Page 24 of Take a Chance on Me

She stops and triumphantly holds up the oar. I manage to snap the picture, but before I can even lower the camera, I see the wake from a large boat rise up behind her. It knocks her forward and for a second, I think she’ll be okay, but then her eyes widen and she’s gone from the screen of the camera.

There’s a splash and then a yelp and before I know what I’m doing, I’ve stripped off my shoes, tossed the phone to the ground, and emptied my pockets to go in after her. I’m in the water to my ankles when she stands up, a wet, soggy mess. “Are you okay?” My teeth are already chattering as the cold is registering in my feet. I can only imagine how much colder she must be.

“Um, I think so.” She is visibly shivering but seems fine otherwise until she takes a step and winces. “Oh, maybe not.”

I step closer to her, ignoring the biting cold racing up my legs, but my foot slips on a rock, my arms pinwheel, and I fall face first into the cold water. Shock floods my body as the cold envelops me and pulls on me like it has talons. “Cold, so cold,” I say as I push myself back to my feet.

“Are you okay?” Katie asks. She’s still standing in the same spot, shivering, but now concern is etched on her face as well.

“Yeah, you?”

“I think I twisted my ankle, but otherwise yes.”

I reach her side and, without thinking, wrap an arm about her waist. She throws her arm over my shoulder, and together we carefully make our way back to shore. I help her sit down before grabbing the oar and taking it back to the guy behind the counter who looks at me with wide eyes, shakes his head, and then hands me a few towels in exchange.

When I reach Katie again, she is staring down at her ankles, comparing them. I’ve had no medical training, but I examine them as well to see if anything jumps out at me. One does look a little larger than the other. She manages to get the sock and shoe on the uninjured ankle, but as she tries on the injured one, she gasps in pain then looks up at me with panic in her eyes. “What if it’s broken? It can’t be broken.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I wrap one towel around her and use the other to dry myself off as much as I can. “You probably wouldn’t have been able to walk on it if it was broken.” I don’t actually know that - anatomy was not my favorite subject in school - but it sounds correct.

“Right. You’re right. Did we at least get the photo?”

“Yeah, I think so.” I glance around for my phone, glad that I tossed it on the ground before I went in the water. That would have been an expensive disaster. Finding it a few feet away, I grab it and swipe the screen, laughing as the image loads. “Well, I can’t say it’s the best picture, but it’s something.” I hold it out for her to see. I managed to catch her before she went under, but her eyes are large and full of shock.

“I’d say we need to redo it, but that’s not happening,” she says with a chuckle.

I shove the phone in my pocket and pull on my socks and shoes before helping her to her feet. It’s a slow return to the car as she’s hopping more than walking, but we finally make it, and after helping her into the passenger seat, I point the car toward the ER once more. “You know they’re going to wonder about us coming in two days in a row.”

She laughs. “Well, at least it’s me this time and not you, but yeah, I’ll be surprised if we don’t get some kind of reaction. Who knew marketing was so dangerous?”

“Definitely not me. I am not enticed by danger.”

“Not even a little?” she asks.

I shake my head. “I prefer the safety and security of routine.” At least I had. After spending a few days with Katie, and especially after the escape of Daring Derek at the museum, I wonder if that’s still true. “And I think that we are trouble together.”

“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing we only have another week or so.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I should be happy about that, but for some reason, it makes me sad.

After parking, I help Katie out of the car. Then, before I can think about it, I slide my arm around her waist and her arm snakes around my shoulder. Sensations I am not used to course through my body, and my heart beats like I’ve just run five miles on a treadmill. Relief and disappointment fill me as she checks in at the nurse’s station and is whisked back to a treatment room.

As I sit down to wait for her, I try to sort through the emotions running through my head. A week ago, I thought Katie Malone was the craziest person I knew. Now, I’m beginning to wonder if I am.

CHAPTER11

Katie

I don’t knowif the doctor I see is the same one Derek saw, but he shakes his head when I tell him how I ended up hurting myself.

“Well, the good news is that it’s not broken. It is, however, a pretty good sprain. You’ll need to ice it and elevate it for the next two days and stay off it as much as possible.”

Thankfully it’s Friday, so I’ll have the weekend to rest up. Unfortunately, he hands me a pair of crutches and insists I use them until the swelling goes down and the pain disappears. Not only am I not good with crutches, but they are definitely not sexy. Not that I’m thinking about being sexy. I mean who would I be trying to be sexy for? Derek? I’m not even sure the man would know sexy if it hit him in the face, so why am I concerned about how he’s going to look at me? Oh man, I am in trouble.

Derek stands as I hobble into the lobby, and the look of concern all over his face sends my heart two-stepping in my chest.

“Is it broken?” he asks.

“No, just sprained. The doctor says I should be good to continue our mission on Monday, but I do need to take the weekend to rest, and I’m forced to use these.” I stare down at the crutches with disdain.

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