Page 12 of Hayden's Haven
“You couldn’t even stand earlier.”
“You’re an ass, Hayden.”
“For carrying you?”
“For questioning everything I say and do. If I get dizzy again, I’ll speak up. Until then. Let me down.”
“Fine.” He practically dropped her, but she recovered quickly, smoothing out her blouse in the process. It still smelled of blood, but it was Hayden’s vibrant scent that had been distracting her ever since she had woken.
Kate caught up to her and looped her arms through hers. “You’re supposed to be my patient, Kate, not the other way around.”
“We can hold each other up,” Kate said, smiling in a way that only Kate could. Beautiful and natural, even when the world around her looked so dark. Mila hadn’t missed the fact that Callen hadn’t caught up to them yet. The enforcer was long overdue. At least Kate’s color looked better. “Hayden can carry the bags for a while.”
At Kate’s word, Hayden scooped up both bags, tossed them on his left shoulder and brushed by both women without a word.
“What’s his problem?” Mila asked.
“I’ve only recently met Hayden, so I don’t know him too well yet, but he’s always been respectful and easy-going. I think he blames himself for what happened to you.”
“That’s ridiculous. He was patrolling. He’s only one shifter. Can’t do everything by himself.”
“Family trait,” Kate said.
Kate was grinning like a Cheshire cat for some reason, but Mila wasn’t going to push. Kate wasn’t one to spill info unless she had to. She’d been that way since she had reached out to Mila online. Those few questions Mila had asked of Kate about why she shouldn’t disclose Kate as her benefactor, had always been answered with silence. That’s when Mila had learned not to ask so many questions of Kate. That didn’t mean Mila couldn’t still ask questions. Occasionally, Kate did answer, and the woman was a wealth of information.
“You know about Hayden’s family, but not him?”
“Just his brother and cousin,” Kate said with a wave of her hand, and a smirk. Yes, there was a story there, but Kate wasn’t sharing. “Both loners for the most part. They’re used to doing for themselves. Leaning on others is hard for them.”
“Well, the opposite, being forced to lean on others isn’t any better, I can tell you that.”
That sobered Kate, stealing her grin.
“I didn’t mean you!” Mila said. “Oh, Kate, I’m really sorry. I don’t always think before speaking. I was talking about someone else. I’m very grateful for all you’ve done for me.”
“And I’m grateful you saved my life,” Kate said in turn, smiling once again. “I could say we’re even except that we sound like I expected to be paid back, which I never did. You needed that money, Mila. You deserved it.”
Mila nodded, blushing and not sure what to say. Kate was genuinely not interested in being paid back.
“I think you’ll like Damien’s pack,” Kate continued. “They’re rather warm and friendly.”
“You’re not a good liar, Kate.”
Kate laughed. “So, I’ve been told. Okay, the truth is, they don’t welcome outsiders easily, but maybe that was just me. I didn’t exactly set the right tone by shooting Hayden.”
“You really shot him? I didn’t believe him when he said that.”
“It’s not exactly the type of thing a person lies about.”
“No, but—”
“You don’t trust Hayden do you?”
“Jeez, Kate, what’s gotten into you? For the weeks I’ve been treating you, you barely asked me anything, let alone divulged much about yourself. I barely got Damien’s name out of you, and that was only because you thought you were dying at the time.”
“I was dying.”
“You weren’t dying. I think I can diagnose that much. You paid for my medical school, remember?”
