Page 37 of More Than a Good Friend

“True.” Anderson opens the case. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

He pulls away the paper towels, then nods toward the sink. “It needs a rinse.”

Dag walks over, keeping me tucked to his side. “My cousin can’t handle the sight of needles. With me, it’s blood, but thankfully, I don’t pass out. He falls right over if he sees a needle. I just start feeling ick.”

I snuggle closer and look up at him. “Why don’t I know this?”

“Because it’s embarrassing. And I’m usually good at not bleeding.” He flashes a strained smile. “You’ll distract me, right?”

“Yes. Just keep your eyes on me.”

He nods, and determination swirls in those green eyes as Anderson puts on a cream. Dag is silent, but I can tell it hurts because his grip on my hip tightens.

“You okay?”

“Yep.” He clenches his jaw. “All good.”

I pat his chest. “I think he’s almost done.”

“Hope so.”

Anderson stretches a butterfly bandage over the cut. “It’s still bleeding a bit, but I got that on there good and tight. It should stop soon. I’ll check back with y’all in a bit.” He tips his hat as he walks to the door. “I figure y’all need time to work on that cover story.”

Dag laughs. “I like him.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I peel myself away from Dag’s side and drag a stool around the counter. “Sit here. I’ll get you more dessert. You can eat while I clean up and finish the prep.”

“You’re the best, Goldie.” He eases onto the stool and holds up his hand. “Good thing it wasn’t my right hand. Then you’d have to feed me.”

Dang this man.

CHAPTER14

DAG

Ipull up to Goldie’s cabin, and she walks out before I even get my door open.

She climbs into the passenger seat. “Hey. How’s your finger?”

“Still attached.” I wave it back and forth. “Anderson said he’d check it again after breakfast.”

“Good. I feel awful about what happened.”

I shrug. “Wasn’t too bad, but now you know about my blood thing, and I’d prefer if...”

She smiles. “I won’t tell. But you shouldn’t be embarrassed. I’m sure lots of people react badly to blood. Everyone has quirky things like that they don’t want people to know about.”

I nudge her arm. “Tell me one of yours.”

“I can’t think of anything right now, but if I remember, I’ll tell you.”

“Fair enough.”

I park outside the mess hall, and she hops out. She clearly doesn’t need time to wake up fully. And when I walk into the kitchen, she’s already started the oven and is adding coffee to the pot.

“I’ll get coffee brewing, and we can take some with us. There are some paper cups in the pantry.”

I grab a couple and find the lids beside them. “These?”

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