“I don’t have the details on his condition,” Scott replied. “I only know he’s busted up pretty good.” He handed Rachel a slip of paper. “Here’s the name and address of the hospital where they brought him, and that’s the name and number of our captain. He’s still on the front line of the blaze, but I think he’s planning to get over to the hospital as soon as he can.”
A wave of fear washed over her. She hadn’t seen Dylan in over a year, but she loved her brother and dreaded the thought of anything happening to him.
“How did you find me?” she asked.
Now the firefighter looked embarrassed, and his gaze flicked uncomfortably between her and Jamie. “Some folks have seen you out together, and—well, it’s a small town. I saw the van parked in the handicapped spot outside, so I figured you might be in here.”
“Yes, well,” Rachel didn’t look at Jamie, “Mrs. Colter hired me to help Jamie—drive him around and do errands for him—while she and her husband are on a cruise with my parents.”
Rachel knew she sounded prudish, but she suddenly couldn’t bear the thought of the townspeople thinking she and Jamie were an item, not when most people didn’t know about the divorce and likely thought she was cheating on her husband. Sleeping with Jamie was one thing, but she hadn’t counted on their relationship becoming public knowledge. They’d only come into town together once, yet that had been enough for people to take notice and draw assumptions. Never mind they had been correct. The last thing she wanted was for people to think she’d found herself a boy-toy.
“Ah.” Scott Ross rocked back on his heels and looked thoughtful. “That must be why we couldn’t reach your folks. Sometimes those cruise ships don’t get good wireless reception.”
Rachel focused on the slip of paper he’d handed her. “Thank you. I’ll call the hospital now and find out what’s going on.” She rose to her feet and glanced at Jamie, whose expression was inscrutable. “I’ll be right back.”
When she returned ten minutes later, the table had been cleared and Jamie had paid the bill.
“How is he?”
“He’s in surgery right now. He shattered a kneecap and he has a ruptured spleen.”
“But he’ll be okay?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, thank goodness.”
“That’s good news,” he said. “He’s in good hands, and there isn’t anything you can do for him right now, so try not to worry. Why don’t we go home and pack a bag?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, okay.”
In the van, on the way home, Rachel risked a glance at him in the rearview mirror, unsettled by his silence.
“Are you okay?” she ventured.
“Oh, are you talking to me?” he asked, and she heard the mild sarcasm in his voice. “I mean, I’m surprised, since you’re only here to drive me around and run errands for me.”
Rachel gave him a tolerant look. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. But I was hardly going to let him assume we’re—that we’re dating or something. I mean, how would that look?”
Jamie didn’t answer.
“You have to admit if people knew we were hooking up, they would look at us with raised eyebrows,” she persisted. “Most people have no idea Deke and I are divorced. There would be talk.”
Jamie made a scoffing sound. “Those would be your own insecurities talking. I doubt anyone thinks long enough about either of us to even give it a second thought.”
Rachel had her doubts, but she didn’t want to argue with him. “I have to get a call through to my parents,” she said, changing the subject. “I have an emergency number my mother gave me, then I’ll head down to Bozeman. If I leave within the next hour, I can probably be there by midnight.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Rachel glanced at him in the mirror, surprised. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Dylan is my best friend,” Jamie reminded her. “You don’t think I’m going to let you go down there alone, do you?”
Rachel had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts and fears that for a moment she’d completely forgotten Jamie and Dylan were buds. Of course he would want to go down to Bozeman with her.
“But your leg—”
“I’ll be fine. The van is comfortable, and I’d feel better if I went with you.” He snorted. “At least then I won’t lie awake wondering if you’re okay, or if you fell asleep and drove off the road.”