My Best Friend's Brother (Hometown Heroes Book 3)

by G. L. Snodgrass

  I nodded as I inspected his contraption. How did he know all this stuff? Splinting my leg, the fire last night, tracking me down. Now this travois’ thing. Once again, I sent up a silent prayer of thanks that it had been Luke who found me.

  Once he had me positioned on his invention, he frowned at me and said, “You let me know if that leg hurts too much. It’s going to be bumpy. We can stop and rest if you need to.”

  A knot of fear settled inside of me as I bit down on my inner lip. No way was I going to let him see me cry. Instead, I nodded at him. Hoping he would believe me that everything was okay.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the thing worked. In fact, it worked great. I lay on the jackets, my hands gripping the poles on either side of me, my foot perched on the pole and Luke pulled.

  He worked his way upstream until he could easily get up on the trail and then started for home. Nellie followed behind, weaving back and forth, keeping one eye on me and one on the forest around us.

  A feeling of hope started to build inside of me. Luke would get me home. Really, there was no doubt in my mind. But there was something else. A new awareness of something wonderful on the horizon. I don’t know why, but the world just felt better somehow. Even with a leg yelling to be cut off.

  I took a deep breath and tried to relax. The less I moved, the easier it was for Luke.

  “How you doing?” I asked him.

  He grunted. “Fine, I can do this all day. We should be home in an hour or so.”

  An hour? This would all be over in an hour. For some reason, the thought didn’t sit well.

  Sighing, I closed my eyes as I thought back to what it felt like to sit in Luke’s arms next to a bubbling stream and a warm fire. The smell of pine smoke and the wind rustling the trees. The stars above and those strong arms around me.

  Yes, my world had changed, I realized. It was a night I would remember for the rest of my life. Of that, there was no doubt in my mind.

  Chapter Seven

  Luke

  My hands were killing me. Another thing about being inside for two years. I’d lost my calluses. To top it off, my arms felt like they were being ripped out of my shoulders.

  We are almost there, I told myself as we turned off the logging road and onto the trail to the back of our place. Taking another step, I pushed the pain away. Remember, I told myself. Amy was in worse shape and you don’t hear her complaining.

  That ankle had looked atrocious this morning. My gut tightened up just thinking about it.

  But that thought led my mind to drift back to the night before. I couldn’t forget the way Amy felt in my arms. The way her hips fitted so perfectly between my legs. The smell of jasmine and honeysuckle in her hair. The soft lilt of her voice. Everything had seemed so perfect.

  Of course, the guys inside would have given me a ton of crap. Alone with a beautiful girl. In the woods, a dark night. And nothing happened. It could make a guy question his priorities in life.

  But Amy’s not like that, I reminded myself. Besides, there was that whole best friend of my sister issue.

  Taking another step, I tripped over a root and stumbled forward to catch myself.

  “Are you okay?” Amy asked from behind me. The concern in her voice pulled at me.

  “We’re almost there,” I said as I shifted the weight and grumbled to myself. This was going to end soon. A shame. She would go back to her world and me to mine.

  Nellie barked behind us then sprinted to get in front, running into the yard, sniffing, making sure nothing had attacked anything while she was gone. The chickens clucked and Bailey neighed as he looked out over the top rail.

  I stopped by the truck and slowly lowered Amy down. When I stood again, I rolled my shoulders to work out the kinks.

  “I’m sorry,” Amy said with a look of guilt. See, I thought to myself. That was what I mean. Our horse threw her and she was worried about me.

  After I opened the truck door, I leaned down and scooped her up into my arms. For just a second we paused. Each of us looking into the other’s eyes.

  Jenny’s friend, I told myself as I shook off the need to kiss her.

  For just the briefest second, I thought I saw something deep inside of her. A need, a want. No, I must have been mistaken. Amy Jensen was not meant for a guy like me.

  Shaking my head to clear the dangerous thoughts, I placed her onto the seat, letting her swing her leg inside. When she was in safely, I removed the jackets from the travois. Mine was fine, but her windbreaker had been stretched all out of shape.

