Page 47 of Call it Reckless

As I neared the edge of town, an odd sight caught my attention. Someone was slowly pushing a bicycle alongside a dog in the cold rain. I shook my head, wondering why people didn’t have the sense to check the weather report before going out.

The hooded figure turned its head, giving me a glimpse before quickly turning away. Bristol. Good lord. The woman didn’t have the sense God gave a horsefly.

I slowed so I could drive alongside her. She turned her head to speak to the dog, obviously trying to ignore me, same as she’d been doing.

Unperturbed, I lowered the window. “I get walking a dog, but mind explaining why you’re walking a bike, too?”

Her shoulders heaved as if she were taking a deep breath before turning her head toward my car. She gave a little wave. “Good afternoon, Deputy. Fine day, isn’t it?”

“No, I wouldn’t say so. Of all people, I would’ve thought you would have a working car.”

Her laugh caught me off guard. She kept walking as she said, “Well, my four-legged friend here was supposed to drive, but hisfurrari wasn’t big enough for my bike.”

I wrinkled my brow. Did she just make a joke? I chuckled. “That’s pretty good.”

“Iain told me that one.”

“He’s good with a joke.”

I’d been following her for several yards, but she kept going, the dog plodding slowly beside her. “Not that this isn’t enjoyable, but it seems silly to keep this up when I’m headed in the same direction and have a vehicle bigger than a Ferrari. Why don’t you and your friend hop in?”

“We’re fine.”

I shook my head.Stubborn woman.I would have laughed, but at that moment, the dog stumbled into her, catching her at her knee, and that was all it took to make her lose her balance and fall, the bike and groceries piling on top of her.

The dog lay down next to her, maybe from sympathy, but more likely from exhaustion. He didn’t look much different than the animals you see in those commercials asking for monthly help.

I put my truck in park and reached in the back seat for one of the blankets I always kept on hand and walked toward them, not sure who I should be warier of—the dog or the woman.

Shaking out the blanket, I draped it around Bristol’s shoulders, but she ignored the hand I offered. I let her have her pride and waited while she tried to stand. Her face was pale, and lines of strain creased the corners of her mouth and eyes.

Why did she have to be so stubborn?

“Come on. Let me help. I promise I won’t think less of you for being human.” Rather than reaching for her hands, I kneeled and reached under her arms and pulled her into a standing position.

I hadn’t anticipated how close that movement would bring her to me. As in the movies, time felt as if it slowed. She smelled good, like a breath of clean mountain air when the flowers were blooming.

And then there was the spark. Not just the literal static shock that zapped between us when I touched her, but something else. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time, at least, not since the cotillion when I last held her in my arms. I wondered if she felt it, too. Maybe that was why she’d thrown up a sudden wall that seemed to friend-zone me.

Once I knew she was steady on her feet, I grabbed her bags and put them on the floor of the backseat of my SUV, then returned for her bike.

“Hey, what are you doing?” She took a couple of steps toward me. I didn’t miss how her hand was rubbing the front of her leg.

I opened the back hatch and shoved her bike in. “I’m taking you home.”

“Says who?”

“I do.” And when her mouth opened again, I held up a hand. “I know, I know. You can take care of yourself. But that’s how we do things around here, or have you forgotten?”

Green eyes snapped at me. “I was going to say thank you.”

No, she wasn’t. We both knew it. Bristol had an independent streak a mile long. But I let it go.

I inclined my head toward the dog. “Is he yours?”

“Seems so.”

I didn’t understand her answer, but the rain fell heavier. “Well, look. We can stand here in the rain and catch up, or I can get you both home while you tell me the story. Personally, I choose the second one, but you let me know. I’m dressed for the weather.”

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