Page 7 of You Chive Me Crazy

“I’m not going to the hospital, not with you or anyone else,” she said."I have a business to run and I’ve got places to be. And I’m sure you have someone else’s life to ruin. I’ll wait for the next driver to come along or I will just walk to town.”

“Walk to town? Yeah, right.” I glanced around at the solitude, not a single car in either direction. “You and I were the only ones crazy enough to take the scenic route.”

I shook my head in frustration.

All this time, and nothing had changed. Zoe could still get right under my skin quicker than anyone I knew. Regardless of our attraction, I knew she would never forgive me for getting us both kicked out of the culinary institute.

I didn’t blame her, even though she didn’t know the truth.

She was still fuming.

“Okay then . . . I’ll leave, so you can get a ride with a potential serial killer, but first you need to prove to me you’re okay to wait it out.” I gestured to the ground in front of us. “Walk in a straight line.”

Zoe’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious? You want me to do a sobriety test? I’m not drunk!”

“No,” I said. “I want to see if you have the capacity and coordination to walk on your own, so if you are going to be stubborn enough to walk to town to get help, show me you’re okay and I’ll be out of your hair forever.”

I stepped away from the truck and dragged my foot along the dirt, creating a fifteen-foot line for her to walk on. Then I raised an eyebrow in her direction and waited. There was no way I was going to leave her there, but this appeared to be the only way to get her to agree that she needed medical attention.

She was going to fail miserably.

Zoe huffed. “This is ridiculous. I’m only doing this to get rid of you.”

“Believe me—I’m rooting for you right now,” I replied. “Walk the straight line and I will disappear.”

There was no way she was going to do it.

I would’ve bet money on it.

Zoe eyed the line, sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and tried to take a couple of steps. Incredibly, she turned a straight-line walk into a mashup of the “Chicken Dance” and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” When her arms started flailing and body teetered, I knew I had to do something quick before she fell and hit the ground.

Lunging forward, I wrapped both arms around her and held on tight. “That’s what I thought. You’re coming with me.”

“No—I’m not!” Zoe said.

“Fine. We’ll do it the hard way.” I scooped Zoe up into my arms, trying my best not to jostle her too much, then carried her toward my car.

"What are you doing?!” Zoe squawked, wriggling in my arms.

“Saving your stubborn ass from making a big mistake,” I quipped.

“Put me down, you troglodyte!” she said. “I don’t need or want your help! This is kidnapping! Help!”

I had certainly made my share of mistakes in the past—the one with Zoe being the biggest by far. But now that this opportunity had presented itself, I was going to do everything in my power to turn that wrong into a right, even if it killed me.

Even ifshekilled me.

ChapterTwo

LUCAS

I had always appreciated Zoe’s fiery spirit and determination back when we had been at the culinary institute, but she now appeared to be on a mission to drive me crazy.

“You’re a dead man if you don’t put me down right this instant, Lucas!” Zoe shrieked and continued to wriggle.

“There will be plenty of time for homicide after you see a doctor,” I said, as I carried her to my car.

Oddly enough, it wasn’t the first time I’d had to schlep her somewhere.