  Slipping into my jean jacket I sighed internally. I already had enough strikes against me. Going around sleeveless made me look like a backwoods hick. Not a good look for meeting a girl’s father.

  Closing her door, I turned and told Nellie she was in charge. She looked up at me, tilting her head as if asking, when wasn’t she?

  I hustled around and got into the truck.

  Amy leaned out the window to tell Nellie thanks, then turned to me and nodded.

  “We’ll be there in a few minutes,” I told her.

  She continued to bite her lip as she nodded. My insides turned over. She was so brave. And just so darn cute. And this ends today, I told myself. This stupid feeling had to end.

  Yet, somehow, I thought it might be a long time before it went away. But then, I was very familiar with time.

  .o0o.

  Amy

  My leg felt like someone had locked it into a vice and was slowly carving it into small pieces. My eyes began to tear up which made me mad and embarrassed. No, I would not cry. Not in front of him.

  He had done so much. It wasn’t fair to add a blubbering girl to his problems.

  Instead, I bit down harder as I examined the truck. Probably five or six years old,. It smelled of hay, and oil, and something else. Something that said Prescott farm.

  “Do you even have a license?” I asked him, determined to think of something else. Anything but my leg.

  He laughed and shook his head.

  “Do you know how to drive?” I added.

  He slowly turned and looked at me, one eyebrow rose. Oh yes, I realized. Stolen cars. Of course, he knew how to drive.

  “Actually, I can get a license now that I turned eighteen, I just haven’t had the time.”

  I nodded as I desperately tried to think of something else to say. Why had it seemed so much easier last night in the dark? Now, here, my mind refused to work. All I knew was that I didn’t want this to end. This connectedness.

  But it would. In fact, it ends right now I realized as Luke pulled into the Hospital and stopped just outside the ER.

  We’d barely come to a full halt when he was around to my door and had me in his arms. Carrying me into the building. I automatically reached up and put my arms around his neck while I rested my head on his shoulder.

  Would I ever feel this again? I wondered.

  As the automatic doors opened and I lifted up to find my father standing there, in his doctor coat, a patient’s file in his hand. His mouth open, and eyes as big as baseballs.

  “Amy?” he asked, unable to believe what he was seeing.

  “I’m okay, Dad,” I said trying to reassure him. My father is a great doctor. Always in control. But when it comes to me, he stops being a doctor and becomes a father.

  He frowned as he looked down at my foot then up at Luke. His frown slowly turned over to a deep scowl.

  “In here,” he instructed as he pointed to an examining room.

  “Luke saved my life,” I said hurriedly before he could get the wrong impression. “Baily threw me. A mountain lion spooked him. Luke found me.”

  My father continued to scowl as Luke gently placed me on the table and stepped back.

  I looked up and caught a brief hint of worry behind his eyes. Who could blame him? The last thing he needed was a bunch of authorities getting involved. They would jump to the wrong conclusion.

  Would it always be like that for him? I wondered. People
assuming he was to blame.

  I smiled at him to let him know how thankful I was.

  “I thought you were doing that yesterday afternoon,” my father said as he shined a light in my eye. Before I could answer, he shifted to examining the bump on my head.

  Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for what was coming next. “I did,” I said. “But by the time Luke found me, it was too dark to get home, especially with a mountain lion in the area.”

  My dad stopped as his brow furrowed. He turned and stared at Luke for a long moment then back at me. I could see that he wasn’t completely buying it.

  He continued to frown as he slowly examined me. Then a quick look of shock jumped to his face, making my stomach clench.

  “What is this blood on your leg?” My dad asked as he stepped in front of Luke.

  I frowned. What was he talking about?

  “It’s mine,” Luke said, holding up his hands. My heart fell as I saw the busted blisters and mashed up meat that used to be the palms of his hands. I had been so wrapped up in my own problems I hadn’t even thought about Luke and what he must be going through dragging me back.

