Page 3 of Guarding Fable

She studies me for a long minute, flicks a look at the doctor, but her gaze returns to me. When she looks directly at me, I cease to have any thoughts. It’s like my brain just melts out of my head and ends up with a plop on the floor.

“It’s safe?”

My gut churns. This angel might not know what happened, but she knows it wasn’t any good. She’s a tiny thing, and the thought of someone hurting her leaves my gut boiling.

“I can guarantee it.” Namely, because it’s my cabin.

“I-I think I would like that.”

I turn to the doctor, who isn’t happy with the situation from the sour look on his face. Too bad, loser.

I step out into the hallway with him. “Are you sure she will have care?”

“Yes. And before you argue with me, she’s had a cat scan that showed nothing, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know what that woman has been through, but it might be something nasty. There are too many people in this hospital. I want her somewhere safe. If her concussion is mild, I’ve had one or two of those while I served. I know what to look for.”

He studies me for a moment as if appraising my worth. “What did you actually do in the military?”

“I was a PJ with the Air Force.”

The tension seems to drain from him. “So you’ve had medic training?”

I nod.

“Okay. I feel better about letting her go with you. You can just never know what’s going to happen with head injuries.”

That’s when I realize he was just worried about her health, and I relax a little. “Yeah. I’m also certified to fill in for the EMT in town. Pottsville doesn’t have a lot of people, and we all have to help each other.”

“Good. I’ll get the discharge papers, and I’ll put my private cell on there. I’m headed home, but my husband will wake me up if anything happens.”

“Of course,” I say, smiling. Now I know my idiocy was unfounded.

The nurse comes out of the room and smiles at me. “I gave her a pair of scrubs. Her clothes were soaked through, and they were taken into evidence.”

I nod and send a text to Frank telling me she’s coming home with me, and we need to make sure that we do keep her picture off anything.

I don’t know why she ended up here or what kind of trouble she’s in, but I will make sure that nothing bad will happen to her for the rest of her life.

2

Fable

As the sheriff drives me up a winding mountain road, I realize I should be scared. I don’t remember anything about my life other than I think my name is Fable. Here I am, just riding down a desolate road with a stranger. Whoever I am, I might not be that smart.

My head’s still hurting, pounding like a big bass drum. If I move too fast one way or another, there’s a sharp pain that lances through my brain. I glance at my companion. He’s definitely handsome with dirty blonde hair and greyish blue eyes. The color seems to shift with his mood or the lighting or something. For some reason, I’m intrigued by the color of them, but I’m not sure why.

The moment I saw him in the hospital, I felt better. I didn’t know who I was, but with him there, it was going to be all better. I didn’t even know he was the sheriff. There was just something about him that comforted me.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

And his voice. It’s kind of gravely and deep and soooo sexy.

“Yeah,” I say, looking out the window. “This place is beautiful.”

“Virginia. Shenandoah Valley. I’m actually the sheriff for Pottsville. Does that ring any bells?”

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