Page 40 of Unexpected Danger
Memories came flooding back. “I was run off the road,” she muttered.
“Are you serious?” Kayla’s brows knitted. “Does Brodie know?”
“I don’t think so. I had a dream that he was carrying me through the rain, but now I’m thinking that wasn’t a dream.”
Kayla rested a hand on Londyn’s arm. “I just assumed you lost control of the vehicle because the storm caused so many accidents, but if someone ran you off the road, you need to tell Brodie.”
“I will. It was…” She thought again of Dustin’s truck ramming the side of her SUV. Of how he’d known she was coming to Pronghorn Falls. Of how his feelings toward her had gone from friendship, to more, to obvious hate if he wished her harm.
The questions that pummeled through her mind caused her head to ache worse. “I will tell him,” she promised Kayla, who was still standing beside her bed, concern in her pale blue eyes.
“Well, I’m off my shift,” said Kayla. “It’s good to see you. We’ve missed you.” The nurse’s attention veered in Brodie’s direction. “Especially some of us.”
“I’m not sure he missed me after what I did.”
“You two go so far back and have known each other forever. It’s not my business what happened, but I do hope you’ll reconcile. Text me and let me know how you’re doing in the coming days.”
“Thank you, Kayla. I will. It’s good to see you, too.”
Brodie released an especially thunderous snore, and both Londyn and Kayla muffled their amusement.
“Remember the incident in the church van on the way back from the mission trip?”
“I do. I was just thinking about that.”
“Brodie’s a good man,” said Kayla, her eye meeting Londyn’s and holding it.
“I know.”
Kayla said nothing more, but her probing gaze confirmed what Londyn already knew—that she’d made a grave error the day she walked away from Brodie Brenneman.
Ten minutes later, Londyn heard Brodie shift in the chair. He groaned and reached a hand to his neck.
The man was handsome on any random day, but he was downright cute when he just woke up. Dark brown hair stuck out at odd ends, and his bleary blue eyes and the crease on his cheek made him appear younger than his twenty-nine years. He moaned again and sat up and stretched his long legs before easing out of the chair. “That is the most uncomfortable place I’ve ever slept.” He stood, shook out a leg, arched his back, rubbed his eyes, cracked his neck, then tugged on his rumpled shirt before limping over to her.
“How are you feeling?”
A crusty drool mark edging just below his lower lip on the left-hand side lent to his charm. “Thank you for saving me. When Kayla said I was in a car accident, bits and pieces of what happened started coming back to me. Some of it’s still a blur.” Her head throbbed, and she realized there wasn’t anywhere on her thatdidn’tache. She needed to inform him about Dustin and how he’d run her off the road. There was so much to tell.
“I’m just glad you’re all right.” He extended a hand toward her, then pulled it back and instead rubbed the back of his neck.
She needed to tell him she was sorry. But the word seemed so pithy in light of what she’d done.
The IV machine’s constant beeps filled the silence between them. Brodie cleared his throat and finally spoke. “I’m going to run home and get a shower. Then I’ll be back. Do you have somewhere to stay, or are you just passing through?” There wasno condemnation in his voice, but his clipped tone edged with a mixture of curiosity and something else she couldn’t quite ascertain.
“I’m hoping to stay in Pronghorn Falls.”
He stared at the railing on the hospital bed. Was he glad she was staying?
“Do you have a place or—?”
“Do you think I could stay with your mom at the ranch? Temporarily, of course, until I find a place to rent.”
Wariness captured his expression. “Mom already offered, so yeah, sure. The tow truck has towed your SUV and the cargo trailer to the ranch so we can unload them.”
“Thank you. And Brodie, thank you for rescuing me. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if someone hadn’t seen me in that borrow pit, especially with the weather conditions the way they were.”
“There were a couple of intense moments there. But, yeah, you’re welcome.” He fidgeted with a button on his sleeve. “I’m going to leave, but I’ll be back.”
