Page 4 of Just For Her

Tove was so aghast that her cousin instantly deflected.

“Okay, okay! I’ll do that. Glad you remembered Cousin Oskar because I almost suggested dropping her off at the ER at St. Charles.”

“That’s the secondworstthing to do, after a hit and run!”

“I told you, cous, I’ll take her to Oskar’s! He still remembers how to check for concussions, right?”

“Make sure you take him something for his trouble. Last I heard, he’s really into mead right now.”

“Mead? Where the hell do I getmead?”

“You’re in Bend, for God’s sake.”

The only way Tove was getting more involved in this was by helping Kayla back into Thomas’s BMW. Although the girl in a sopping wet leopard print sweater swore she was fine, Tove insisted that it was in her best interest to go with Thomas to “Cousin Oskar.” What Tove didn’t mention was that Oskar had lost his medical license due to alittlebit of negligence.That may or may not have killed a teenage girl…

This family. Tove swore toGod.

She waved Thomas and Kayla off down the street. Once she was sure that they were out of sight, Tove returned to her desk and attempted to get back to work. Unfortunately for Aunt Kiersten’s taxes, Tove’s brain was burned with the image of that young lady slumped over in a chair that now needed disinfecting.

At least there wasn’t any blood!

Chapter 2

Kayla’sfirstfulldayin Bend could not have been more bizarre. After Thomas tapped her with his car, they hauled it to his cousin’s office. The older woman with a stern expression looked liable enough to murder the man standing before her. Yet as soon as Kayla was back in the BMW, all she could think about was making the most of this moment.

Even if Thomas was too stressed out to react to any flirting on Kayla’s part.

If she thought she was going to a private medical office, however, she was sorely mistaken. Cousin Oskar lived in a two-story house on the north side of town heading toward Redmond, yet the Lexus did not match the chipping paint or the fishing boat in his yard that had not been moved since before the pandemic, at least.

Kayla soon understood why Thomas had stopped by a brewery before coming to Oskar’s. Two bottles of mead were passed to the man who insisted he was a doctor, although Kayla was left to assume that Dr. Oskar Fredriksson was either on sabbatical or retired because his Oregon State T-shirt and sweatpants were all he wore as he took out some medical devices and examined Kayla in exchange for two bottles of expensive mead.

As it so happened, Dr. Oskar did not wear a wedding ring, either. Unlike Thomas, who dropped more than once that he was supposed to see his divorce lawyer that day, there were other signs that Oskar Fredriksson might be attached, like the pictures of a strawberry blond modeling a sash that said, “Miss Bend, 2003.”Besides, Thomas is much more attractive.Looking around at this slightly dumpy house with empty beer bottles lining the kitchen counter did not inspire Kayla to flirt with a man who might make the future Mrs. Fredriksson. She wasn’tthathard up for a gold-digging payday.

Besides! There wasn’t enough gold glittering in this corner of Deschutes County.

Thomas continued to offer his apologies as he drove Kayla back into town. By then, she was feeling much better, although that was probably because the heater blasting from the car vents dried off her sweater. Thomas asked her where she wanted to be dropped off, but she knew better than to let a man who had hit her with his car take her straight to the house where she was staying. That meant being left off at the coffee shop at the end of Chrissy’s street.

“Take this.” Thomas passed her a business card from his window. “My work phone is on there. Let me know if you’re not feeling well later, and we’ll work something out.”

“Oh… oh!”

“That’s right.” The serious look on Thomas’s face did not play well with the hip-hop music blasting from his speakers. “Let’s keep this away from the police. After all, you seem like a reasonable woman, Kayla.”

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “I certainly try to be… Thomas.”

Hm. No. His name didn’t quite fly off the lips.

“Again, I’m really sorry about what happened. I promise I don’t make a habit of hitting pretty women in the middle of the street.”

Kayla giggled. “How about hittingonwomen in the middle of the street?”

Thomas raised his window without another word.Damnit.That had landed about as well as Kayla’s ass in the middle of the asphalt.

“Are yousureyou’re not dead?” Chrissy leaned forward from her end of the couch, hands drooped between her crossed legs and bottle blond hair scraping against the cushion. “I mean, you look alive to me, but I’m not a doctor.”

Kayla rubbed the back of her neck, which wasn’t as sore as she expected after biffing it on the other end of a BMW bumper. “I think I’m fine, really. Only some scratches on my hands.” She showed the extent of her damage, currently covered by a couple of Band-Aids slapped on her palms. “Honestly, I’m thinking of this as a fortuitous opportunity. The guy who hit me tookreallygood care of me, and I think he might be loaded. That was a brand-new BMW and a tailored suit! He’s also nowhere near as old as your husband, no offense.”

“Hey, none taken! I know you’re willing to do whatever it takes to secure your future, but marrying a guy on the verge of retirement isn’t for everyone. If you can snag a forty-year-old professional,oomph.Did he give his name?”

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