  Dad continued to frown as he looked from Luke to me then back at Luke. Then turning to the nurse. He told her to take Luke to another room and clean up his hands.

  The nurse started to pull Luke out of the room. He glanced back at me, giving me that famous Luke smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. What could he do? We were back in civilization again. A sense of loss washed over me when he stepped through the curtain.

  Dad watched him leave then frowned deeply as he turned back to me. “He should have come for help last night.”

  I grit my teeth and kept quiet. Getting into an argument at that particular moment wasn’t going to go well.

  He started to examine my foot and shook his head. “Really. So many things could have gone wrong. Brain swelling from that bump on your head. Losing a foot from lack of circulation. Not to mention freezing to death.”

  I could feel an anger rising up inside of me. An anger that made it impossible to keep quiet.

  “Dad,” I said through gritted teeth. “We could also have fallen off a cliff in the dark or gotten eaten by a mountain lion. Luke made the choice he had to make and things worked out. So, in my book, it was the right choice. And second-guessing from people who weren’t there isn’t going to help.”

  He stepped back away from me. Almost in shock. He wasn’t used to me talking to him like that. But under no circumstance was I going to let him blame Luke for any of this.

  Dad pursed his lips. The way he did when he was dealing with a new problem, then returned to doctor mode and pretended I hadn’t just stood up to him. Instead, he started issuing orders to another nurse. Stuff about X-rays and calling in another doctor and an IV and a ton of things that I just blocked out.

  I lay back and thought about Luke. Where was he and what did he think of all this? How were his hands? I’d been nothing but a pain in his backside since yesterday afternoon. Jenny’s little friend who needed rescuing. And now my dad was looking at him like he was an ax murderer.

  The thought of him being mad at me because of my father sent a cold chill through my body.

  Who could blame him? He would want to get away from me as fast he could.

  Sighing, I let a tear fall from the corner of my eye.

  Chapter Eight

  Luke

  It was the smell that hit me the hardest. Hit me so hard it knocked me back six years. The night they brought me in after the wreck. That hospital antiseptic smell they tried to hide but just couldn’t.

  I would never forget it. I couldn’t. it was burned into my brain.

  I had been lying on a table just like this. In fact, it might even be this very one. When mom came in, her eyes twisted in shock. That moment had torn my soul in two. In some ways, it was even worse than laying next to dad as he died. That moment had told me that I was a failure.

  Now, six years later, the pain still crushed me.

  My stomach turned over as the nurse started asking me questions as she filled out paperwork. Both medical history and financial stuff. Did mom have insurance for this? No way could we afford an ER bill.

  Once she was done, she put the papers aside then started washing out the cuts and scrapes on my hands.

  She kept glancing up at me with a strange look. Occasionally shaking her head as if I’d violated a princess or something. What was it with these people? We spent a night in the forest. Nothing happened. They needed to get over it.

  This was Jenny’s best friend. Besides, she had a broken foot. I might be a jerk, but I wasn’t that big a jerk.

  Just as I thought the level of disapproval hanging in the air couldn’t get any worse, Amy’s dad stepped in. The scowl on his face made my stomach drop. The guy probably hated me. I mean, this was Amy we were talking about. She just naturally made a person want to watch over her. I imagined for a father that was about tripled.

  Swallowing hard, I waited for the butt chewing about waiting to get her out of there.

  Doctor Jenson stepped forward to examine my hands quickly.

  “How is Amy?” I asked.

  He shook his head, obviously, I wasn’t family and didn’t deserve to know anything about his precious daughter. The less I was involved, the better.

  I bit back a snarky reply about what I thought he could do with his rules. But, something deep inside of me told me to hold off. Pissing off fathers of beautiful young girls was never a smart move. Even an idiot locked up for two years knew that.

  He had me wiggle my fingers, touching my thumb to pinky. That kind of thing. Then stepped back so the nurse could wrap them up in gauze.

