Song of the Surf (Pacific Shores Book 3) (3 page)

Both medics had eyed the structure overhead a few times and he knew they were considering the soundness of the building, since the other end had been smashed by the tree.

Justus didn’t bother correcting their misperception over his relationship with Dakota. He wouldn’t abandon her for anything, but he was going to need his wheels once he got to the hospital. “You should ride in the ambulance. I can’t have you getting blood all over the inside of my Z3.” He winked at her. “Will you be okay if I follow right behind you to the hospital?”

“O-of course.”

The paramedics both scowled like he was the lowest form of humanity.

But it wasn’t them who changed his mind. It was the disappointment he saw flash through Dakota’s eyes. He tilted his head and squeezed her fingers gently. “Never mind. I’ll just leave my car here and ride with you.”

“No. It’s alright. You don’t have to.” A frown pinched her brow.

“It will be fine. I’ll just have Jalen drive it over for me later.”

“Jalen?”

He brushed off her question. Jalen had worked with him for seven of the eight years he’d been at Deschutes Rejuvenation. And since Reece had known them both during his time working there, Jalen was also one of the groomsmen. The fact that the man was probably here more to talk him out of quitting his job than to be in the wedding didn’t need to be mentioned right now. “Let’s just get you to the hospital, okay?”

“Wait, what about the hole in the roof? The flooring will be ruined if we don’t cover it.”

Justus almost chuckled at her persistent concern over the crazy tarp. Instead, he touched her shoulder. “Let’s just worry about you first. Besides, a single tarp isn’t going to be able to cover that hole out there.”

She swallowed. “It’s just…I’m responsible.”

A long damp strand of hair had fallen over her eyes, and he tucked it behind her ear, stirred by her distress. “I know. But there’s nothing you can do about a tree falling on the house. Right now the best thing you can do is to get yourself better. You can deal with the damages later.” He gently prodded her to her feet.

The paramedics rolled a gurney near her and helped her climb onto it. And as Justus followed her into the back of the ambulance he cast one more glance toward the house. He swallowed at the sight of the huge tree and the caved-in end of the house. Things could have been worse. So much worse.

Dakota woke to weak rays of sunshine and a dusky hospital room. Her brow furrowed. What was she doing here? She rolled her head toward the sound of a cart trundling by in the hallway, and pain sprang up from every corner of her mind. Her eyes fell shut and a low moan escaped.

A rustle of movement sounded on the other side of her bed and despite the throbbing she forced her neck to turn toward it and squinted a peek. The motion was at least tolerable this time.

Justus Teague, looking like he’d just woken up, sat on the front lip of a leather chair with wooden arms that couldn’t have been comfortable to sleep in. He scrubbed fingers back through his blond curls, standing them all on end at protruding angles, and then met her gaze with a sleepy one of his own. “How are you feeling?”

Confusion plucked at her. She scrunched her eyes closed and tried to remember how she came to be here. It was only a moment before everything came back to her in a rush. She focused on Justus again, choosing to ignore his question because somehow she thought he might overreact to the fact that her head felt like it could possibly split open at any second. “Thank you for riding with me to the hospital.” A flash of memory – her clutching his hand – pressed her lips closed in embarrassment. She averted her gaze.

He stood and lifted a cup with a straw to her lips. “Not a problem. I’m just glad I was there to help.”

She realized how thirsty she really was, and that her voice had sounded dry and parched a moment ago. She guzzled like a dying woman at a desert water hole, then sank back against the pillows and sighed. “Thanks.”

He tipped her a nod.

Pain pulsed through her skull again. “Do you think they might have some Tylenol I could take?”

Something tightened his features and he strode toward the door. “I’ll get you a nurse.”

He was back only moments later, a nurse bustling on his heels. “Your man here says you’re hurting? Where is your pain, hon?”

Her man? Dakota didn’t look toward Justus who was already back in his chair on the other side of the bed, but she would have loved to see the expression on his face over that misperception. Realizing she’d left the nurse waiting for her answer, she responded quickly, “My head.”

“Well, that’s to be expected considering the blow you took last night. Anywhere else?”

Dakota slowly assessed the other regions of her body and informed the nurse of a slight twinge in her left ankle and a larger one in her right arm.

“Also to be expected since your x-rays and scans revealed a fracture of your arm and a sprain to your ankle.”

Dakota nearly groaned. How was she supposed to walk down the aisle for Marie’s wedding in less than a week if she had a sprained ankle? She didn’t even remember them doing any scans.

The nurse was still talking. “The good news is, you don’t appear to have anything more than a super mild concussion. So you’ll probably get to go home here after a bit. First let’s get you some breakfast and I’ll put a little pain killer into your IV line.” The nurse hastened back in the direction she’d come from.

Dakota didn’t care about breakfast, but killing the gremlins that were kicking the inside of her skull sounded heavenly. She hoped that by “a little” the nurse meant at least a truckload of some painkiller that ended in “ine,” or maybe a cocktail of several of them. Her eyes dropped closed until she remembered Justus was still here. She glanced over to find him, elbows propped against his knees and one cheek resting on clasped hands, studying her. Weariness draped his features, and the blond stubble he normally wore trimmed close and carefully groomed, looked a little thicker than normal.

“Have you been here all night?”

He nodded.

“I’m surprised they let you stay.”

A grin transformed the tired lines of his face. “Let’s just say it took a little bit of charm and a whole lot of persistence.”

She offered him a weary smile. “Thanks for being here, but you don’t have to stay. Go home and get some rest.”

Humor tucked around the edges of his eyes. “I can’t have all these nice hospital staff thinking I’m the worst boyfriend in the world.”

She laughed, then, as shards of fire shot through her head, gasped and stiffened.

Justus was standing by her side in an instant. “Sorry. What can I do?”

