Page 81 of Whispers and Wildfire
“Well, that’s good at least. But no. After getting dumped, the last thing I need is to be seen paying a guy to go out withme. Even if it is for a good cause. And I don’t need anyone to chop wood.”
“A bunch of the single guys from the firehouse will be up for grabs,” Annika said. “A couple of the newer deputies who work with my brother, Garrett, too.”
“Men in uniform will go for a premium,” I said. “The SPS will be building their headquarters in no time.”
Annika pulled her phone out of her purse. “Hey, Theo.”
The look of surprise that immediately crossed her features got my attention. Something seemed wrong.
“Oh my god, is he okay?” she asked.
My eyes widened. They were talking about Luke. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. A sick feeling spread through my stomach.
“Are you sure?” Annika asked. “That’s so scary. I’m glad he was able to reach you.” She paused again, listening. “Okay. I’ll do that. Thanks for letting me know.”
My heart started to race, and she’d barely ended the call before I blurted out, “What happened?”
“Luke was in an accident last night.”
I stood, my pickle falling to the ground, forgotten. “What? Where? Is he okay?”
“He’s hurt, but nothing life threatening. It sounds like bruised ribs is the worst of it. Theo picked him up from the hospital and took him home early this morning.”
Without thinking about what I was doing, I grabbed my purse. “I have to go.”
“Where?” Sharla asked.
“Luke’s.”
Sharla glanced at Annika, then back at me.
“I just need to make sure he’s all right,” I said, trying to hide the worry in my voice. “See if he needs anything. Don’t look at me like that. It’s a totally normal thing to do.”
“I wasn’t looking at you like anything,” Sharla said.
“Good.” I started toward the street where I’d parked, butstopped in my tracks and turned around. “I don’t know where he lives.”
Annika was watching me with raised eyebrows, as if she had no idea what to think. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t know what I was doing either.
“I’ll text you his address,” she said.
“Perfect.” I spun around and resisted the urge to run to my car.
What was I doing? I didn’t need to rush to Luke’s house just because he got hurt. If it were serious, he had his whole big family to help. He didn’t need me.
But the wordsLuke was in an accident last nightreverberated through my mind, bringing with them a sick terror. The urgency to see him with my own eyes—make sure he was really okay—was impossible to resist.
And if he really was all right? I was going to throttle him.
By the time I got in my car, Annika had texted me his address. It was only about ten minutes from the park. With a lump of worry in my throat, I drove to his house and parked.
Luke’s house was exactly what I would have imagined if I’d been thinking clearly on the drive over. It was set back from the road, down a gravel driveway, and surrounded by pine trees. In the clearing was a two-story building, and it looked like the bottom was nothing but a four-car garage. Windows upstairs indicated an apartment or living space, and a stairway on one side led up to a door.
Of course Luke’s house was more garage than home. That totally fit.
There weren’t any cars parked out front, but that didn’t surprise me either. He was pretty meticulous about his vehicles. And the garage was huge.
Without pausing to ask myself what on earth I was doing there, I went up the stairs. The landing extended across the entire side of the building and wrapped around to a deck on the back. I took a quick breath and knocked.
