Clover didn’t answer. Shoot. She tipped her chin up, considering the edge of the mountain to her right. Who else could she ask? Brayden. Oh no. There was no way she was going to call him. She’d crawl home first. In desperation, she dialed her old boss.
Zeke picked up on the second ring. She could have kissed him. “Hey, Tilly. You ready to come back to work?”
She half laughed, half sobbed. “I tweaked my leg on a trail. Any chance you could come pick up me and my bike?”
“Sorry. I’m on the bus headed up Zion with a group.” Someone asked him a question, and he answered. He was in the middle of a tour; he needed to focus.
“Don’t worry about it. Thanks, though.” She said goodbye and hung up the phone. Then she hung her head. “I will not call him.” Brayden was the only other person in town who would come get her. Probably come get her. She folded her forearms across the handlebars and laid her head on her arms. “Not him. Dear Father in Heaven, please not him.”
Her plan was to rid herself of Brayden, get him out of her life for a day so she could build up some immunity to his deep and brooding brown eyes and the way even a simple look felt like a caress. Heaven help her—please, heaven!
Like a whisper of a breeze, she remembered that Maverik was in town. He was the next best thing to her dad, and he would rescue her. She dialed his number, and he picked up after only one ring.
“How’s my baby girl?”
Why did she cry so easily? She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. She hadn’t cried when she’d fallen into the bush—thank you, snake. But Maverik’s warm timbre opened the floodgates. “Not so good, Mav. I, uh …” She cleared her throat in an effort to open it up. “I fell on the trail and got banged up. Can you come get me?”
“I’m walking out the door now.” Keys jangled in the background.
“Take my Jeep. It’s got a bike rack on the back.” She gave him the code to her garage and told him where he could find the keys.
“Is there anyone nearby who can help you down the trail?”
“I’m coasting. Which about sums up my life lately.” She pressed her lips together. She didn’t need to complain to Maverik. Not about his son. He was as loyal a father as they came. Like her own dad. Who, by the way, had offered to come down and teach Brayden a lesson about how to treat a woman. She’d appreciated the sentiment, but even with a neck injury, Brayden was bigger and stronger. Although, knowing Brayden, he’d take a dressing down from her father and say, “Yes, sir.” He’d always treated her parents with the utmost respect. Just one more reason she’d thought he was the one.
Maverik asked her to stay on the phone while he drove so he didn’t get lost, but she suspected it was because he was worried about her.
“Are you … alone?” she asked hesitantly. If Brayden had come with him, she wanted some warning and a chance to clean her face.
“I dropped Brayden off at the gym an hour ago. He’ll be gone for a while.”
“Bless you.” She breathed out, unaware that she’d been holding her breath.
A couple of riders on horseback came up through the brush. They’d been off-trail. She moved over to make room for them to pass.
“You okay?” asked the handsome man in a straw hat. He had on a T-shirt, jeans, and a buckle. His companion was dressed similarly.
“Yeah.” She looked forward. “I’m fine.”
He tipped his hat and nudged his horse to pick up the pace. His buddy did the same thing with his hat. Tilly let out a sigh. Maybe there were gentlemen left in the world.
“How far up are you?” The Jeep door slammed in the background.
“I just passed the bathrooms, and that’s 1.3 miles.”
“It’s so awesome that you know that.”
One side of her mouth twitched up. “There’s a sign.”
He chuckled. “Well, if there wasn’t, I’m sure you’d know it anyway.”
They were quiet for a while as he walked and she coasted. Thankfully, Maverik was levelheaded and hadn’t insisted on calling the paramedics or anything. She wasn’t that bad off. A day of ice and rest and she should be able to hobble around. Which was perfect, since the team was gone for another two days.
Maverik walked around the bend, and the dam burst. Tilly pushed with her toes, trying to get to him faster. He heard her crying and broke into a jog. She fell into his fatherly arms and let go of her need to hold it together. He seemed to sense that there was more to her outburst than just the fall and let her make a complete mess of the front of his shirt. When she was spent, he wiped her cheeks with his hands. “I’m so sorry, baby girl.”
“It’s not your fault. You’re the best.”
He smiled fondly at her. “Sometimes I want to shake that son of mine.”