  “She’s been taken to X-ray,” he said as he scanned my paperwork. My gut tightened up. How bad was it? Had I screwed up by waiting to get her out?

  Once he had finished reading, he ripped the pages of the board and tossed them in the trashcan like last week’s lunch.

  The nurse’s eyes opened wide as she looked at him as if he’d just killed a baby seal.

  I frowned at him, he stared back then said, “This one is on the house. No need for the insurance companies to get involved.”

  My insides relaxed just a little. I hadn’t realized just how nervous I was. I’d caused Mom more than enough problems.

  “How long will it take, I mean for the X-rays.”

  Doctor Jensen frowned as he shook his head, shooting me a knowing look. “She will be busy for quite a while. You can go home. No need for you to wait.”

  My stomach dropped. Not even a thank you for saving his daughter. No, more a get lost and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

  Fine, I thought. At least now I knew where I stood with this guy. I was scum and didn’t deserve to exist in the same universe as his daughter. The fact that I sort of agreed with him was beside the point.

  Nodding, I thanked the nurse. She actually almost looked sympathetic for the briefest of moments before that stern expression returned. I was going to have to ask Amy about that. This nurse was acting like I’d kidnapped her favorite kitten.

  I gave Doctor Jensen a quick glance, then left. He didn’t like me and I didn’t like him. Remember, I thought to myself. The universe always provides more than enough enemies.

  .o0o.

  Amy

  Pain medicine has got to be the greatest invention since Pinterest. It was like I was floating down a river. A river that sparkled and shimmered in the sunshine.

  I turned around in the wheelchair to smile at my dad. He smiled back and shook his head. I knew he was laughing at me zoning out on happy juice, but I didn’t care. The pain was gone. At least for now. And I wasn’t going to be permanently crippled.

  A hairline fracture and two torn ligaments.

  Two hours after Luke brought me in, I was in a cast and on my way home. Crutches across my lap.

  Luke? I thought as a worrying wave hit me. Where was he? What was he doing? Dad had said his han
ds were fine. My mind whirled as the happy juice took me to thoughts I shouldn’t be having. But those wide shoulders and that silly smirk just wouldn’t leave my mind.

  Okay, I wasn’t trying really hard to forget him. But I should, I realized. This was Jenny’s big brother. The big bad Luke Prescott. He ate girls like me for lunch.

  The thought made me giggle for some silly reason. Dad leaned down, frowning at me. I waved him off. No way was I discussing this stuff with him.

  No, Amy, I thought. It was but a brief interlude. God, the pain meds were making me sound like an afternoon soap opera on TV.

  Nothing happened. I reminded myself with a touch of regret. I was hurt, Luke saved me. No big deal. It was over. Both of us could go on with the rest of our lives.

  Dad turned the corner to the ER exit and my heart jumped. There, at the far end, by the door sat Luke. Obviously waiting. Head back, eyes closed, resting. His arms were folded over his chest, the white bandages around his hands peeking out.

  He looked so tired, I thought.

  My dad groaned. Luke looked up as his face flashed a quick smile when he saw me. A smile that warmed my heart. He had been concerned about me.

  Our eyes locked and I giggled again. I really was going to have to watch this medicine. A girl could grow to love it too much.

  Dad sighed heavily behind me and I just knew he was stewing. He had that whole protective father vibe going. But I didn’t care. Luke had waited to find out if I was okay.

  A warm, happy, all is right with the world feeling flowed through me.

  Luke looked up at my father and his smile dropped. No, I thought. Don’t be unhappy. Don’t be mad at my father. He’s a pussycat.

  Dad harrumphed again and pushed me out of the hospital to the side out of the way.

  Luke hurriedly stepped up, as he raised an eyebrow. Silently asking me if I was okay. I reached out and grabbed his hand as I smiled up at him.

  My Dad coughed, ruining the moment, which I am sure was his plan all along. Luke glanced up at him, Dad looked at me, then back at Luke. An awkwardness fell around us, encapsulating us in a sphere of pure tension.