Only then did he notice how thin her jacket was. He unzipped his coat, slipped it
off, and placed his jacket over her shoulders.
“What the—” Her eyes practically crossed. “Now you’ll be cold.”
“You’re welcome.”
She smiled and her pretty blue eyes sparkled. “Thank you.”
“I hate to bring this up, but if you don’t call AAA, you’ll miss work.”
Her hands fisted. “Don’t have that.” She acted embarrassed, as if he’d judge her.
It didn’t matter if she did. Not only did he have roadside assistance, he’d recently
performed the inspection on their building, and had made friends with Emily, the woman
in charge of towing. He bet she’d help. He pulled out his phone, made the call, and
explained the situation.
“Let me see.” He heard keys tapping over the line. “Carl is out on a job now, and
it seems Pritchard hasn’t showed up for work yet. As soon as Devlon gets back, I’ll
send him out.”
“How long?”
“I’m guessing ‘bout an hour if you’re lucky.”
“I’ll be here. I need to run an errand, but I’ll return before your guy arrives. Thanks.”
The whole time he chatted with Emily, Jamie continued to fiddle with the engine, but
given the tilt of her head, she was listening to his every word. The big question
was how she’d respond to his offer of help.
He disconnected. “Tow truck will be here in an hour.”
“I heard, but I could have called someone.”
Yes, but she hadn’t. She had an interesting set of values. Given how she’d come early
to the hospital, she didn’t want to be late to work. On the other hand, he bet it
bothered the hell out of her to let anyone give her assistance. He didn’t know which
path she’d choose.
He wanted to make it easy on her. “How about if I drop you off at the clinic and come
back here to wait for the tow?”
She finally faced him, her gaze shooting right then left. “You’d do that?”
“Sure. I like doing nice things for a beautiful woman.” I so didn’t let that slip. Shit. Now she’d think he was trying to pick her up. Which he was, in a way.
“You talking to me?”
Her very bad Al Pacino imitation hit some mental funny bone, and he dropped back his
head and laughed. “You are something else, Jamie Henderson. I promise I won’t take
advantage of you on the short drive there.” Max had no idea what was going through
her head, but given her recent episode at the clinic, safety had to be paramount on
her mind.
She nodded. “I appreciate it. But how will I get home without my car?” She held up
a palm. “Never mind. I can call a friend.”
“I’ll give you a lift to your house. I have a feeling your car might need a new starter.
If that’s the case, it could be a few days for them to repair it. They might even
have to order the part.”
“Like I need this?” She bit her bottom lip. “How will I visit Jonathan?”
She’d given him the perfect segue to ask about the mystery man, but his cop instinct
told him this wasn’t the right time.
“Let’s get you to work, and your car to the shop. After you find out what’s wrong,
you can come up with a plan.”
She let out a large breath. “Thank you. Ever since yesterday, I’ve not been myself.”
“I understand.” He really did. Except he’d been out of sorts for years instead of
days. Being able to help someone was like having a small hole in a fogged window wiped
clean.
She handed him the ignition key, and then followed him to his SUV. He held open her
door, and while the women he dated enjoyed the chivalry, he never had the sense they
really cared one way or the other. With Jamie, he bet she’d like it. The woman had
principles.
After meeting her in the hallway, and then watching her try to fix her car, Max was
looking forward to finding out what made Jamie Henderson tick.
* * *
Seeing Jonathan so injured had been torture enough, but having Grayson breakdown
off, and placed his jacket over her shoulders.
“What the—” Her eyes practically crossed. “Now you’ll be cold.”
“You’re welcome.”
She smiled and her pretty blue eyes sparkled. “Thank you.”
“I hate to bring this up, but if you don’t call AAA, you’ll miss work.”
Her hands fisted. “Don’t have that.” She acted embarrassed, as if he’d judge her.
It didn’t matter if she did. Not only did he have roadside assistance, he’d recently
performed the inspection on their building, and had made friends with Emily, the woman
in charge of towing. He bet she’d help. He pulled out his phone, made the call, and
explained the situation.
“Let me see.” He heard keys tapping over the line. “Carl is out on a job now, and
it seems Pritchard hasn’t showed up for work yet. As soon as Devlon gets back, I’ll
send him out.”
“How long?”
“I’m guessing ‘bout an hour if you’re lucky.”
“I’ll be here. I need to run an errand, but I’ll return before your guy arrives. Thanks.”
The whole time he chatted with Emily, Jamie continued to fiddle with the engine, but
given the tilt of her head, she was listening to his every word. The big question
was how she’d respond to his offer of help.
He disconnected. “Tow truck will be here in an hour.”
“I heard, but I could have called someone.”
Yes, but she hadn’t. She had an interesting set of values. Given how she’d come early
to the hospital, she didn’t want to be late to work. On the other hand, he bet it
bothered the hell out of her to let anyone give her assistance. He didn’t know which
path she’d choose.
He wanted to make it easy on her. “How about if I drop you off at the clinic and come
back here to wait for the tow?”
She finally faced him, her gaze shooting right then left. “You’d do that?”
“Sure. I like doing nice things for a beautiful woman.” I so didn’t let that slip. Shit. Now she’d think he was trying to pick her up. Which he was, in a way.
“You talking to me?”
Her very bad Al Pacino imitation hit some mental funny bone, and he dropped back his
head and laughed. “You are something else, Jamie Henderson. I promise I won’t take
advantage of you on the short drive there.” Max had no idea what was going through
her head, but given her recent episode at the clinic, safety had to be paramount on
her mind.
She nodded. “I appreciate it. But how will I get home without my car?” She held up
a palm. “Never mind. I can call a friend.”
“I’ll give you a lift to your house. I have a feeling your car might need a new starter.
If that’s the case, it could be a few days for them to repair it. They might even
have to order the part.”
“Like I need this?” She bit her bottom lip. “How will I visit Jonathan?”
She’d given him the perfect segue to ask about the mystery man, but his cop instinct
told him this wasn’t the right time.
“Let’s get you to work, and your car to the shop. After you find out what’s wrong,
you can come up with a plan.”
She let out a large breath. “Thank you. Ever since yesterday, I’ve not been myself.”
“I understand.” He really did. Except he’d been out of sorts for years instead of
days. Being able to help someone was like having a small hole in a fogged window wiped
clean.
She handed him the ignition key, and then followed him to his SUV. He held open her
door, and while the women he dated enjoyed the chivalry, he never had the sense they
really cared one way or the other. With Jamie, he bet she’d like it. The woman had
principles.
After meeting her in the hallway, and then watching her try to fix her car, Max was
looking forward to finding out what made Jamie Henderson tick.
* * *
Seeing Jonathan so injured had been torture enough, but having Grayson breakdown
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