Page 29 of Love on the Run

“What do you mean?It’s great around here! It’s so beautiful.”

“But there’s nothing todo.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. Don’t you play with your friends? Or watch movies?”

“Yeah, but the movie theater is only one screen, and we have to wait forever to get new ones.”

“Make your own then.Does one of your friends have a camera?”

The girl sat down, thunderstruck.“Make our own?”

“Yeah, why not?Make up a story, get some costumes, and go film it.Trust me,anyonecan do it. You could make a western!”

“Oh my God, Sarah’s family raises horses! We could be girl cowboys!”The contradiction in terms didn’t appear to bother her in the slightest.

Callie smiled at her enthusiasm, then glanced up to see Jake had slipped back into the room, and was watching her with an unreadable expression.

Murphy appeared a moment later. “Morning, Miss Reed.Why don’t you come in?” He led her back into the little examining room.

“I’m sorry to make a fuss,” Callie began. “It’s probably nothing. I’m not worth the bother.”

“Better safe than sorry,” the doctor admonished. “Infection isn’t something to take lightly.”

“Jake insisted I come in,” Callie noted, somewhat sourly.

“Good.You’re lucky to have someone looking out for you,” Murphy said. He held up a thermometer. “Open up.”

Callie waited for the thing to beep, thinking over the doctor’s offhand comment. It had been a while since she’d had anyone looking out for her, probably not since she’d been a child.She hated to admit it, but she was lucky that Jake had found her. Now if only she could convince him that he didn’t have to pry into her life.She wished they had met under other circumstances. He had a lot of good qualities.Good enough that you tried to go after him when your inhibitions were down, she inadvertently recalled.The beep of the thermometer interrupted her thought process.Thank God.

“Ninety-eight,” Murphy read.“Perfectly normal.”

“Hah, I knew it.” Callie was glad to think of something other than her attempted seduction of Jake. “I can take care of myself.”

“You appear to be recovering well,” he said cautiously. “But I can’t stress enough that rest is the best remedy.”

“No worries there,” she said. “Jake keeps me on a short leash. Not literally, obviously.” Of course, she didn’t elaborate that he really only wanted to find out what had happened to her.

Murphy smiled. “He takes his responsibilities very personally.And I’m sure having a pretty girl like you around doesn’t hurt.”

“I doubt he notices what I look like.”

Murphy actually laughed.“He’s not blind, honey.”

“Yeah, well…” Callie didn’t know what to say to that. Did Jake think about her that way? If he did, he was good at hiding it.

Murphy saw her discomfort and changed the subject. “You’ll be fine, Callie. Now you get out of here and free up my time for someone who needs it,” he said, winking. He walked her out to the waiting room. She saw Jake talking to the mother of the boy who had been hurt. When he turned around at her approach, giving her a quick once-over, she thought of the doctor’s comment.

“That didn’t take long,” he said. Past him, Callie caught the interested gaze of Mrs. Cullen.

“That’s because I’m not sick,” she responded.

“She said,” Murphy added diffidently, “that she wasn’t worth the bother.”

“She’s wrong,” Jake said firmly. He gave her a quick grin, making her stomach flutter. Saying goodbye to the other woman, who was looking after them with her eyes wide, he led her back to the car.

* * * *

They returned to the house to find Bruiser sitting on the steps, confronting them with a disturbed expression. When Jake opened the door for Callie to step out, the dog ran up to them, pinning his gaze on Callie.

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