As Shelby ran, despair threatened to overwhelm her. She knew she was making a bad decision, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t stop herself anymore than she could stop the tide from coming in. She was a double fool. All she had been able to see since she had overheard Ian’s argument with Jade was rejection—except he hadn’t rejected her. He had offered himself to her, and she had basically thrown acid in his face.
Breathing hard, Shelby slowed as she reached the parking lot. Blake was nowhere to be seen, but his silver SUV was still parked in the no parking zone, blocking trail access. Dark hair appeared around the edge of the SUV and relief flooded her. Blake was right there, and they would be able to leave quickly, before Ian or anyone else had a chance to catch her.
Disappointment swept over her, as the man stepped fully into view. It wasn’t Blake, but another man holding hands with a woman. They were coming down one of the hiking trails which branched off from the parking lot. The sight of the couple looking so happy and content caused Shelby’s gut to contract with jealousy. It was the exact picture of what she wanted—a relationship filled with joy.
What is wrong with me? Why can’t I have that? It looked so easy for them, but love wasn’t simple.
CHAPTER 25
“Wait! Look out!” Shelby shouted.
She was too late, and the man too slow to respond. As Shelby watched, he stepped around Blake’s SUV right into the path of a speeding black sports car. She closed her eyes, but she couldn’t block out the thud of the car striking him. She had no memory of moving, but the next thing she knew, she was standing next to where his body lay twisted.
“Oh my God! Somebody help us,” the woman screamed, breaking Shelby’s trance.
Shelby took a tentative step forward. She knew she had to help him, but she couldn’t seem to remember what to do first.
Think, Shelby, think. Her heart began to race as helplessness washed over her.
“Michael, are you okay?” the woman shrieked, dropping to her knees beside him. “Oh my God, someone help us!”
Shelby took another step forward and knelt beside the man. Her hands trembled. “I’m... I’m... I’m Shelby.” Her tongue felt too large for her mouth.
“What are you doing, Shelby?” Blake said, appearing around his SUV.
Shelby’s eyes locked onto Blake’s, and years of self-doubt bubbled up inside her. I can’t do this.
“You should let someone who knows what they’re doing help.” Blake’s voice was strained, like he was freaked out by the scene in front of him.
“Blake, I...” Shelby stopped. She had been about to tell him that she did know what she was doing, that he just needed to trust her. But Blake had known her for a long time, and she could read the doubt in his eyes.
“Is he right? Do you know what you’re doing?” The woman grasped at Shelby’s arm. “I don’t want you touching him, if you don’t know what you’re doing. Can you do something? Please tell me you can do something.” The woman spoke fast, her eyes wide with shock.
Shelby recognized the panic in the woman’s frantic babbling. If there was ever a time when she needed to do something, this was it, and yet her body was frozen with doubt. Then suddenly, just like every time she had needed him before, Ian was there beside her. She felt him before her eyes registered the gloves that he was handing her.
Ian turned to Blake. “Can you take control of the traffic, so no cars can come through?”
Blake stared at Ian like he was preparing his words, and Shelby steeled herself for his reaction. But Blake looked at the gathering crowd, something in his eyes changed, and business Blake appeared.
“I’ve got it,” he nodded at Ian and turned to the driver of the black sports car. “You can help me.” The young man’s already ashen face blanched. “It’s the least you could do.”
Ian turned back to the injured man while Blake led the young man away. “I’m Ian and this is Shelby. We’re going to get you fixed up.”
“Please, you must help my husband,” the woman pleaded, looking back and forth between Ian and Shelby. “One of you needs to help him.”
Ian smiled reassuringly at the woman, as he pulled on his gloves. He looked across at Shelby and gave her the same smile, before turning his attention back to Michael’s wife.
“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to go with Jade here. She’s my colleague, and you can give her some information while we take care of your husband.”
