“Did I pass out while I was driving?” I took another breath and discovered the tightness was loosening in my throat. I got more oxygen this time, and the fog in my brain started to clear.
Bella was beside me, her chin on my thigh. “I’m guessing you got stung by something.” He lightly tapped his fingertip right where that stupid bee, or whatever, had stung me.
“Yeah, right before I got in my car. I’ve been stung before,” I said slowly, as my thoughts started to organize themselves a little more coherently.
“Most people don’t have a reaction until their second sting,” he said. “You slid off the road, and your dog here started barking up a storm. I had my windows down nearby and heard her.”
“Oh,” I said brilliantly. “Are you an EMT?” I asked a moment later.
He was tucking things away in his bag. His gaze lifted to mine again. Although apparently, I had almost just died from anaphylactic shock, butterflies tickled my belly when his rich chocolate gaze snagged mine. His shaggy brown hair fell over his eyes. He had a straight nose, strong cheekbones that angled down to molded lips, and a square jaw with a little dimple at the base of his chin.
His lips kicked up at one corner and, holy hell, another dimple peeked out. “I’m a hotshot firefighter, not officially an EMT, but we all have first responder training, it’s kinda part of the job.”
My lips still felt a little funny, and I pressed them together quickly, relieved that the numbness and tingling were starting to wear off. “You can’t throw a rock in Willow Brook without hitting a hotshot firefighter,” I managed to tease.
He chuckled, and the sound spun through me, sending my belly into a swoop. “True,” he said as he tipped his head to the side.
He leaned back, and I was abruptly disappointed to have him move away from me. “Are you leaving now?” Alarm shot through me with a burst of dizzying anxiety on its heels. I had just passed out in my car by myself with my dog.
“I’m not leaving,” he replied, his tone easygoing. “You shouldn’t drive for a while. Also, when you drove off the road, you collided with a boulder.”
“What?” I shook my head, trying to think. “Is my car okay?”
“Mostly. You have a small scratch on your bumper, but you also have a flat tire and a bent rim. I’ll give you a ride. To be on the safe side, we should probably take you to the hospital to get you checked out.”
“Oh, no, no, no.” I waved a hand in the air, the motion wobbly. “I’m fine, right? You gave me a shot, and I’m all set,” I protested.
“Am I going to have to be official and insist?” He looked genuinely concerned, his gorgeous brown eyes studying me.
I let out a sigh. “Fine, I’ll go.” Bella nudged my knee with her nose, and I absently stroked her head.
Eventually, he helped me out of the car. It was not a bad deal at all to have his strong hands guiding me up and out. He kept an arm around my shoulders to help keep me steady as I walked up the slight incline to his truck.
Bella was practically glued to my calves. He insisted on helping me into his passenger seat and buckling me in. Maybe it was because I was a little out of it, but when he leaned over to buckle my seatbelt, I almost kissed him.
Once I was situated, he opened the back door and lifted Bella into the back. She immediately poked her head in between the seats and licked my elbow.
He chuckled. “She takes good care of you.”
“Bella is my family,” I said simply as I leaned over and gave her a kiss on top of her head.
His lips quirked at the corners. “Good to know her name.”
I tried to carry on a conversation on the drive to the hospital, but I was still hazy. I learned his name was Kincaid. He’d recently moved to Willow Brook when he accepted a position on one of the hotshot crews here. He was from somewhere in the lower 48, but I couldn’t remember where.
We got into a little standoff in the parking lot at the hospital when he wanted to put me in a wheelchair and wheel me in. I refused. “No.”
When his lips twitched at the corners, I felt all tingly inside.
Without a word, he curled an arm around my waist and walked me inside. When we stopped in front of the circular desk, a familiar face looked up at me. “Tori!”
“Holly?”
Holly grinned. “I heard you were back in town and that you’ve been working at Fireweed Winery, but I haven’t seen you.” Her eyes shifted to Kincaid. “Is she okay?”
Chapter Three
Kincaid
