Lucy

“He’ll be here,” Lucy said for what felt like the millionth time to the orderly that was impatiently holding the handles of her wheelchair.

She was perched in a wheelchair waiting for curbside pick-up with her duffle bag in her lap and Mr. Pickles clutched tight to her chest. She pulled out her new cell phone and texted Alex again. Where are you?

She waited to see the little bubble to signal he was going to respond, but there was nothing. Lucy sighed deeply wondering if she should just call a cab. At least Alex had come through with the cell phone so she wasn’t completely stranded.

The orderly holding her wheelchair sighed too. It seemed he was just as impatient for her to leave. Just as Lucy was about to pull up her transportation app, a text came through from Alex. Sorry. Something came up. I’m sending a car for you.

Really? Lucy put the phone back in her pocket and turned as far as she could in her wheelchair. “I’m sorry. My ride’s been delayed. Can you take me back inside?”

The orderly nodded and undid the brakes on the wheelchair before delivering her unceremoniously back into the waiting room.

“Lucy? What are you still doing here?”

Lucy turned at the sound of her name. Doctor Bradburn approached her. Great! All she needed was for him to change his mind about releasing her because she didn’t have anyone to take her home. She’d already had a hard enough time convincing him she didn’t need one more night in the hospital. She’d told him she was going back home to her boyfriend’s house. But in reality that was the last place she wanted to go. She planned to have Alex drop her off at her dorm room.

“Hi, Doctor Bradburn. I’m just waiting for my ride.”

He glanced at his watch then back at Lucy. “You’ve been waiting a while. I signed you out two hours ago.”

“I know. My boyfriend just texted me. Something came up so he’s sending a car for me.”

Doctor Bradburn frowned. “Lucy, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that. It’d be better if you had someone that could carry your things and help you get settled, not just drop you off at the curb. Is there another friend or family member that could help you?”

Lucy watched him freeze realizing he’d just put his foot in his mouth. Doctor Bradburn had gone over the guardianship forms with her today, stating that she basically had no family in her life, since her mother was dead and her incarcerated father wasn’t around.

She could practically feel the pity radiating off of him. “Really, it’s not a big deal, Doctor Bradburn. I’ll be fine.”

“Give me a minute and I’ll call Jaxon to come get you. He should be free by now.”

“No really . . .” But Doctor Bradburn was already walking away.

Jaxon

When Jaxon got a call from his uncle he was surprised. Calling wasn’t Uncle Steven’s style. Jaxon often felt like his uncle tried to give him and Conner extra room ever since they’d moved in with him, which Jaxon thought was funny considering it should probably be the other way around. Having an alcoholic brother and two nephews move in with him was probably cramping Uncle Steven’s style more than he was cramping theirs. But if it was, he never let on.

So when Jaxon saw his uncle’s name pop up on his caller ID, he sprang off the couch sending the dogs into a barking fit and picked up the phone before the first ring ended, fearing the worst.

“Hello? Uncle Steven, is everything alright?” Is it Conner?

“Oh, yes. Everything’s fine, Jaxon. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just wondered if you might be free to give your friend Lucy a ride home.”

“Lucy?”

“Yes. Apparently her ride has stood her up. She’s been waiting over two hours and now she’s talking about taking a cab home.”

Jaxon was already in motion, grabbing his keys from the hook by the door. “I’m on my way.”

Uncle Steven’s house was only a few miles from the hospital and traffic was light, so Jaxon made good time. Perhaps it would’ve been better if he’d had more time to cool off. The short ride to the hospital did nothing to take the edge off the simmering rage that had swept through him hearing that Alex had stood Lucy up.

What kind of selfish prick leaves their injured girlfriend waiting for a ride home from the hospital for two hours? Jaxon should’ve insisted on showing up. He’d had a feeling Alex would do something like this and so far, the guy was proving he was every bit the douchebag Jaxon pegged him for.

Lucy had texted Jaxon last night to give him her phone number. Apparently Alex had gotten her a new cell phone and she wanted Jaxon to have the number in case he heard anything about when the sketch artist had time to fit them in. So far, Conner hadn’t been able to schedule it. They were swamped at the station and a hit-and-run with no fatalities wasn’t high on the LAPD’s priorities.

She’d also told Jaxon that she was finally getting out of the hospital the next day, which she seemed very excited about based on the dancing GIF she sent him. He’d offered to pick her up assuming she’d need a ride since her Jeep had burnt to a crisp, but she replied that Alex was giving her a ride home.

