Oh.
In a flash, it comes back to me—the odd, metallic snap while I was reaching up to staple the lights and the stomach-dropping sensation as the ladder collapsed beneath me. Then I was falling, my only fully formed thought being,I can’t get hurt. Haley needs me.
Craning my head, I notice the offending ladder lying in the snow several feet away. But I’m certain it landed on top of me, considering I already have the sore spots to prove it.
“Don’t move,” Ronan orders. “Especially not your neck.” He rocks back on his heels. His hand leaves my cheek. His gaze sweeps across my body, starting at my feet and working up.
It doesn’t take long for me to regain my bearings. This isn’t the first time I’ve had the wind knocked out of me—that was when I fell out of my bunk during freshman year of college. And it’s not the first time I’ve hurt myself trying to take care of something around the house.
However, itisthe first time I’ve fallen off a ladder and been discovered by a very intense and handsome man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
On the heels of that thought, another, more practical one follows. “What time is it?”
Ronan pauses with his hands midway up my arm. Presumably, he’s checking to see if I broke anything, which I could tell him I haven’t.
Well, aside from my pride, but that’s more bruised than broken.
“The time,” I repeat. “Haley gets home from school around four-forty-five. I don’t want her to come home to see me lying in the snow like this. It’ll scare her.”
I start to push myself up, but Ronan places one hand on my shoulder and gently but firmly holds me still. “Angel. You fell off a ladder. You could have broken bones. Internal?—”
“I don’t. I would know.”
“You mightnotknow,” he retorts. “If you’d seen what I’ve seen… Adrenaline can mask a lot. So can shock. It’s important that I check you out. Make sure?—”
“But, Haley.” I know I’m probably coming across as unreasonably stubborn. But Haley’s been through enough in her life already. If she comes home and sees me like this, she’ll be terrified. It might even trigger the nightmares she used to have about my mom after she passed away, and I really don’t want that.
“It’s four-thirty,” Ronan says. “So we’ve got a little time. Although.” He frowns. “I’d really rather call an ambulance. Make absolutely sure?—”
“No!” I have health insurance through work, for which I’m unbelievably thankful—not many restaurants offer full benefits like that—but I also know how much the co-pay for an ambulance ride would be, and it’sdefinitelynot in my budget. Especially not a month and a half before Christmas. I don’t tell Ronan that, though. I just say, “I’m really okay, Ronan. The wind was knocked out of me, that’s all. The snow cushioned my fall.”
Mostly, at least. I have a suspicion I’ll be finding bruises in random places for days. But it’s nothing I can’t deal with.
“How about this,” he suggests. “I’m a trained medic. It was my specialty in the Army, and I’ve kept up my training for the Green Mountain Guardians. Plus, I work as a medic at Stowe.”
“I know.”Because everyone in Bliss knows about GMG, the private security company staffed by five Spec Ops veterans. And being friends with Hazel, I know more than the average person, like the specialties of the five men—Ronan was a medic, Gage flew helicopters, Enzo and Knox were snipers, and Alec was the communications guy.
Ronan blinks. A beat later, he gives me a sheepish smile. “Right. Of course you would. Hazel.”
“Hazel,” I affirm. “She talks about you guys a lot.”
“So you know I’m trained,” he replies. “And”—the corner of his mouth twitches up—“the longer we talk about this, the sooner Haley will get home.”
He has a point. Sighing, I sag back against the snow. “Okay. Do what you need to do. But I really do need to get up. And start working on the lights again.”
His half-smile fades. While he continues checking me over, he says, “I don’t think you’ll be working on the lights anymore today. Not just because you nearly broke your neck falling off the ladder. But it’s clearly not safe to use.”
I try to ignore the little frissons of heat that come from his hands gently touching my neck. “I don’t know what happened to it. I used the ladder last summer to fix some shingles on the roof, and it was fine.”
Ronan’s hands still. “You fixed shingles on theroof?”
“Just a few loose ones. And I watched videos online. It was a lot cheaper than calling someone to come and fix them.”
“What about Alec?” he asks. “Or someone at work?”
“It’s not their job to fix my house,” I reply, my tone slightly defensive. “It’s my house. My responsibility. And if it’s something I can fix on my own…”
After a beat, he nods. “I can understand that. My house needed a ton of work when I bought it. If I’d called in a contractor for every little thing, it would have cost a fortune.”
