“I’m taking you to the hospital, what do you think I’m doing?” he replied, shifting my weight so that he could open the door.
“I can’t go to the hospital!” I protested.
“Did you miss the part where I hit you with my truck?” he asked humorlessly.
“Look, I don’t have any insurance, and even if I did, I don’t need medical attention. A hot shower and a good meal and I’ll be fine, I promise,” I assured him.
He smiled gently as he placed me on the seat and reached across me for my seat belt. There was something intimate and tender in the way that he strapped me in. He was taking care of me in a way I’d never been cared for. Maybe ever.
Closing my door, he jogged around to the driver’s side, and I used the moment to discreetly wipe a tear from the corner of my eye, cursing myself for being so pathetic. His truck smelled new, and the leather seats were extravagant and expensive. The cab felt huge until he climbed in and I realized how big he was. The thought distracted me from my protest.
“We’re going to the hospital now,” he explained calmly. “We’re going to wait in the emergency room until a real doctor gives you the all clear, and then I’m paying the bill and taking you for that dinner you missed out on. After that, I’ll drop you anywhere you want to go. Deal?”
I was tired, hungry, and the weight of guilt was killing me, but I nodded in agreement anyway.
Chapter Four
Jensen
Four hours later, I sat in a booth at the Wallflower diner across from the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. When she’d first bumped into me, she was so slight I’d mistaken her for a kid. Now, as I watched her devour her chicken plate special as though someone would take it away at any moment, I realized that she was just painfully thin. Malnourished even. It gutted me to think about the impact her tiny frame had taken from my truck, and I cursed myself again for not having paid more attention to the road.
Despite her constant protests that she was fine, the doctor had warned that she’d have some heavy bruising tomorrow and had prescribed some painkillers just in case. When he was done, she hobbled off the examination table, and I had to hold myself back from lifting her into my arms again. I knew she wouldn’t appreciate it, but damn she’d felt good. Like she belonged there. Like a puzzle piece clicking into place, it felt right. Like nothing else had in a long time.
“Hi guys, let me get these plates for you. Now can I get you both any dessert?” our waitress asked.
“Thanks, Diana, that would be great,” I answered, reading her name from the neatly printed tag on her uniform. My date looked mournfully at her empty plate, and I knew from the look on her face that she was still hungry.
“What would you like?” I asked her.
“Oh no, I’m fine,” she replied, a little too quickly. She said it so often that I wondered who she was trying to convince.
“In that case,” I said, grabbing the menu and scanning it quickly, “I’ll have a slice of warm chocolate fudge cake, a slice of apple pie and ice cream, and a stack of pancakes with syrup, please.” I replaced the menu and sat back, watching Lauren’s jaw drop like a goldfish.
“No problem,” Diana replied with a knowing smile. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” With a quick wink, she disappeared into the kitchen.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, closing her mouth, clearly too polite to question my obvious gluttony.
For the first time, we sat in awkward silence. Neither of us knowing what to say. I’d thought that a hot meal would put a smile on her face, but to my surprise, she looked as though she was going to cry.
“Hey, Lauren, we can go and find somewhere to get your prescription if the pain is starting to kick in,” I offered, feeling terrible at the idea of her sitting here in silence if she was hurting.
“How do you know my name?” she asked with a small sniff as she blinked away the tears.
“Lauren Matthews … hospital admissions form,” I reminded her, knowing she’d noted my name as well. She nodded before looking back down at her folded hands. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes.
“I did steal it. Your wallet, I mean. I know I told you I didn’t, but I did. I’m so, so sorry, and I promise I’ll never do anything like it again. It was honestly supposed to be my last one. But I took it,” she said, blurting out her confession so fast that it took me a moment or two to decipher what she was saying. When she was done, her gaze returned to her hands as she twisted her fingers anxiously.
“I know,” I said finally, making her head snap to attention. “I didn’t feel you lift it, but when I realized it was gone, I knew exactly what had happened.”
“Then why are we sitting here and not the sheriff’s office?” she asked quietly.
“Because something tells me you need a break. I know by the smooth way you picked my pocket that you’ve done this a lot. But you’re not a career criminal, or at least you don’t want to be. Only someone who’s really and truly starving hoovers up a meal like you just did. So, my guess is that you stole it out of desperation. I got it back safe and sound, so no harm, no foul,” I said.
Rather than the look of gratitude I was expecting, she stared at me like I was an escaped mental patient.
“I feel like this is some kind of trick. Like any minute now Sherriff Haywood is going to jump out and surprise me with a pair of handcuffs,” she said.