Page 29 of Rescued Duty

“You need help?” Zack shone the light at the ground. “I can give you a piggyback ride.”

Naya laughed. “The last time I agreed to one, I remember tumbling off your shoulders.” She’d been twelve at the time, and the two of them had been off on an adventure. “We were pretending to take flight like a plane. Except we didn’t make it very far down our imaginary runway in the backyard of my foster home.” Instead, they’d been all giggles, growing weak from laughter.

Zack grinned. “You’re not wrong. But I am taller and buffer now.” He placed his hands on his hips.

“I’ll be fine.” Naya smiled and continued walking. It might have only been half true that she would be okay, but she wasn’t about to resurrect more memories, no matter how good that onemight have been. If she did, she would want to rely on him more. Spend more time with him.

She needed Zack the firefighter.

The boy she had loved, who’d grown into a man, would be a distraction she didn’t need.

They emerged in the clearing that opened up at the trail head. Zack radioed in their location. A few minutes later, flashing lights and medical personnel greeted them.

Ingram rushed to Naya and enveloped her in a hug. “Ow. Watch the arm,” Naya hissed.

“Sorry.” Ingram stepped back. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“We’re going to take it from here,” a woman with short blonde hair in a medic jacket said. The embroidery on her pocket readKianna.

Naya scanned the area for Zack. Their eyes connected.Thank you, she mouthed. Then the ambulance doors shut.

After being at the hospital for an hour, Naya still sat on a cot in the ER. She’d already been stuck and prodded. Now it was a matter of waiting on the X-ray results for her arm and ankle. Her mind ran through the events of the last few hours. A reel stuck on replay with a broken pause button.

She couldn’t shake the interaction with the other jogger that instigated this whole event. The way he’d barreled right into her. Like he’d intended to push her.

Naya’s palms grew clammy. She’d told Kianna what happened when she’d asked on the ride over to the hospital. But she hadn’t yet been able to inform the police. Would they even believe her suspicions?

At first, Naya had wanted to give the person the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he hadn’t seen or heard her. Although, had it actually been a male? She’d never gotten a good look at the person’s face. The strength of their push on her shoulders had sure seemed like a guy. What had started as a mere run-in hadturned into an intentional attack. Naya had no time to even defend herself. One moment she’d been bending over, and the next she’d been falling through the air.

“I’ve got some good news.”

Naya jerked at the voice and gripped the scratchy bed sheets.

Dr. Welch walked in with a laptop propped in one arm. His gray hair was slicked back with gel, and he wore a white lab coat over a button-down shirt. “Your ankle is bruised but not broken. Keep it elevated. Ice it until the swelling and pain decrease.” He typed some notes with one hand. “Any questions on that?”

“Not that I can think of,” Naya said.

“Great. Now the bad news. Your elbow is severely sprained. We’ll put it in a sling until the swelling goes down. The goal is to prevent surgery. So keep it elevated and don’t do any strenuous activity that could aggravate the muscles.”

Naya cradled her arm against her front. She wished today had a redo. But when had wishing done her any good? She dealt in facts, like this doctor.

At least it wasn’t her writing hand. She could do voice to text on her computer. And given the whole incident, her injuries could have been much worse. There was always a way it could’ve been worse. Indeed, the Lord had spared her life.

One of the nurses, Charlotte, came in and gave Naya her purse, which was sealed in a plastic hospital bag. Then she set Naya’s arm in a sling, and an hour later, Naya was handed her discharge papers.

She walked back out to the ER waiting room. Several first responders sat along the wall, still in full turnout gear.

The other firefighter.Naya’s breath hitched. Was he okay?

She spotted Zack and walked over. “Any word on Ridge?” Naya’s voice rang in the quiet space.

Zack clenched his hand. “They got the bleeding to stop and stabilized him. We took the truck back to the firehouse, and thereserve crew came in to cover us, since Ridge is out. They said they’d let us know when he’s settled in a room.”

“Oh good.” She sighed. “Can I talk to you?” Naya motioned with her eyes to the exit doors. She had to tell someone about what happened, and with their history, Zack had to be the right person. They’d been closer today than she had been with anyone in years—even her ex-boyfriend.

Zack cocked his head but still followed her outside to a bench by the entrance of the hospital. The pain meds they’d given her helped ease the tightness in her foot, but she propped it up on the arm rest.

“Thank you for today.” Naya peered up at Zack, who stood against the brick wall. Part of her wanted him to sit next to her. To continue the lighthearted comradery from earlier, like they were friends. But his distance was for the best. It reminded her heart to do the same. No more wishful thinking.

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