“Foley!” Ashley snapped her fingers and then pointed at Hunter. “The New Year’s Eve, side-of-the-freeway delivery you and Beau toned out on.”
He slid his arm around Madison’s neck and clamped his hand on her shoulder. “Yep. She’s got an apartment to see, though, so if you’ll excuse us…”
“I didn’t realize you two knew each other. That never made it to your report.”
His shift supervisor’s voice held all kinds of concern now, because there was no right response. He tightened his hold on Madison’s shoulder, but she didn’t get his silent message—or she chose to ignore it. She glared at him like he’d lost his mind, not to mention his manners, and then turned her attention back to Ashley.
“We didn’t. But when Hunter learned we were back in the hospital, he came to see us. Since then he’s been like a savior. I…well…it’s complicated, but I was in the midst of a personal crisis when Joy arrived, and my living situation was not ideal.” She sent him a grateful smile, oblivious to the fact that she was digging him a hole with every word. “He opened his home to us and made sure we had everything we needed. Insisted, actually. I don’t know how we would have managed without him.”
And flush. Goodbye letter.
Ashley stared at him. “Like a savior, huh?”
Heat crawled up his neck. “It’s no big deal. Anyone in my shoes would have helped.”
“Not true.” Ashley shook her head. “A lot of people would have done their job. No more. No less. But you always have to save the day.” She aimed a finger at him. “Your ridiculous ego refuses to accept normal limits.”
Beside him, Madison paled and stiffened. “His…ego?”
Fuck. This was worse than any worst-case scenario he’d imagined. “She’s looking for her own place.” Weak. Just…abort. “Crap, check out the time.” He didn’t even bother glancing at his watch, just took Madison’s arm and tugged her toward the car. “We gotta go, so you don’t miss your thing.”
“My what?”
He shoved her into the passenger seat and popped Joy out of the sling. She immediately started to wail. Some ‘hero’ he was.
He latched Joy into her car seat and came around to the driver’s side. “See you later, Ash.” He climbed in, buckled up, and revved the engine.
Over the racket of his engine and the baby, he heard her say, “Good luck with your apartment hunt.”
As soon as he pulled away from the curb, he glanced at Madison. She sat rigid as a ramrod, with her arms folded tightly across her chest, staring unblinkingly through the windshield. “I thought I was helping you, for a change. Showing her how ‘emotionally mature’ you are, and what lengths you’ve gone to for us, so she’d write you the recommendation letter you need.”
Wait, what? “I don’t even want to know how you heard about that, but don’t worry about it. Ashley’s not your—”
“But I wasn’t helping at all,” she went on, practically talking to herself. She didn’t look at him, either. Just kept staring straight ahead, frowning as if beyond the windshield a fog slowly lifted and a view took shape. “She already knows the lengths you’ll go to, and that’s what’s troubling her. I get it now. Helping is your thing. You ride to the rescue. You fix what’s broken.”
Why did she sound so disappointed? Almost betrayed. The need to defend himself kicked in before he could temper it. “You know what? I’m sick of feeling like trying to be a good guy is a character flaw. I do what needs to be done. If Ashley wants to call it a hero complex, or an oversized ego, then…whatever. I’m not changing.”
“You’re not,” she said quietly, and shook her head. “You can’t stop yourself. It’s who you are.”
…
Madison inhaled the scent of her green tea, immediately thought of Hunter, and tried not to let her thoughts return to Ashley’s comments from yesterday. She’d already worn the topic threadbare in her mind. A part of her felt certain there was more between Hunter and her than a hero complex, but then his supervisor’s words…Stop. You’re going there again.
Now was definitely not the time for another gut-wrenching game of Could You Ever Be Anything to Hunter Except a Rescue-in-Progress?
One of her new coworkers, Rachel, occupied the other chair at the tiny bistro table, completing a stack of employment forms while Madison skimmed the latest version of the employee benefits handbook. Nobody gets emotional over an employee handbook, no matter how great the benefits.
The pretty blonde looked up and smiled. “Okay, I think I signed and initialed in all the right spots.” She handed the forms to Madison. “Can I trouble you to double-check?”
“No problem.” She pushed her stack toward Rachel. “Check mine?”
“You got it.”
Madison skimmed Rachel’s form, not deliberately looking at the content, but nonetheless noticing certain details. Rachel was twenty-five, transferring from The Daily Grind & Unwind near the university, and had one dependent—a three-year-old daughter named Bliss. She listed her mother as her emergency contact. Mom had a local address.
“You’re a transfer, too, just like me,” Rachel said, her eyes perusing the form. “And, oh wow. You have a new baby. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” She let her own curiosity show. “You have a little girl, too?”