” Jade whispered. “It won’t take me long.” A thought hit her. She turned to Clay. “Do you have a closed-circuit television? Security footage?”
“Absolutely, but I’m not sure how much you’ll be able to see in the dark.”
Jade nodded, then wished she hadn’t. She pressed a hand to her head. “We’ll want to try anyway. See if it picked up anything before the lights went out. Abby, can you get a copy of it so we can take a look at who was around?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Bryce joined her while she worked on the report. When she was done, she hit Send. “Nice job on strapping the tree down.”
“The credit goes mostly to Clay, but thanks.” He reached for her hand, then lightly touched her throat. “That was scary, Jade,” he whispered.
She swallowed, and his eyes followed the movement, then lifted to her eyes. She cleared her throat and grimaced. “Yeah, it was. But I’m okay.”
“But you were hurt once again.” His hand lifted to cup her chin. “I don’t handle it well when you get hurt.”
The look in his eyes had changed. While caring and concern were still there, something else had crept in. A warmth and awareness she’d not seen quite as strong before. “I…well… I don’t know what to say to that.”
“It’s okay. I’m not exactly sure how to explain it.”
“Okay then.” She glanced away then back. “I noticed you were limping. Are you all right?”
A small smile flickered, then faded, and she let out a small relieved breath when he dropped his hand from her cheek to lean back. “I’ve just been on my leg too long. As soon as I get off of it, I’ll be all right.”
She raised a brow, finally able to breathe now that he’d put some space between them. “What’s wrong with your leg?”
He shot her a funny look. “Kristy didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I lost the lower part of my left leg in that IED blast. I have a prosthetic.”
