Page 16 (1/2)

And yet she could She had

A few hours later, the storh Lucky Harbor At a stop sign, he ca rain, he could see a wo beneath the opened hood, her clothes plastered to her Well, hell He pulled over, and as he walked toward her, she went still, then reached into the purse hanging off her shoulder

Ty recognized the defensive movement and knew she had her hand on some sort of weapon He stopped with a healthy distance between the that he was harh I’m fine"

He nodded and took in her sodden clothes and the wet hair dripping into her eyes Then he looked into the opened engine compartment of the stalled car "Wet distributor cap?"

Her eyes revealed surprise "How did you know?"

"It’s a ’73 VW Get the cap wet, and it won’t run"

She nodded and relaxed her stance, taking her hand out of her purse "I was going to dry the cap on my skirt but it’s too wet" She shoved her hair back from her face and blinked at him "Hey, I know you You’re Mysterious Cute Guy"

Christ how he hated that moniker "Ty Garrison"

"I’els in that freak snowstorrin "I’m the one who called 9-1-1"

"Then the least I can do is this" He ca it on the heh When he had the inside of the cap as dry as it was going to get, he replaced it and got her off and running

Back in his own car, he ended up at the diner Alued to the TV in the far corner A at the screen "Okay, come on! That sucked God, I miss Simon He always told it like it was"

Amy rolled her eyes and el Nu, lacy tee Norht her face was pale, her smile weak "Pie?" she asked

"Sure"

She ca of strawberry pie "You’re in luck," she said "It’s Kick Ass Strawberry Pie from the B&B up the road That means Tara made it," she explained to his blank look "Best pie on the planet, trust me"

That was quite the claim but one bite proved it to be true Ty watched Aestured to the towel she had wrapped around the palm of her left hand "You okay?"

"Fine"

Bullshit Her other hand was shaking, and she looked miserable But hell, if she wanted to pretend she was fine, it was none of his business Especially since he was thethrough her towel "Do you need a doctor?"

"No"

He nodded and ate some more pie Good She was fine and didn’t need a doctor And God knew, he sure as hell didn’t want to get involved But when he was done, he cleared his own plate, bringing it to the kitchen hiaze off the TV "You can’t go back there It’s against the rules"

"Your waitress is bleeding That’s against the rules too"

This got Jan’s attention Jan glanced into the back at A to patch her up? She has an hour left on her shift"

He had no idea what the hell he thought he was doing He hadn’t "patched" anyone up in a da ti to settle in his gut, but all he felt was a need to help A at the kitchen chopping block, hands flat on the cutting board, head bowed, her face a mask of pain She jumped when she saw Ty and shook her head "Guests aren’t supposed to clear their own dishes"

"I’ain Do you need a doctor?"

"It was just a silly disagreement with a knife"

Not an answer He unwrapped her hand himself and looked down at the cut "That’s reement You need stitches"

"It’s just a cut"

"Uh-huh And you need the ER"

"No, I don’t"

There was sonized all too well For whatever reason, she had a fear or deep-rooted hatred of hospitals He could sympathize "You have a first-aid kit?"

"Yeah"

He drew a deep breath, knowing if he didn’t help her, she’d go without it "Get it"

The diner’s first-aid box consisted of a few Band-Aids and a pair of tweezers, so Ty went to his car He always kept a full first-aid kit in there, even though he hadn’t ever cracked this one open He returned to the kitchen and eyed Aain He had Steri-strips but the cut was a little deep for that "Trust ht Smart "Me or the hospital, Amy"

She blew out a breath "All I need is a damn Band-Aid And hurry I have custoreener now He pushed her onto the lone stool in the kitchen "Put your head down"

She dropped it to the counter with an audible thunk He disinfected the wound, then opened a tube

Head still down, she turned it to the side to eyeball what he was doing "Super glue?" she squeaked