Jaxon had tried to ignore his disappointment. What had he expected? It was the guy’s job to drive his girl home from the hospital—and Lucy was not his girl. He’d told himself they were nothing more than two people brought together by a random accident. But as Jaxon pulled into the hospital parking lot that thought went out the window.

Lucy was standing at the curbside pick-up area next to a sleek black town car. She was balanced on her good foot clutching her crutches to her and shaking her head vehemently at whatever the driver was saying. The driver was holding a bouquet of red roses out to her like they were carrots and she was a show pony. Was the driver seriously thinking he could coax her into his car with some cheap flowers? How was no one else seeing this?

Jaxon was out of his car in seconds, yelling as he strode toward Lucy and the driver. “Hey! Bro, she doesn’t want to go with you.”

The driver looked up and he must not have liked what he saw in Jaxon’s eyes because he turned back to Lucy and grabbed her elbow like he was going to force her into the car.

That was it. Something inside Jaxon snapped. He didn’t even remember sprinting across the parking lot, but the next thing he knew he had the driver slammed up against his town car by his lapels. “You like preying on defenseless girls?” Jaxon hissed in the driver’s face.

“What? N-no! I-I was hired to give her a ride home.”

“Yeah, likely story. How ‘bout we tell it to my brother. He’s a cop, by the way.”

“I s-swear,” the driver stuttered.

“He’s telling the truth,” Lucy said in an urgent voice. “Jaxon, it’s not his fault. Let him go.”

Jaxon looked back at Lucy who was nervously glancing at the crowd they were attracting. “Did this asshole hurt you?” Jaxon demanded.

“No, Jaxon, I’m fine. Just let him go, okay?”

Jaxon turned back to the driver without loosening his grip. “She has a new ride home,” he growled into his ear. “And if I ever see you touch a woman like that again you’ll be the one needing a ride home from the hospital.”

The driver squirmed away as soon as Jaxon released him, jumped into his waiting town car and peeled out of the parking lot. Once the onlookers realized the show was over they started to disperse, too.

Jaxon turned his attention back to Lucy who looked like she was going to be sick. “Are you okay?”

“I think I need to sit down,” she whispered as she wobbled on her feet.

Jaxon took the crutches from her and leaned them against the building before slipping his arm beneath Lucy’s knees and scooping her up. The familiar way she fit against his chest threatened to overwhelm him. Jaxon swallowed against the sensation roaring through his veins and focused on Lucy. She was trembling in his arms. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t know. When the driver tried to help me into the car I froze. It was like my body just locked up. I couldn’t breathe . . . it . . . it was like I was back there.”

“Back at the accident.” Jaxon didn’t phrase it like a question. He knew exactly what Lucy was experiencing and he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. She was having a flashback.

She looked up at him, her deep hazel eyes bright with worry. She gave a single nod. “Am I going crazy?”

“No. This is completely normal.”

“It is?”

“Yes. You’ve just been through a traumatic car accident. It isn’t crazy to be scared to get back into a car so soon.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

She gave him a piercing look, and for the first time since his own accident, Jaxon wanted to let someone in. He wanted to tell her everything. How he hadn’t gotten back in a car for two months and that it had taken another six until he trusted himself to drive again. But that would only freak her out further.

“Do you want to go back inside?” he asked.

“No! Please, I’m fine now. Really. I just want to go home.”

“Okay. I can give you a ride if you want.”

She nodded, her eyes looking near tears. Shit, do not cry! Jaxon wouldn’t know what to do if the fragile girl in his arms fell apart. He’d probably melt and promise to buy her a damn unicorn if it put a smile back on her beautiful face.

“Hey, none of that,” he said nodding to her quivering lips.

“Sorry.”

“I’m only teasing. Plus, you know if you wanted to get in my arms again all you had to do was ask, right?” Jaxon joked hoping to lighten the mood.

It worked. Lucy’s pink lips pulled up at the corners and she rolled her eyes. Satisfied she wasn’t going to burst into tears in his arms, Jaxon smiled back at her and started across the parking lot.

“Wait. My crutches.”

“I’ll pull around and get them with the rest of your things.”

“But what if someone takes Mr. Pickles?”

It was Jaxon’s turn to roll his eyes, but he only half meant it. Something about seeing a seventeen-year-old so attached to a stuffed toy was strangely endearing to him. “We can’t have that.”

He turned around and walked the few steps back to the building where Lucy’s bag sat abandoned next to her crutches and Mr. Pickles. Jaxon set Lucy back on her feet gently.