She eased out a breath and wrinkled her nose at him. “Don’t make me laugh. At least not till a few minutes after she gets back with that painkiller.”

He touched her shoulder, his face serious. “You got it.”

His total seriousness almost made her laugh again. She opened her mouth to tease him about it, but just then Marie and Reece knocked at the open door. She changed her intended words. “Hi, you two. Come in.”

They stepped into the room, followed by Riley and a dark haired Hispanic looking man she’d never seen before.

Marie rushed to her side. “Dakota! I can’t believe it! I hardly slept last night, I was so worried about you. Are you going to be okay?” She leaned over the bed and gave Dakota a gentle hug.

Dakota patted her back. “I’m going to be fine. Where’s my munchkin?”

“Darlene is watching her this morning.”

Reece’s mom seemed to have come around one hundred percent in her opinion of Marie over the last few months. Dakota was glad about that. Especially for Marie’s four-year-old daughter Alyssa’s sake.

She moved on to a more pressing matter. “I just hope this isn’t going to ruin the wedding.”

Marie waved away her concern and rejoined Reece at the foot of the bed. “Our wedding should be the least of your worries. I can’t believe a tree fell on House of Hope!”

“Crazy, huh?” Dakota tried not to wince when Marie rested one hand on her sprained ankle at the end of the bed.

Reece pushed his ever present cowboy hat back on his head and folded his arms. “So what do you hear about when you get to make your escape?”

Dakota offered a thin smile, feeling her energy already beginning to flag. “The jailer said I’m up for parole this morning sometime.”

Just then the nurse stepped back in carrying a breakfast tray. “Well, look at you, Miss Center of the Party.” She offered Dakota a wink as she set the tray on the rolling bedside table. She pulled a syringe from her coat pocket and reached for Dakota’s IV port. “A few painkillers and you’ll be up and dancing with one of these handsome guys in no time.”

Everyone chuckled and Dakota couldn’t remember being happier to see a syringe full of drugs in her life.

A warm hand settled against her shoulder. “You alright?”

She forced herself to meet Justus’s concerned scrutiny. “I’m fine.”

He stepped over to his chair and pulled his black leather jacket from the back. “Tell you what. We’ll all let you eat and we’ll run grab a bite ourselves. Then I’ll be here again about ten to see if you’ve been released and to give you a ride, alright?”

As nice as it would be to simply agree and let him control the situation, he’d already done more than enough. Besides, she knew from talking to Reece that Justus had done time. How safe could it be to be alone with him, no matter how secure he made her feel?

She arched her brows at Marie. “Actually, if Marie’s done with my car I can just drive myself?”

Marie darted Reece a look, then Justus. Neither man seemed to want to meet Dakota’s gaze. But there was compassion in Marie’s eyes when she looked at her. “Um… We sort of don’t want you driving yourself anywhere, at least for a couple days.

Dakota’s brows shot up. “We?”

Marie winced and swung a finger to Reece, then on to Justus, and back to herself with a tiny nod.

“Guys! I’m a big girl who bumped her head. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and don’t need you babying me.”

Justus cleared his throat. “You have a slight concussion. A broken arm. And a sprained ankle. Be reasonable.” Without giving her another chance to protest he turned to the nurse. “So will ten be a good time to check back?”

The nurse agreed that the timing should be about right and adjusted Dakota’s table. “You just eat when you are ready, okay?” With that she made her way from the room.

Despite her grumpiness over their three-way conspiracy, Dakota liked the feeling of being taken care of – especially by Justus – just a little too much. How was it she could so enjoy the company of an ex-con? Her parents were always thousands of miles away on another continent, and she’d simply adjusted to doing for herself, she supposed. But now…she met Justus’s warm blue eyes filled with concern and her heart sped up in a way it hadn’t since Jason.
Jason.
There were so many reasons why she needed to avoid a relationship right now – especially with a guy like Justus – and she suddenly felt a little desperate to avoid the impending alone-time with him.

She tore her gaze from his and settled it on Marie. “Marie, Justus has already done more than enough. Couldn’t you pick me up then?”

Marie shook her head. “Sorry, Reece and I have to run to Portland today to grab the supplies for the reception. But Justus has already offered to be your chauffeur for the next couple of days. And Riley’s going to drive your car out to Serenity Shores for you so it will be there when you are able to drive yourself again.”

The next couple of days?
Her pulse picked up at just the thought, and she hoped no one was studying the display on the monitor next to her bed too closely.

Do not make the same mistake twice!

Her gaze flicked to Justus once more. What had sent him to jail?

Jail time wasn’t the only drawback to the man. She distinctly remembered his death-trap of a red motorbike. She lifted one brow at Justus, unable to hide her pique. “You going to make me ride behind you on your motorbike?” Her chest tightened at just the thought. She’d sooner walk home than straddle a bike ever again.

But he only shook his head. “Left my bike back home this time. Brought my car, instead.” He tipped his head at the Hispanic man. “Jalen there protested over having to ride with the wind in his face the whole way here. Good thing too, I guess.”

Jalen, standing quietly, arms folded, smirked and shook his head over the obvious misrepresentation, but tilted her a nod of greeting.

She wiggled her fingers in return, since moving her head still hurt like crazy. “So Riley, you aren’t going to Portland with Marie and Reece today?”

Riley shook her head.

Dakota studied the woman. Her face was as impassive and unreadable as usual. Dakota sighed. At least she didn’t have to worry about Riley’s safety from her ex-boyfriend since he’d driven his car off the coastal highway and been killed instantly the night he’d last beaten her up. Even so, Dakota didn’t want Riley to be alone. She had so many emotions roiling through her right now.

Dakota pressed her lips together, not wanting to make her feel self conscious in front of all those in the room, but not wanting to leave her to be on her own all day either.