Chapter 17
AFTER DEX HAD finished the roof on the cabin, he’d gone into town for a case of beer and some essentials. After two weeks, the cabin looked better than it had in twenty years.
And he guessed he had Allie to thank.
He had to admit, he’d wimped out, the way he’d up and left like that, but Allie hadn’t exactly reached out to him, either. Clearly, she didn’t want to discuss what had happened.
But he was still her landlord, and now that he’d finished his work, he needed to reevaluate the rental agreement with her. He’d figured the safest place to talk was the hospital, where they wouldn’t be completely alone and he wouldn’t be tempted to kiss her again.
But when he’d approached the entrance, he’d seen Hunter standing out front by the big oak, looking a little nauseated.
Dex had called out a greeting as he approached, but when Hunter opened his eyes, Dex had paused and took in his molten red face and furious expression.
She’d told him.
“Ah, hell—oomph!”
Hunter tackled him to the ground, and for the second time in two weeks, Dex had the wind knocked out of him.
“You son of a bitch!” Hunter threw a right hook that made Dex’s cheek explode. The same cheek the biker had punched, too. Stars popped around Hunter’s head as Dex tried to focus. “Lying piece of shit, you’re supposed to be my best friend.”
Dex recovered his wits enough to raise his arms to protect his face, and as soon as Hunter’s weight shifted, he bucked, dislodging Hunter. He climbed to his feet and held out his hands in defense.
“It’s not what you think, Hunt—”
“What I think is that I told you I was interested in Allie, and you said go for it. Then, the minute my back was turned, you made a play for her. That’s what I think.”
Dex couldn’t argue the semantics, but it was more complicated than that. “I didn’t mean to kiss her, it just—”
“Don’t say it just happened. That’s a cop-out and you know it. Man up and tell me you want her. Don’t be a coward.”
“I don’t want her, okay?” Dex yelled. “I don’t. I am not interested in her, not for anything more than a casual f—”
Dex closed his mouth when he saw her, standing in the crowd he hadn’t even noticed. This time, he couldn’t walk away from the pain on her face. It became ingrained in his memory.
Hunter grabbed him up by his shirt, and he waited for the blow he deserved. It never came.
Hunter shoved him away from him, disgust oozing from his tone. “You’re not worth it.”
As Hunter turned and walked away toward the side entrance, Dex glanced back to where Allie had been standing, but she was gone.
Allie wiped at her red, wet eyes as she searched for Hunter, trying to avoid every gaze that followed her as she passed. It had only been ten minutes, but she knew people were gossiping, speculating about her and what she’d done to cause two grown men to fight over her in front of her hospital.
Seems like she’d figured out a new way to screw up her life. She had been in town for barely three weeks and she’d managed not only to pit two best friends against each other but to discredit herself in front of her staff.
She’d tried to fight the tears, but what Dex had been about to say hurt. She’d known, deep down, that she didn’t mean anything to him. That what happened had been a mistake, but having him announce it in front of everyone …
It had been hard to hide the effect that’d had on her.
Allie opened the door to one of the on-call rooms and found Hunter lying back on one of the bunks.
He glanced her way as she came inside and locked the door. “What are you doing?”
Allie held up the first aid kit she was carrying. “I thought you could use some patching up.”
“I’m fine.”
Allie ignored him and sat down on the bunk next to him. Opening up the kit, she pulled out an alcohol pad and ripped it open. She picked up his right knuckle, cracked and bruised, and gently wiped at the blood crusting. When he hissed in pain, she blew on it softly until he relaxed.
“You don’t have to do this.”
She smoothed the antiseptic ointment over his knuckle and wrapped a layer of gauze around it. “I want to.” Once it was secured with tape, she set it back down along his side. “I’m really sorry. I never wanted to cause problems between the two of you.”
“The problem is that he lied to me. It has nothing to do with you.” He turned to look at her, piercing her with those blue eyes. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Do you … do you have feelings for me? Or was that all in my head?”
“Yes, I do, it’s just—”
“You have feelings for him, too? Be honest.”
Allie didn’t want to answer, but he deserved the truth. “I don’t know exactly what I feel for him. Right now, I’m disgusted with him and myself, but—”
“Look, I’m not giving you some ultimatum. I’m not that guy, and despite how things are between us right now, Dex is a friend of mine. I’m not taking myself out of the running, but you don’t owe me anything, either.”
Then, to her surprise, he leaned up and cupped the back of her head, bringing her down for a hard, fast kiss that caused another stir inside her. When he released her, she was a little dazed by it.
“What was that?” she whispered.
“That? That was something to think about.”