Jade stepped forward, put an arm around the woman, and directed her away from her husband. “Come with me. Your husband is in good hands with Ian and Shelby.”
“Sir, I need you to lie still,” Ian directed his patient, soothingly. “I’m going to provide support for your head just in case you’ve hurt your neck, while Shelby checks you over for injuries.”
Shelby’s head popped up, but Ian wouldn’t meet her eyes. Tendrils of panic shot up through her body, wrapping around her throat so tightly she couldn’t even form words of protest. Ian was the expert. He should be doing the first aid.
While Ian manoeuvred himself around, so he was positioned at the man’s head, Shelby tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Ian was too close, and this was all too much. She couldn’t process what had happened on the beach and do first aid. Couldn’t Ian see that?
She pushed the thoughts away.
This was not the time.
“Did I hear your name is Michael?” Ian asked. If he saw the fear in Shelby’s eyes, he was ignoring it.
“Yes,” Michael whispered; his voice raspy with pain.
“And was that your wife?” Ian inclined his head over to where Jade stood consoling the distraught woman.
“Yes, Ella.” Michael didn’t open his eyes when he spoke.
“You can speak, so we know you’re conscious and responding and your airway is okay. All good things. Next, Shelby is going to check your face and the back of your neck for injuries. You let her know if anything hurts, okay? It’s not the time to play the stoic hero.”
Michael smiled a ghost of a smile.
Shelby jerked into motion, blushing at having to be reminded. Ian’s dialogue wasn’t just meant to keep Michael calm; he was gently coaching her. He was coming to her rescue again.
He was her hero and her heartache at the same time?
Starting the primary survey, Shelby placed her hands on either side of Michael’s head, moving around Ian’s hands, so she could check for injuries and blood. “Let me know if anything hurts,” she echoed.
As she continued working her way down Michael’s body, Ian spoke to Michael in a low steady voice, telling Michael each thing Shelby was going to do before she did it. It didn’t take long for Shelby to finish the rapid body survey. With her quick inspection, she had found some bruises and abrasions, and what felt like a broken leg.
Shelby leaned back to stretch her tight back muscles and glanced up at the gathered crowd, unsure how to choose someone to support Michael’s leg until it could be splinted. Jade was the obvious choice, but she was busy consoling Michael’s wife. Just as Shelby was about to look to Ian for help, Annabeth appeared beside her.
“I got here as quick as I could,” Annabeth said breathlessly, pushing her curls out of her face. “How can I help?”
Shocked by Annabeth’s sudden appearance, Shelby stared at her wide-eyed. People seemed to be popping out of nowhere every time she needed help.
“Jade called me,” Annabeth said, as if reading some of Shelby’s thoughts.
Shaking her head to clear it, Shelby smiled awkwardly at the perky instructor. “I... uh... I think his leg might be broken. I need someone to support it.”
“No problem.” Annabeth smiled sweetly and, settling herself on the ground at Michael’s feet, braced her arms against her legs to provide strong support for Michael’s leg.
Watching Annabeth get into position, Shelby chewed on her lip anxiously. It was going to be a while before the ambulance arrived. Michael’s leg would need to be splinted.
Here
goes nothing.
“Jade says it will be another hour,” Shelby said softly. “Would you like me to switch with you?”
Ian looked up at her from where he was holding Michael’s head. He could hear in her voice that she didn’t want to be near him—that this offer was costing her something. But his arms were going to sleep, and he would be grateful for the swap.
“I could use a break.” He had so much to say to her, but he knew that this wasn’t the time.
She would just run, and he needed her to hear him.
It only took a few moments for them to switch positions, but the jolt he received when she slid in beside him and gently placed her hands over his would last at least the rest of the day. But in the brief time their bodies were touching, he had felt how tense she held herself. She hadn’t wanted to touch him; it was just her compassion that had compelled her to get close to him.
He couldn’t blame her. He was an ass. He had so much he needed to say to her, but Michael’s body stood between them, a physical reminder of the emotional wall keeping them part.
