“You’ll sit down right there. We will get the car later,” Alicia said. “The faster you give in, the faster you’ll be home.”
With a sigh, Julia let her head fall back against the bed. She shot Grant a pleading glance as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance. With a wave, they closed the doors on her.
He hated being away from her after what had just happened, but he’d see her again at the hospital. Until then, he eyed his riding partner.
“You don’t have to go with me, Ethan,” he said.
“Uh, I’d really rather not drive in anything even remotely close to a city, so this is fine.”
Grant shifted on the bed as the ambulance started its trek to the hospital. “So, uh, how are things going with Alicia?”
“Hoping to get her out of your hair soon?” Ethan asked with a half-laugh.
“No,” he lied. The relationship between him and Alicia was difficult, but she’d been helpful on several occasions, including the search for his son and the protection of his wife. “Honestly, no. She…hasn’t been that bad. Just a few…arguments.”
“Yeah, Alicia’s…tough.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Ethan pressed his lips together. “We’re still working on things. It seems like your marriage to Julia is going well. Alicia told me you two are together…like really together.”
Grant nodded, his tension ramping up. His marriage to Julia wasn’t a popular topic with the Whitmores. “Yeah. Yes. We, uh, are. I love her very much. She changed my life.”
Ethan shot his eyebrows up. “Wow, that’s…I’m not sure I changed Alicia’s life.”
“You don’t have the track record I do,” Grant said with a chuckle. “I’m lucky Julia stuck with me.”
Ethan huffed out a laugh. “That we can agree on. Julia is…a catch. She’s a sweet woman.”
Grant furrowed his brow at the man’s reaction to her.
“Oh, uh, don’t go getting jealous. She’s like my little sister. I…only have eyes for Alicia.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you need to fight for her.”
“Yeah? Do you have any tips?”
“No,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “I barely made it through with Julia. She almost left me before I told her how I felt. And then she said no.”
“Wow, really? Was it Luke? Hey, I’m really sorry about what happened in Harbor Cove–”
“No, no, that’s…it’s all in the past. And no, it wasn’t Luke. It was me. But I knew she was the woman for me. And I fought for her.”
Ethan puckered his lips, bobbing his head up and down. “Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me.”
“Hey, I’ve got a cabin a few hours from here. Why don’t you take Alicia up there for a few days and spend some time together.”
“Man, you really want her out of the house, huh?”
“Not at all,” Grant said. “With everything going on, I actually prefer to have two people who carry guns in the house. But…I also know Julia’s worried about you both. I’d like to help.”
“I appreciate that. Uh, I’ll talk to Alicia–”
“If you love her, just take her. Sweep her off her feet.”
“Is that what you did with Julia?”
Grant heaved a sigh as the ambulance slowed as they approached the hospital. “Not even close. I wanted to take her to that same cabin and surround her with roses. Instead, I ended up in a hotel room after she moved out desperately asking her to come back. At least I have a lifetime to make it up to her.”
