Page 93 of Rocky Mountain Home

Dare sat back and held her tongue. If he wanted to add a speeding ticket to his day, that was his business. Fine by her.

His rush meant they were back at the hospital where they’d been the afternoon before in no time flat, only at the opposite side of the building.

He abandoned the truck outside the emergency doors, pausing to snap up a finger. “Stay put.”

Dare rolled her eyes, but a wave of dizziness hit, a rush of fear with it. “No arguments. I’ll sit here like a good—”

Jesse wasn’t there anymore. He was already racing around the truck to jerk open her door.

He lifted her out of the truck, refusing to let her climb down. Then they were through to the emergency desk. Her health card was processed followed by a flurry of questions before they were brought into a separate room behind a curtained-off area.

She lay there quietly, Jesse’s fingers in hers as they waited.

Another wave of dizziness struck. Dare closed her eyes against the queasiness, and involuntarily tightened her grip on his fingers. Everything had happened so quickly she’d had no real time until now for anything to sink in. For fear to rub across her nerves like sandpaper leaving her raw and vulnerable.

“I’m scared,” she admitted.

“It’s going to be okay.” Jesse brushed a loose hair behind her ear, his blue eyes fixed on hers. Dare locked onto his gaze even as her free hand slipped down to cover the swell of her belly.

A soft flutter greeted her, and some of the ice along her spine warmed. “I still feel Buckaroo,” she whispered. “I just—”

They both jerked as the curtain slid back a foot and a bright-faced nurse glanced between them before her gaze settled on Jesse.

“Excuse me, but is that your truck outside the emergency doors? Because you’re blocking the lane.” The nurse tilted her head toward the front. “You’ve got time to go park before the doctor gets here.”

“Screw the fucking truck,” Jesse muttered, before Dare placed her fingers over his lips to silence him.

“Go. You’ve got time. That way we won’t have to worry about hitching a ride to the impound lot when we’re done here,” she managed to tease.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaving at a dead run.

The nurse slid up to the bedside the instant he left. She cleared her throat then spoke softly, gaze fixed on Dare’s face. “Are you okay? Do you need me to help you?”

Confusion and Dare were having a heyday. “What?”

The nurse glanced over her shoulder before touching Dare’s cheek gently. “Are you in a dangerous relationship? I can help.”

Oh my God. “Oh, no, this isn’t from Jesse. Someone bumped me when I fell.”

The nurse waited as if considering.

“Honest to God.” Dare felt terrible for sharing, but no way could she let anyone think Jesse was abusing her. “It was Laurel Coleman. She and Vicki were—”

Thank God for small towns where everyone knew everyone. The nurse’s eyes widened and she interrupted with a gasp. “Laurel gave you a black eye?”

Dare made a face. “Is it going to be black?”

The woman nodded then let out a relieved breath. “Okay, as long as you’re safe, we can move on. I’ll need to take your blood pressure and information. You get to lie still and relax.”

Utterly relieved, Dare obediently held out her arm for the cuff to be Velcro-ed into place, trying to figure out if she felt sick. “If you need me to pee in a cup, I can do that too. On command.”

The nurse laughed. “We’ll just wait for the doctor, if you can wait.”

A list of questions later Dare was alone again, fears slowly spilling into the curtained area like an out-of-control magical vine. She debated grabbing her phone to call Ginny, but scrubbed that idea as soon as it hit. No good reason to scare her family until she knew what was going on.

Then Jesse was back, clutching the edge of the doorframe to stop from flying past her bed.

“You’re a menace,” Dare informed him.