Page 96 of The More the Merrier

“I filled out an accident report.” Grant handed her a clipboard, interrupting our back and forth. “Will you please sign it for me? If anything comes up later, I want to protect us both.”

“Sure, I can do that,” she answered flatly, as if placating him.

“And I better not see you trying to drive home tonight.”

“I’ll drive her home,” I offered as I removed the gloves and threw them in the trash. Kendall’s eyes went wide, but she signed the document on the clipboard and handed it back to Grant.

“I’d rather crawl.” Her words were slurred.

A flirty, albeit cocky, retort was at the tip of my tongue, but she was not in a joking mood at the moment. I clenched and relaxed my jaw, thinking of a way to earn her cooperation. Grant beat me to the punch.

“I’ve been a bit short staffed lately, or I’d bring you home, Kendall.” Grant handed her the copy of the paperwork. “Unfortunately, I’ve got the closing shift tonight and I won’t be leaving here till close to four in the morning. Besides, I can think of worse things than Dalton driving me home.”

I glanced at Grant, wondering what the hell he meant by that. He wasn’t into men as far as I could remember, but we hadn’t talked about relationships. Was he being funny to ease Kendall’s worries? He looked me up and down slowly, and though I flirted with nearly everyone in our small ass town, I never considered our banter anything more than playful conversation. Perhaps I’d missed some obvious signs.

“I misunderstood an interaction that he and I had earlier, but you’re right.” She addressed Grant and then turned toward me. “Thanks for the offer, Dalton. I’m sure you had more important things to do tonight.”

“It’s not a problem.” I offered my arm, but she stubbornly pushed past me. That girl could really use someone keeping an eye on her. I shifted my gaze to Grant, who shook his head. I wondered if he’d been thinking the same thing.

Kendall was an excellent nurse, but she seemed to be lacking in self-care. Her snappish reply at the hospital played in my mind again. Had she thought I was going to ask her out this weekend instead of volunteering her time at the fair? She hobbled to the door, barely stopping long enough to catch the side of the frame when she teetered. If she couldn’t keep her balance barefoot, it made me think her pain was worse than she’d let on. Or she had a lot more to drink. Either way, she needed to stop moving.

“Kendall Olivia,” I nearly growled. “Stop putting pressure on that foot. I’ll carry you to the car.”

She tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder, but by some miracle, she didn’t continue out the door. “You will not.”

Her posture, the sass, on top of whatever was really bothering her, pushed me to throw something at her I never had before. “One.”

Kendall laughed, throwing her head back. “That doesn’t work on me.”

“Two.”

She gulped and hung her head. Something about my tone, or perhaps whatever the hell she thought might happen at the end of a countdown, seemed to get through to her.

“Guess it was a good thing you were here tonight, Dalton,” Grant observed. “I hope the two of you have a good night. Next round is on me, all right?”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I clapped Grant on the shoulder before striding to the doorway and lifting Kendall in my arms. She pouted but didn’t offer her opinion on the situation.

“Thanks, Grant,” she stated softly. “I’ve had a crap ton of stuff on my plate lately, but I appreciate you helping me.”

“You’re welcome.” He nodded to the two of us.

Carrying Kendall through the hallway and out of the bar, she buried her head into the crook of my neck. She didn’t say anything when I unlocked the car and set her in the passenger seat. Shutting the door, I tried to recall if Kendall ever mentioned any sort of relationship dynamics. It was no secret many of us in the same friendship circle sought either a dominant or submissive partner, but I didn’t know her thoughts about it. Pushing the rest of my musings away, I climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“You live over on Fern Lane, right?”

“Yeah.” Kendall let out a long breath. “I thought of a way to make up for ruining your night. I’ll be Mrs. Claus this weekend.” She sniffled as she spoke.

“You didn’t ruin my night, darling. My last call of the day was transporting a twenty-eight-year-old male who fell onto a vase.”

“Okay.”

“And it slipped inside of him.”

“What the hell?” She shook her head in amazement. “I miss all the interesting calls. It must have happened after I left for the day.”

“He’s going to have trouble sitting down for a while, that’s for sure.”

“With all the toys on the market, especially ones with a tapered handle, it’s ridiculous to use an object that’s not meant to be inserted.” Kendall scoffed. “Fell on a vase,” she repeated.

---