Before she could answer the lingering question, Madden rounded the corner. “Eve? What are you doing here? Are you hurt?”
Fumbling with the purse strap across her chest, she forced herself to face Madden. “I stopped by the office to thank Reid for helping me last night and Peggy told me Reid was injured. She was concerned, so I offered to come by and get more information.”
Okay, so that wasn’t the entire truth, but it was close enough and didn’t make her look like a stalker.
Madden rolled his eyes, but a smile cracked though his gruff expression. “She’s a worrywart. I told her he was fine. Just some bruises and stitches. You want to head back to his room? I’m sure he’d enjoy seeing your face a hell of a lot more than mine.”
She nodded, not wanting the intensity of her excitement to squeak out of her mouth.
A buzz sounded, and Madden held up a finger before fishing his phone from his pocket and checking the screen. He winced. “I really have to take this. Actually, I need to get going. Any chance you can give Reid a ride back to town? It’d be a big help. He’s in room 202.”
Madden answered his call and headed for the exit, waving before he disappeared.
The nurse pointed toward the hallway where Madden had emerged seconds before. “Room is that way on the left.”
Before she lost her nerve, Eve walked down the wide hall until she found the right room. The door stood open. She stopped in the hallway and the sight of Reid on the bed, eyes closed and hand resting gingerly on his side, misted her eyes.
She took a tentative step inside and cleared her throat.
His eyes shot open, and he jerked to a seated position then cringed.
“Sorry,” she said, hurrying to stand in front of him. Instinct had her placing a palm on his shoulder to ease him back on the mattress. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I’m a little jumpy.” He leaned back and sighed. “And wasn’t exactly expecting you.”
She couldn’t tell if her appearance was a good or bad thing, but tried not to dwell on it. “I ran into Madden when I got here. He had to leave and asked if I could take you home. Hope that’s okay.”
“As long as you don’t mind, that’d be great. I just want to get the hell out of here. Hospitals aren’t my favorite place.”
An unspoken emotion skittered across his face, but she couldn’t put a name to it. “I don’t think many people enjoy them. The food sucks.” She wouldn’t mention the lingering scent of strong disinfectant that could never quite the hide the smell of sickness.
He snorted out a laugh, and their eyes locked. “Thanks for that. You always put things into perspective.”
“What can I say, I’ve got a knack. You ready to head out?” She had a hundred questions about what had landed him in the big, ugly bed, but there was no need to do that here.
Nodding, he eased off the bed and hissed out a long breath.
She hurried to his side and looped an arm around his waist to offer support. “I’ve got you.”
He smiled down at her, curling her toes in her tennis shoes. “You think you can keep me on my feet?”
Shrugging, she swallowed a smart-ass response. She could make light of this moment—hell, she probably should. Reid hadn’t been in town too long, but it was widely known he liked to flirt with every woman who crossed his path. Their friendship was based on witty banter and easy laughs. Anything more serious than that would complicate things.
But after last night, she didn’t want easy and surface level. At least not right now.
Butterflies swarmed in the pit of her stomach. “Reid, I think I’m strong enough to do anything you want.”
Reid picked up a bundle of wildflowers from the passenger seat and set them in his lap as he settled into Eve’s car. The pain in his side had numbed, but he didn’t think it had anything to do with the medication the doctor had given him. His brain was too centered on what Eve had said before leaving his room to register any discomfort.
Eve sent him a long look then stared out the windshield and merged onto the quiet street. “Anything I can do? Anything you need before we get to your place?”
“Nah, I’m fine. I have to get back to the office and talk to Madden. We have too much going on right now to just take off the rest of the day.”
She shot him a pinched expression that told him exactly what she thought of him going back to work. “Are you sure that’s wise? What exactly happened?”
The flash of the bull’s horns and anger in his eyes came rushing back, melting away the numbness in his side. He shifted in the seat. “I was at the fairgrounds. Madden and I went out for a job. There was a ton of commotion by one of the barns, andwhen I checked it out, a damn bull had gotten out of his stall. I jumped in before he rammed into anyone else and got him back behind a locked door.”
Her jaw dropped. “Oh my God! That’s terrifying. You were charged by a freaking bull. You’re lucky you walked away. How bad are you injured?”
