Best Friend's Ex Box Set

"Yeah, I've got a headache," I said raising a hand to the spot where it hurt the most and winced when my fingers probed the lump.

"You're going to be okay, but I'd advise you to rest as much as you can for the next couple of days. I'll call in a prescription for pain medication, but I think you might be fine without it," the doctor said as he packed his equipment into his bag. "You don't seem to have broken any bones nor have you cracked your skull open, so I don't think you need to go to the hospital, but I'm going to tell the girls to keep an eye on you for the next week or so."

"Week? I need to get home!" I protested as I pushed myself up off the couch. My head throbbed, so I lay back down.

"Oh, Mr. Wallace, I think you're going to be here in Corner Grove for a spell," Doc Johnson laughed. "Your car was almost totaled and they're going to have one heck of a time getting the parts they'll need to get it back in running condition."

The doctor picked up his bag and walked into the kitchen, waving to me as he disappeared through the doorway. I tried to get up from the couch, but the pain knocked me back down.

After a while, Grace came into the room with a cool towel and placed it on my forehead. The feeling of her cool hand on my skin stirred something in me and as I looked up at her, I noticed that she

had a small scar over one eyebrow. I wondered how she'd gotten it, but before I could ask she said, "We'll bring you some lunch in here, Mr. Wallace. Doc said you shouldn't be up and about much right now. Maybe in a few days we can take you into town to check on your car; meanwhile, we'll do our best to care for you."

"Thank you, Grace," I said as I looked up into her eyes and tried to smile. She nodded and then quickly turned and went back to the kitchen, leaving me on the couch wondering how I was going to sell the project if I was stuck here in this house.

Chapter Seventeen

Grace

"Did Doc Johnson come over?" Honor asked as she walked through the back door and set a basket of eggs down on the floor near the door before tossing a handful of papers on the table.

"Honor, where have you been?" I asked. "You've been gone forever!"

"I've been doing what you asked!" she shot back crossly. Her face was red and sweaty, and her kapp was askew, but that was par for the course when it came to Honor. "Plus, I had to take care of the animals, or did you forget that we live on a farm?"

Honor was a tomboy at heart and loved nothing more than to run barefoot through the backfields helping Dat plough or accompanying Mamm as she worked in the garden. Her stubbornness made it almost impossible to tell her what to do, but it also meant that she refused to give up on things where others would throw up their hands and walk away. She was tough, but she also had a good heart and meant well.

"No, I did not forget," I said crossly. I picked up the papers and began to stack them neatly. "Yes, Doc came by and checked Adam out. He said Adam needs a few days to recover, so we should probably get him back to the Yoder place."

Honor shook her head as she stood by the door looking like she wanted to duck back outside and join Danny in the garden. She was the moody Miller sister. The one who would suddenly go silent for days only to explode in laughter at something only she found funny or lose her temper at an injustice that she could no longer bear. We'd all learned to give Honor a wide berth when she was in her quiet phase. Dat had nicknamed her the percolator, saying that what she was doing was simply brewing her ideas.

"So, what did you find out?" I asked as I surreptitiously tried to read the papers I was stacking.

"It's the presentation he gave to Uncle Amos," Honor said as she walked to the sink and washed her hands.

"Honor!"

"What? Don't tell me you're not trying to read them, Grace," she said as she dried her hands on her dress.

"Use a towel, Honor Miller!" I scolded as I did my best not to look at the papers in my hand.

"Grace, stop being such a priss," Honor said. "I called the garage and they're coming to get the car this afternoon. Then I called Yoder's and told Mrs. Yoder that Adam had an accident and that we'd get him back to the B&B by tonight. But she said he'd only paid for two nights and she's got a group of quilters coming in from out of town for the week, so he's going to have to stay here with us while they fix his car. She said she'd pack up his things and send Gabe over with his suitcase after supper."

"Oh no," I groaned as I slammed the papers down on the table. "Honor, how could you?"

"What did I do?" she said defensively. Seconds later she realized why I was upset and grumbled, "Well, don't blame me! It's not my fault you have to deal with the messes you left."

I said nothing as I thought about how to avoid being home when Gabe came to deliver Adam's suitcase. It was bad enough that I felt myself powerfully attracted to the stranger convalescing on our living room couch, but now I'd have to deal with a blast from the past that I'd rather have left there. I'd arranged to take the day off from the store so that I could help with the summer plowing, and Danny had already hook Bella and Blackie to the plow, so there was no easy way for me to make my escape.

"I'm sorry, Grace. Really I am," Honor quietly repeated as she anxiously twisted her skirt with one hand leaving damp wrinkles in the fabric when she let go.

"It's okay, it's not your fault that Gabe hasn't been able to let me go after all this time," I said sinking down into a chair at the table. "I'll just have to deal with it the way Mamm would have: politely but firmly."

"Oh right, you'll do that for sure," Honor said rolling her eyes. "Just like all the other times you dealt with him openly and honestly rather than packing up and running away. Uh huh."

"Honor," I warned.

"Thin ice?" she asked pushing her back against the screen door readying herself to escape if she needed to.