“The nurses will be in each hour, and I’ll be back to check on you before I finish my shift at eight,” the doctor told her. “Get yourself some rest now.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. Tired as she was, once the woman left, Britt grew more frustrated by the minute as the men remained outside the door where she couldn’t hear a thing. She was about to call them inside when Aaron glanced over and noticed her frown. He said something to Joel, then stepped past to enter the room. Joel went the other direction and her chest tightened.
“Where’s Joel going?”
“To ask Mandy to grab your bag out of the truck.”
“For the envelope,” she guessed.
“That, and clean clothes for you.”
She didn’t return his brief smile and shifted her gaze toward the window. “I’m sorry. I know this is all my fault.”
“No it’s not,” Joel stated as he returned. She met his fierce frown. “That bastard is responsible, not you.”
She shook her head. “I should’ve—”
“What’s done is done, Britt,” Aaron interrupted. “Joel’s right, so don’t beat yourself up over it. Right now, the most important thing is that you’re okay and no one else got hurt.”
Easy for them to say. She’d thought she was protecting her horse, but instead put all the animals and Joel in danger. If anything had happened to him in the fire…
He stood next to Aaron, and she wished he’d come closer. At the same time, she knew she should send him away. Being with her is what could’ve gotten him killed tonight.
“Joel’s kept me in the loop on his investigation so far,” the sheriff said. “But from here on out, we’re combining resources to nail this guy once and for all.”
She nodded, though her mind whirled about what she could do to help. Lying in a bed like a helpless victim was not a feeling she liked one damn bit.
Aaron glanced toward the door as Mandy entered with her duffle. She handed it to him and he set the bag on the foot of her bed before digging out the envelope. He dropped it into a plastic evidence bag, then sealed the bag. “I’m going to take what I’ve got here and get everything processed for prints. Between that and the investigation the fire Chief has started at the ranch, we might have something to work with later this morning.”
Joel walked to the door with him and the two spoke in hushed tones again.
“You could use me.” Both men swiveled to face her. “To draw him out, I mean. I could—”
“Hell no.”
That came from Joel even as Aaron shook his head. “You are going to lay low for a few days. Even better if you got out of town.”
Her eyes widened. They wanted her to leave?
“Listen, we’ll talk later, okay?” Joel murmured to Aaron.
The sheriff turned to Mandy. “I have to talk to the fire chief, so I can give you a ride back to the ranch.”
She nodded, and after Britt and Joel both thanked her, the two of them left. Joel turned and leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest. Britt watched him, all the way across the room, her heart weighted with dread.
“You want me to leave?”
“I want you to be safe. But I might not be the best person for that job. Being next to me puts you in more danger.”
“I think it’s the other way around.”
“I can take care of myself, Brittany.” He uncrossed his arms and straightened to come closer to the bed. Her pulse increased with each step, but he stopped and gripped the plastic footboard. His gaze fixed on the bandage along her hairline as he asked, “Would you consider leaving? Going home early?”
She should. To protect him and even herself. And Mark would understand, she knew that. But she realized she couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Colorado any more than she could stand the thought of this being the last time she saw Joel. As it was, she only had so many days before he left, so she wanted every minute with him she could have.
The word selfish hovered in her head, until something else occurred to her. “What if he follows me to Chicago? Who’s going to watch my back then?” She trusted him for that job, no one else. “It’s obvious from the note this person knows all about me. I mean, he knows you call me Brittany, and he knew about Daniel.”
“I’ve been thinking about that.” Joel finally moved to the side of the bed and sat on the edge facing her, his hip brushing against hers. “If you stay, you and I are going to have to do some major brainstorming. Come up with a list of everyone you know so Aaron and I can start digging.”