Page 77 of Rocky Mountain Home

The door opened partway and a masculine voice taunted her. “You need a hand? Because I will come in there.”

“Stop stalking me,” she ordered.

Then damn if he didn’t follow through, stepping right in and closing the door behind him, one muscular wall of interfering S.O.B.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

Really? Dare offered him the dirtiest glare possible. “You have to ask?”

He had the grace to look sheepish. “I didn’t expect Vicki to haul you over to my parents without me.”

“Gee, me neither.” She rubbed her temples in the hopes the stress would ease before she ended up with a headache.

She found herself tucked against his chest, his strong arms pinning her in place, and for one brief second her throat tightened and she could barely breathe. Screw it. She laid her head against him and let herself soak in his strength.

“It’s been a hell of a day for both of us,” Jesse offered.

“It’s not even three o’clock,” Dare pointed out in a mocking tone of voice, not quite sure what he had to complain about, but hey, at least they were both suffering. “Gee, Wilkins, I can hardly wait for the next big adventure.”

His arms tightened around her and a slow rumble shook his chest as he laughed softly. “Potty mouth.”

Tension made her snicker. “Don’t tempt me.”

His arms were rocks, his body warm as they stood there, finding a moment of peace. It took a little while before her breathing settled, Jesse’s deep inhalations synchronized with hers.

She’d finally found a balancing point when Jesse tilted her head back to examine her face, his blue eyes moving slowly, his expression filled with concern. “You ready for this?”

Dare managed a hesitant nod.

They separated, slipping out of the bathroom before anyone noticed. The elevator doors were closing before she realized she was clutching his fingers like a lifeline.

Screw it—right now, she wasn’t letting go.

Chapter Fourteen

The elevator seemed to take an extraordinarily long time to reach the second floor.

“How will we know where to go?” Dare wasn’t sure why she was whispering, other than it seemed the right thing to do.

“You’re kidding, right?” Jesse’s lips twisted. “Babies show up, we stop in. It’s not just family, either. All my schoolmates that got hitched already have started having kids in the last while. I could walk you to maternity with my eyes shut.”

I don’t even know where to park at the Black Diamond Hospital.

The thought nudged her hard, and she ordered herself to stop obsessing over details, or she’d end up running the halls screaming in terror.

He squeezed her hand as the doors opened, and she instinctively stepped closer.

Here be monsters…

White walls with ribbons of colour splashed against them. Lines of bright lights, doors with Private, Staff Only. Wheelchairs, IV poles, laughing nurses—

It all flashed by so quickly, but she swore if anyone had asked she could have recited it down to the last detail. As if a super awareness had come over her, Dare let Jesse guide her as she stumbled down the hall, overwhelmed by the realization she’d be in a place like this eventually.

Not eventually…soon.

Sounds echoed off the pristine walls, and she tugged at the collar of her shirt, her mouth suddenly dry.

It wasn’t memories making her heart pound. Her family hadn’t made it to a hospital. There’d been no sorrow-filled treks to say goodbye. But goose bumps were rising on her skin, and a sense of foreboding made her cling harder to Jesse’s fingers.