When she had fled, he had followed her, intent on breaching that wall. If he could just have the chance to explain the truth, he was sure she wouldn’t judge him so harshly. Although, if he allowed himself to think about it, the truth was really nothing more than a carefully crafted PR scheme.
She had called him a prostitute, and she had been right. What he was doing in the name of work was really nothing more than a fancy way to package up the oldest profession.
Sure, he didn’t intend to have sex with the women, but that didn’t mean the other stuff he was doing didn’t amount to the same thing. He needed to make a change, and that change had to start today.
He owed it to Shelby, even though she would probably never even know. Because when the ambulance arrived and carried Michael away, Blake would take Shelby away. The ache in the centre of Ian’s chest told him that it was going to tear him up to watch her go.
He had no one but himself to blame. He had practically chased her into Blake’s arms. He had no right to ask her to choose him; he had never given her any reason she should and plenty of reasons of why she shouldn’t.
Ian forced his attention away from Shelby and back to Michael. He quickly scanned Michael’s body, assessing the neatly tied splint. Shelby had done a nice job. He knelt down beside Michael, placed a hand on Michael’s wrist, and felt for his pulse.
“How are you doing, Michael? Still with us?”
The corners of Michael’s mouth twitched into an almost smile.
“They tell me the ambulance will be here soon. Hang in there.”
Shelby’s eyes followed Ian as he stepped away from Michael, watching as he removed his gloves. Beside her, Ella slipped in to comfort her husband, but Shelby couldn’t take her eyes off Ian. As much as she wanted to escape and not deal with this thing between them, she couldn’t seem to look away.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done...” Ella’s voice trailed off as tears streaked her face.
Shelby’s chest tightened, and she had to drop her eyes to Michael’s forehead to keep her own tears in check. Watching Ella with Michael made her ache for the things she wanted from a partner—wanted but couldn’t imagine how she would ever get.
When she finally had the nerve to look up again, Ian had moved away and was talking quietly with Jade. She couldn’t hear what Ian was saying, but it must have been reassuring because Jade nodded and then gave Ian a hug. While he embraced Jade, Ian looked directly at Shelby, catching her eye and holding her gaze until Jade released him. He seemed to be sending her a message, but she couldn’t understand what it was.
After he had finished tidying up the first-aid supplies, Ian returned to Michael and knelt down beside him. “I’m just going to check your pulse and breathing again. My boss spoke with the ambulance dispatcher, and the ambulance should be here soon. You just need to hold on for a bit longer and then they’ll get you all fixed up.”
Once again, Michael’s response was nothing more than the ghost of a smile, his face still pinched with pain.
Ella put her hand on Ian’s arm. “Thank you again. You were amazing.”
Ian put his arm around Ella’s shoulder and pulled her close for a quick, reassuring hug, sending tendrils of longing sweeping through Shelby.
“I’m going to check with Jade and see if she knows exactly when the ambulance is expected,” Ella said rising. “I know you just checked.” She patted Shelby’s arms. “I just need something to do.”
“Sounds good, I’ll sit with him for you,” Ian said, taking up a spot next to Michael so that he was facing Shelby.
Ella had barely walked away when Ian began to speak. “I know this isn’t the right time, but I’m sure Michael will agree that you never know what is going to happen, so it might be my only chance.” Their eyes met, and Ian’s held hers fast. “I owe you an apology. I was a jerk yesterday. I’m sorry.” He paused, running his hand through his hair, like he was buying time to find the right words. “I shouldn’t have chewed you out about the beer. It wasn’t a big thing.” He paused again, his eyes drifting down to Michael, as if looking for some support, but Michael didn’t open his eyes. “It scared me when you went into the river. I got angry at you last night because I was terrified something else would happen, and I felt powerless to stop it.”
