Page 52 of Bad For Me (Rock Canyon, Idaho 5)

Callie wondered about the man whom Everett risked so much to save. He seemed so put together now, but with everything that happened to him, it was hard to imagine he wasn’t a mess.

When he’d gone for her shirt earlier, she’d almost asked him to turn off the lights first. But she’d chickened out, afraid he might feel her scars and ask her about them. How could she explain about Tristan and her past after hearing his story? He’d been scarred saving someone, being selfless and a hero. She had ignored warning signs because she was afraid of what they meant. She had been selfish, living in her own little happy existence, when deep down, she’d questioned Tristan’s excuses of exhaustion and stress. She’d been worried, afraid that his blackouts and strange behavior had meant more, but she’d buried her head in the sand, and it had cost lives, while Everett had saved them.

He was better than she’d ever be.

Then what are you even doing here, fondling his face like a creeper?

Because she wanted him. And though she might not deserve him, she didn’t care. He was everything she wasn’t, and he thought she was beautiful. He wanted her too.

Without thinking, she bent over him and kissed his open mouth.

Suddenly, rough hands gripped her arms hard, and she reared back with a startled scream.

“Callie, fuck!” Everett said, releasing her.

Callie scrambled to her feet, trying to get away from him, but her ankle turned funny when her foot caught on something. With a cry of pain, she fell to the floor, tears blinding her as the sharp hurt began to throb.

Ratchet let out a ferocious growl just before his tongue began showering her face, but she was in too much pain to push him away.

Then Everett was kneeling next to her, a dark shadow with the light of the fire behind him, and for a split second, she saw Tristan in his place.

“Oh, God, Callie. Are you okay? Fuck, I’m sorry.” Everett’s worried voice broke through her panic, and she closed her eyes, taking deep, shaky breaths.

You are safe.

Ratchet was still hovering over her, focused on Everett, and she reached up to pat him. “It’s okay. I’m all right.”

The growling stopped, and he backed up a step, letting Everett get closer.

Suddenly, Everett was carrying her against his chest as he stood up, his arms under her shoulders and knees.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to take a look at your ankle.” He set her upright on the couch and went to turn on the lights. She winced as she tried to put weight on her foot, and the throbbing only intensified.

Everett knelt down by her feet. “Which one?”

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice strained.

He reached for the injured foot and rolled up her jeans. “Is it this one?”

“Really, you don’t have to—yow!” she yelled when he picked it up and pressed his fingers into the tender muscles.

“Damn, it’s swelling,” he said grimly. “We should take you to the hospital and get it X-rayed.”

“I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll just ice it when I get home.” The last thing she wanted to do was spend the night in a hospital, being pinched, poked, and prodded. Especially with Everett looking on, wondering why she was refusing the pain meds they’d offer her.

“Oh, you know, I used to be a major pill-popper and alcoholic. No big deal.”

“Callie, you might have fractured something.”

Ratchet kept trying to push between them, and Callie stroked his head, trying to calm him. “It’s probably just a sprain, and all the doctor’s going to tell me is to take it easy and keep my weight off it.”

“If you won’t go to a hospital, then you’ll just have to stay here. You can’t drive on it, and besides, leaving you alone when you can hardly walk isn’t safe. If the swelling hasn’t gone down by tomorrow, I’m taking you in, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder.”

“If you hadn’t freaked out when I was putting that blanket on you, I wouldn’t have twisted it in the first place.” Callie watched the guilty pain on his face and instantly wanted to take her words back.

“I think you were doing a lot more than tucking me in,” he said softly.

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