Page 7 of Where We Found Our Home
She seems to realize that I’m hovering above her at that moment, and she struggles to get up but is too slow.
“No, no nausea. I’m fine. I can walk.”
“Okay, let’s get up slowly.” She seems antsy all of a sudden, so I give her some space to get up but stay close.
“See? I’m fine.” She takes two steps and then wobbles. I’m there in half a second to catch her. I want to pick her up and carry her to safety, but that’s overkill.
“Let’s take it slow. You’re going to need to go to the hospital. You probably have a concussion.”
“Nah, no need.”Umm, what?
“Ma’am…”
She cuts me off. “You don’t have to call me ma’am. I know it’s probably part of the Texas charm, but it makes me feel old.”
I chuckle. “Okay, how about Ciara then?”
“I mean, it is my name.” Damn, every time she gets smart with me it makes my dick twitch. I need to wrap this up.
The cops and the EMTs arrive at around the same time. Two of the EMTs go over to tend to the driver. I heard one of the bystanders mention that he reeked of booze, so my concern that some sort of medical emergency caused his crash subsides and anger takes root. He’ll probably be spending the night in the drunk tank. Hopefully he’ll even get a little time for almost killing a child and Ciara. I have no tolerance for that shit.
Two more EMTs head over to us. “Hey, Linc. What we got?” Dominic asks. Dom is one of my best friends, and he’s an EMT at my fire station.
“She moved a little girl out of the way of the driver and hit her head on the concrete on the way down. Probable concussion. She needs a hospital.”
“No, really, I’m fine,” Ciara declares, but her eyes are unfocused.
“Ciara, it’s okay. You’ll be in and out. I’ll ride with you.”
“No offense, but I don’t even know you so why would that be a selling point? Sexy or not.” Dominic’s shoulders shake with laughter, and I try to act unaffected, but it’s nice to know that she’s attracted to me too.
“Stick with me. I’m the best company to have in situations like this.”
She starts to roll her eyes but stops, and I curse myself for flirting with this woman when she’s in so much pain.
“Can you walk, Miss?” Dominic asks.
“Yes.” She stands again but way too fast, and she goes down immediately.
“Shit,” I hiss before catching her. I inwardly scold myself for noticing how nice her body feels in my arms.
“You got her?” Dominic eyes me holding Ciara.
I look down at the beautiful woman in my arms and feel a sense of peace, but I don’t know why.
“Yeah, I got her.”
Dominic leads us over to the ambulance. I have no idea what I’m in for, but it’s too late now.
Lincoln
Instead of seeing Ciara off at the hospital like I should’ve, I went back to the exam room with her. I know a few of the nurses and doctors here—that’s just the nature of our professions—so I didn’t even bother trying to lie about my relation to Ciara. The nurse who admitted her told me to stay quiet and go on back with her.
I can tell Ciara isn’t unconscious, but she keeps her eyes closed and stays silent. The bright lights must be bothering her, and her head is probably throbbing, but I feel the need to make sure she’s okay. And maybe I just want to hear her voice again.
“You gonna pretend to be asleep the whole time?”
She slowly opens her eyes and curses under her breath. “You’re actually here.”
