Page 76 of Her Summer Hope

“Jace, are you okay?” He seemed much cooler now and more concerned about the man under his care.

Jace nodded, but he was shaking like a kicked dog and curled in on himself. “I’m good. I’m just glad Madison is okay. I shouldn’t have startled her like that while she was on that step ladder. I should have known better.”

“I shouldn’t have been such a spaz,” she said self-deprecatingly. “I’m so sorry, Jace. I feel terrible.”

“Don’t worry about it, but if you really want to make it up to me, some cake would be nice,” he hinted with a small smile that lacked depth.

“Done,” she said. “I’ll make you the best cake you’ve ever had.”

She looked back at Kyle. “I’m pretty sure I can walk.”

Kyle shook his head. “Nope. Not until I check you over. Jace, we’ll talk in a bit.”

“Kyle, I’m fine. I swear,” she argued.

“You always say that. Besides, think about how bad you could sue me if I don’t make sure you’re okay,” he teased, but the teasing didn’t reach his eyes. He was still caught up in it, she could tell.

“I’m too heavy,” she said finally, wiggling her legs to try to get down and trying not to blush over the fact that, while her rear was decently covered, her skirt was still too high for her liking. If Kyle noticed, and he most certainly did, he didn’t say anything about it. She was sure he was getting an eye full though.

He stopped and looked at her in shock. “Are you kidding? I could carry you around all day and barely even notice.”

She scoffed but stopped arguing with him. He seemed very determined.

He carried her through the door and into the employee’s living room, where he’d bandaged her up the first time. It seemed like he was always fixing her up.

“I’m a walking disaster,” she joked as he gently laid her on the sofa. “Poor Jace.”

He swallowed and looked away as she pulled her skirt back down to cover her knees. She touched the back of his hand and he looked back down at her with concern before sitting on the edge of the couch near her knees.

She sat against the armrest as he gently clasped her face in his hands. His eyes watched her carefully as his fingers probed the injuries on the side of her head. She winced as they ran over her temple.

“No knots, but you’ll have a bruise there,” he said. He stood and went over to the small kitchenette and came back with a penlight. “Look at me.”

He checked her eyes. “Any headache, blurred vision, anything like that?” he asked.

“Nope. I told you I’m okay, just sore,” she promised. “I fell off a step stool and Jace broke my fall, I didn’t go to war,” she said, rolling her eyes.

So, no bullet holes or shrapnel, then?” he continued, mouth twisting in amusement.

“Most likely no,” she joked. “I need to finish the meal though.”

He pulled back and swept a hand over her neck, shoulders, and down her arms, feeling and looking for any injuries. His face was solemn and when he reached her wrists, his hands tightened a little before sweeping over her palms and fingers.

She felt his touch throb pleasantly in other, more intimate, parts of her.

He traced the covered lines of her body with his eyes before he was satisfied that she wasn’t going to perish on the couch.

She closed her eyes as he suddenly turned so that she only saw his profile.

“Maddy, when I saw you in there, looking like that…” He shook his head and blew out a breath, cutting himself off from saying what he wanted to say. She wished he hadn’t. She wanted to know what was on his mind. “I almost killed Jace.”

“You wouldn’t have killed Jace,” she began, putting a hand on his back.

She felt the muscles over his shoulders tense and release under her touch. She enjoyed it way more than she should, way more than was prudent for a woman in her circumstances.

He turned to her, bracing a hand on the back of the couch, and his face was deadly serious. “Only because Murdock would have done it first. I would have absolutely no issues killing a man who assaulted you. I wouldn’t lose one moment of sleep over it, even if I went to prison for the rest of my life.”

His eyes held her, magnetic and swirling with all kinds of emotions that she dared not put any label on. He finally seemed to catch himself and turned away again. “I would do anything I could to protect my employees.”

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