Page 75 of Tessa's Trust

It figured that Bobbo had told her the whole story.

“Nevertheless, we were all there, and it’s okay to want to date somebody,” I said gently. I couldn’t imagine my family turning their backs on me. Once again, I felt sorry for Kelsey. She had been there for Anna when my sister needed help, and that wasn’t something I’d ever forget. “Besides, look how well it turned out.”

She twirled a lock of her hair. “That’s true. Bobbo and I are really getting along. I know it’s only been a short time, but we talk almost every hour.” She looked around. “I mean, when we can. When work doesn’t get in the way. Did you know he raises alpacas?”

“Yes.” I smiled as happiness lit up her face.

Her grin widened. “It’s cool, right?”

“I think so,” I admitted. “Have you been over to Silverville a lot?

“No,” she answered. “I mean, my sisters and I went over there once in a while in the summers to pick huckleberries, and I guess I’ve been through a few times on the way to Montana. But that was the first time I’d really been in town.”

“Maybe it was fate,” I murmured.

She brightened. “Maybe it was. I did meet Bobbo. Again, I owe you.”

“Speaking of which,” I started, “do you mind if I pop in and see Mert Smiley?” I had to see for myself that he was still okay.

“Sure.” She gestured down the hallway. “Visiting hours are way over, but I don’t think anybody will care. He has his own room so you won’t wake anybody else up.”

“Thanks.” I turned and walked down the quiet hallway to his door and nudged it open. Lights from the machines illuminated the area and showed him sleeping quietly. Even so, he looked pale and wan and not nearly like the blustering cook I was used to. Tears gathered in my eyes. He would be okay, but sometimes I forgot that he was in his seventies. My heart hurt, and all of a sudden, my head ached. I didn’t want to wake him, so I just took another look, made sure his breathing was even, and then turned to head back toward the reception area.

“Hey, are you okay?” Kelsey asked.

“I am. It’s just been a long day,” I said. “Excuse me.” I made a beeline for the bathroom. Her phone rang, so hopefully, she would be distracted. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked pale, too. I walked over, set my back to the wall, and crouched down, trying to stay in control, but it was too late.

Seeing Mert like that, having almost been arrested, and being stone-cold broke, was just too much. Tears started sliding down my face, and I let them. I had planned to wait until I got home or at least to Donna’s home to cry, but it looked like the day was ready to hit me now.

I buried my face against my knees and let the tears flow.

Chapter 27

After a good fifteen minutes—maybe thirty—of crying, I heard the door open, but I didn’t look up. My face was still pressed to my jeans, and I just didn’t care. I figured people cried in hospitals all the time, so whoever it was would use the facilities and then go away.

Instead, the scent of musk hit me and then hands descended onto my knees. I knew those hands.

I slowly lifted my head to look into Nick Basanelli’s soft brown eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” he returned.

I wished I could look away, because I was not a pretty crier. I knew this as a fact. Donna could cry and look like a heroine from any movie made in the fifties. Not me. My nose turned red, my eyes puffed up, and with my complexion, I looked horrendous. At the moment, I couldn’t even care. “Go away, Nick.”

“That’s not very nice.” In one smooth motion, he leaned in, slid an arm beneath my knees and the other around my back, and lifted me away from the wall.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m getting you out of the bathroom,” he said. Okay, that was fair. He walked out of the room, nodded at Kelsey, and took me directly out the front door. “This is becoming a habit,” he murmured.

I tried incredibly hard not to snuggle into his impressive body. “You carrying me out of buildings?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I kind of like it.”

I couldn’t help myself, so I laid my cheek against his chest and cuddled into his neck. The air was freezing, the snow bombarded us, and he was a safe and warm haven in a tumultuous world. “How did you find me?”

“Kelsey Walker called,” he told me. “To be more exact, she called my service, and they called me.”

“How did you get here so fast?”

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