Page 7 of More Than a Little Spark

I end the call.

When I pull up outside the rec building on Matchmaker Ranch, Rose runs out to the truck.Her eyes are red, so I clearly did not succeed in preventing her from worrying.

Her questions start before she’s buckled into her seat.“Dallas said Daphne talked to you before they took her to the hospital?”

“We had an entire conversation while we waited.She sat in my truck, and we chatted.”I point to the purse and phone on the center console.“She asked me to grab her phone, and when I did, I saw her purse and snagged that too.Didn’t figure it needed to go with the tow truck.”

“Oh, good.I’ll give it to her.Thank you so much for driving me up there.”She flips down the vanity mirror and starts wiping off her makeup.“I didn’t even take time to change out of my Barbie costume, but I can at least tone down the makeup.”

“If you’re Barbie, was Dallas Ken?”

She grins.“Yep.He looks so cute.”

“Dang it.I can’t believe I missed that.”

“Don’t worry.I got a picture of us together before the party started.”

“I definitely want to see it.”

“I’m so worried about Daphne.How’s her car?Hopefully, it’s minor damage.”

I don’t want to describe how awful the car looked because that’ll make her worry.“I’m sure Daphne will tell you about it.”

When we arrive at the hospital, I drop Rose off at the double doors.

She slides out and turns around before closing the truck door.“Thank you so much for the ride.Are you coming up or going back to the party?”

I want to make sure Daphne will be fine, but I don’t want to seem clingy.All the cuddling was because Daphne was scared, not interested.And I know that.But I still want to check on her.“I’ll park and go up for a few minutes.Just to make sure she’s okay.”

“Great.I’ll text you the room number.”She rushes through the double doors.

Parking really isn’t an issue here tonight, which is good.Hopefully, it means the hospital isn’t crowded.Before getting out of the truck, I text Kent and let him know what’s going on.

And I take advantage of the hospital wi-fi and download the footage from the dash cam to my phone.

Then I reach for my coat because now that the adrenaline rush is fading, I’m feeling the cold.But my coat isn’t there.It’s with Daphne.

Also, Daphne’s phone and purse are still on the center console.So I tuck the purse under my arm, shove the phone in my pocket and head inside.

Rose meets me near the elevator.“We can’t see her right now.They are prepping her for surgery.But they won’t tell me anything else because I’m not related.And she’ll kill me if I call her mom.”She rubs her eyes.“I don’t know what to do.”

“Let me think.”I spot the paramedics that were at the scene.“Give me a minute, Rose.”

I stride over to Trudy, hoping she’ll give me a tidbit of info.“Hey.I just arrived with Daphne’s stuff.Is she okay?Where is she?”

She tells the other guys to go on ahead, then pulls me toward the wall.“She had a displaced fracture in her foot.So they’re doing surgery.Let me walk you up to that waiting area.”She walks toward Rose.“Is that woman who looks like she’s been crying with you?”

“Yeah.Daphne’s best friend.She’s worried.”I adjust the purse under my arm.

Trudy smiles at Rose, tips her head toward the elevator, then pushes the up button.“Carson tells me that you’re here for Daphne.I’ll take y’all up to that waiting area.And she should be fine after surgery.”

Rose presses a hand to her heart.“Thank you.”

Trudy reassures Rose that Daphne was alert and talking during the trip to the hospital, and that helps Rose calm down a bit.

After she shows us to the waiting room, she motions me to the side.“Your coat should be with her things.It was good that she didn’t have her arms in the sleeves.We didn’t have to cut it off of her.”

“That is good news.I’m partial to that coat.”

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