his chest, his wrist and hand higher than his elbow.
“Go wait for the car,” he told her.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You’re not leaving. You’re checking on the car. Go on, Izzy. I’ll be right here.”
She hesitated a second, then raced to the clearing. The corporate guys were gone. She hoped Ethan had bullied the hell out of them and thrown in a few threats for good measure. She planned to call the sheriff just as soon as she knew Nick wasn’t going to die, but right now she didn’t care about anything but getting him to the hospital.
“Hurry,” she said aloud. “Hurry.”
Seconds later Nick’s SUV raced down the road and slammed to a stop just beside her. Aaron jumped out.
“Where is he?” he yelled, his arms waving. “Oh, God. A snake? A rattlesnake? Is he dead? He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Not yet. Come on.”
She grabbed Aaron’s arm and led him back to Nick. He was still leaning against the tree, looking calm. But she saw the sweat on his forehead and noticed the tension in his jaw.
“You all right?” she asked.
“Fine. We’re going to walk to the SUV. Aaron, I’ll lean on you.”
“Yes, yes.” Aaron sounded as shaky as Izzy felt.
He looped Nick’s free arm around his shoulder and they moved the few feet down the trail. Nick wanted to go slowly, stepping carefully. His breathing was steady. She told herself that was good. It had to be.
When they reached the SUV, she helped him slide into the backseat, then closed the door behind him.
“Are you driving?” she asked Aaron.
“Yes.”
“Do you know where the hospital is?”
“Yes. I’ve already called and told them we’re coming. They’re ready.”
“Good.”
She climbed into the passenger seat, buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.
NICK LAY in the hospital bed. Morning light filtered in through the blinds. His arm hurt like a sonofabitch, but he could deal with the pain.
He glanced over at the woman curled up in the big chair in the corner. No matter how he’d ordered, yelled and pleaded, Izzy had refused to leave. She’d spent the night fussing over him, talking to him when he couldn’t sleep and getting him ice for his water.
Slowly she stirred, then straightened and groaned. “Not exactly comfortable,” she said as she stood and straightened. Then she looked at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
“You sure?”
“You heard the doctor. I’m going to be fine.”
“He said you were lucky. It was a big snake.”
“I’m a big guy.”
“And you knew what to do. I would have freaked and made everything worse.”
He didn’t want to think about her being hurt. The memory of seeing that guy dragging her toward the rattler would haunt him forever.
She crossed to the bed and put her hand on his forehead. “Not clammy anymore.”
He grabbed her wrist. “You should go home. Get some sleep. Take a shower.”
“Are you saying I’m not at my best?”
“I’m saying I’m okay. You don’t have to monitor me.”
“Maybe I like monitoring you.”
There was a knock at the half-open door, then Lexi and Skye entered.
“Hi,” they said together.
“How are you feeling?” Lexi asked as she hugged Izzy.
“You look pretty good for a guy who wrestled a snake,” Skye told him.
“Thanks. I’m fine. I was telling your sister she can go. I don’t need her hovering.”
Lexi and Skye exchanged glances, then turned back to him.
“Poor man,” Lexi said. “You don’t actually think she’ll listen, do you? Have you met our sister? She’s fairly stubborn.”
They were both carrying tote bags. As Lexi talked she pulled out a large plant and a colorful blanket she spread across his feet. Skye removed two big boxes from her tote.
“A robe,” she said. “I got blue because it’s a traditional guy color. And these are cookies. Erin and I made them last night.”
Lexi put the plant by the window. “They’re chocolate chip. I could smell them the whole way here. Torture.”
There was another knock, then Dana entered with a tall, thin man.
“Hi,” she said. “This is Sheriff Rogers. He’s going to take your statement.”
“We’re pressing charges,” Izzy told him. “At least I am.”
“There’s no law against being an idiot,” the sheriff said as he shook Nick’s hand. “But we draw a line when an idiot hurts someone else. How you doin’, son?”
“Good,” Nick said, a little stunned by the invasion.
Skye and Dana disappeared for a few minutes, then reappeared with more chairs. The sheriff was eating cookies and talking with Lexi. Izzy stood next to him, holding the hand on his uninjured arm. Apparently no one was leaving anytime soon.
“Oh, Aaron called while you were asleep,” Izzy told him. “He’s taking care of everything. Steve came by to help. The corporate guys are very subdued and following orders. The beer is locked away and everything is good. But we’re still pressing charges.”
He didn’t know what to make of what was going on. He’d never had family before, and while Garth had been his friend for years, neither of them ever fussed over the other.
The Titan women fussed. Even as they spoke to him and each other, his blankets were straightened, his pillows fluffed. They discussed his meals, his color and asked him if he needed to use the bathroom. When the sheriff was ready to talk about what had happened, they sat in the corner with Dana, talking quietly, constantly glancing at him as if to make sure he was all right.
It felt good and at the same time made him feel like crap. Because Izzy wasn’t going to be the only one hurt by the revelation about Garth. They would be devastated, as well.
He had to tell her, and quickly.
He looked at the women. He would tell Izzy as soon as they had a moment alone. He had no choice-he was running out of time.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“HAVE YOU TASTED Skye’s cookies?” Aaron asked as he followed Izzy down the hall. “Silly question. Of course you have. How could you grow up with cookies like that in the house and not weigh four hundred pounds? They’re fabulous.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t tell Norma I said that. She’d cut me off her biscuits for weeks.”
“I won’t say a word,” Izzy promised, staring at the half-closed door to Nick’s bedroom.
She wanted to check on him. The doctor had let him out of the hospital that morning only after Nick had promised to take it easy, including staying in bed for a couple more days. She’d agreed to make sure he followed the doctor’s orders. But she had a feeling he wasn’t the type to do what he was told, which meant he was probably doing jumping jacks right this second.
She had to go make sure. The only problem was, she couldn’t seem to bring herself to walk into his room.