Shelby tried to look away, but he wouldn’t let her. Finally, she closed her eyes. She couldn’t afford to care. She needed to remember that it was all fake. Because her body certainly wasn’t getting the message that Ian McLean was bad news.
“I know you’re angry at me about the job, and I should have been honest about it. And I hope one day you can understand, but just know that I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
Suddenly, it was all too much. She couldn’t spend one more second lying there trapped, holding Michael’s head while Ian spouted nonsense at her.
“Understand? You really think I’ll ever understand?” she spat out.
“I... please... if you could—”
Luckily, the ambulance pulled into the lot cutting short Ian’s appeal and stopping Shelby from making a scene in front of the gathered crowd.
Ella ran over and dropped to her knees beside Michael. “They’re here, honey. They’re finally here.”
Shelby felt Ian’s eyes on her, but she refused to meet his gaze. He played dirty, and it wasn’t fair for him to appeal to her in public with all these people watching where she couldn’t say what she really thought.
After what seemed like an endless wait, the paramedics finally had Michael secured to a spine board, freeing Shelby from holding his head still. She knew Ian had more to say. She could tell by the way he lingered nearby, glancing her way even when he was speaking with the paramedics. But she wasn’t ready to listen.
She couldn’t listen, because she was in danger of falling under his magic spell.
A paramedic waved her over, and she gave her report, while studiously avoiding looking towards where Ian stood with Jade. When she was done, Shelby found herself lingering. It was time to go home, but she couldn’t seem to walk away.
“See, coming home with me is the sensible thing to do,” Blake said. “You don’t fit in here. You must see that now.”
Shelby flinched. Her heart cracking at the truth in Blake’s words. She didn’t fit here. She had made a mess of everything. Just like she had made a mess of her marriage. She was realizing that she couldn’t blame it all on Blake. She had wanted something more, and maybe she had let her dissatisfaction cloud her judgment.
Numbly, she followed Blake to the SUV and slid into the passenger seat. She would start working on her marriage, just as soon as the ache in her chest subsided enough for her to breathe.
Tears damned up behind her eyes, but she was too upset to even cry.
“Time to go home,” Blake said, sliding into the driver’s seat and turning over the engine.
As the SUV pulled away, Shelby looked back. Sh
e had only meant to see the place where she had found peace one last time before she left to return to her old life, but what she saw was Ian, and he was watching her.
His eyes never left her, as the SUV took her further and further away.
When they turned the corner onto the highway, and she couldn’t see him anymore, Shelby let her head fall back onto the headrest. For a moment, she thought about making Blake stop. Despite everything that had happened, despite everything that she now knew, she wanted to go back. But going back meant facing Ian, and Ian McLean came with so many conflicted feelings.
She was helpless to change her decision.
CHAPTER 26
As Blake dealt with their coats, Shelby checked her hair in the mirror that had been strategically placed just outside the entrance in the Hotel Grand Pacific’s conference room. She sighed as she tried to smooth back the flyaways that had already escaped from her French twist.
“Ready?” Blake asked, extending his arm to her.
Shelby turned away from the mirror. There was no fixing her hair now. She might as well get this over with. They were at the Hotel Grand Pacific to attend the annual charity ball hosted by Blake’s law firm—Harlow, Jacob, and Weaver. This year’s ball was in support of the Pacific Old Growth Conservancy—a cause that Shelby could get behind. She should be excited. The balls were always over the top beautiful.
But she wasn’t.
She was nervous because, despite her new gown, she didn’t quite fit in with the glamourous wives of the other partners, and this year’s theme threatened to bring back memories she needed to keep supressed. If she was going to make an honest attempt to fix her marriage, she couldn’t be thinking about Ian and how life with Ian would have been a series of amazing adventures, like cliff jumping and sex under waterfalls.
Her cheeks pinkened at the thought of the few stolen moments she had had with Ian under the waterfalls, and then the things he had made her feel in the forest beside the river.
Saving Shelby Page 23