“You good?” he asked before letting go.

When she nodded he slung her duffle bag over his head, slid the crutches through the handle, handed Lucy her toy, and then scooped her back up again.

Lucy

Lucy felt her body relax instantly being back in Jaxon’s strong arms. The boy was seriously built like an ox. But she still felt bad that he was trudging across the parking lot carrying her and all of her things like some pack animal.

“You don’t have to carry me,” she replied.

He shrugged. “It’s faster this way. Plus, it’s not like you’re heavy.”

Lucy imagined she probably wasn’t heavy to a guy like Jaxon. She practically felt like a porcelain doll in his massive arms, but still, she didn’t want to take advantage. “I know you’re strong, okay?” she teased. “You don’t have to keep proving it.”

He smirked, but kept walking. “I like to see things through. Besides, we’re almost there,” he said nodding to a large white pickup truck parked sideways across two spaces at the back of the lot.

“Why’d you park so far away?”

From so close, Lucy could see Jaxon’s cheeks flush with color. “I wasn’t really thinking straight.”

“Why not?”

“When I saw that guy harassing you . . .” Jaxon trailed off looking away for a moment. When his blue eyes met hers again, Lucy felt a spark sizzle between them. There was emotion, and maybe something else, burning like a blue flame in Jaxon’s gorgeous eyes. “I thought he was trying to hurt you.”

“Oh.” The word came out of Lucy like a breath and an overwhelming urge to press her lips against Jaxon’s swept over her so quickly she couldn’t seem to pull air into her lungs.

Worry glinted across Jaxon’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“Are you sure? Because it kind of feels like you stopped breathing.”

Jaxon had stopped walking and heat coursed through Lucy everywhere their bodies touched.

Good Lord, was he going to kiss her?

Desire ignited in her belly at the thought.

She wanted him to kiss her!

Lucy closed her eyes and the next thing she knew her feet were being gently planted on the ground. Her eyes popped open and she felt like a complete idiot as she realized Jaxon hadn’t stopped walking because he was consumed by unreasonable desire; he was just at his truck.

Stupid hormones. Lucy was beginning to understand how women could plea temporary insanity, because there was no good reason she should want to kiss this boy she hardly knew—other than the fact that he was impossibly handsome and chivalrous.

Thankfully, Jaxon’s back was to Lucy as he threw her things in the truck bed and opened the passenger door for her. She willed the embarrassment away and smiled when he opened the door and offered her his hand. “Okay, you just tell me when you’re ready.”

He stepped back from the truck door, still supporting her with his hand. Lucy peered into the light gray interior of Jaxon’s massive truck. At least it wasn’t black. Her Jeep had been black inside, just like the town car. Maybe that’s what had catapulted her back to her accident?

Looking into the roomy interior of Jaxon’s truck didn’t seem so bad. It certainly looked safe. And new. The thing was immaculate inside. And also lifted. Lucy looked warily at the height of the step bar that was meant to help passengers into the lifted chassis. There was no way she could climb up with her broken leg.

She turned to Jaxon. “I can’t get in.”

“It’s okay. Take as much time as you need.”

She smiled. “No, I mean I physically don’t think I can manage climbing inside your monster truck.”

“Oh.” Jaxon smirked. “Do you want some help?”

“Yes please.”

Jaxon gently scooped her up and put her in the truck, taking extra care to settle her injured leg comfortably. Once she was in, he shut the door and ran around to his side. She watched him move, all smooth and graceful. She imagined he was a sight on the basketball court. She found herself wanting to know why he didn’t play anymore.

Jaxon climbed in and shut the door. He looked patiently at Lucy, but didn’t make a move to start the car. “How ya doing?” he asked.

“So far, so good.”

“You’re in control, okay? I won’t go until you tell me you’re ready.”

Lucy took a steadying breath. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be ready, so I think you should probably just get started or we could be here all day.”

Jaxon smiled. “That’s okay. It’s more important to me that you feel safe. That’s why I didn’t just pick you up and put you in the truck to start with,” he said. “I wasn’t gonna make you try to climb in, Smalls.”

Lucy nearly snorted. “Smalls?”

Jaxon shrugged, almost looking embarrassed that he’d let the nickname slip. But then his swagger slipped back into place. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that you’re absurdly tiny?”

“Hey!” Lucy swatted at his arm. “I’m not that small.”

“Whatever, Smalls.”

Lucy couldn’t fight her grin. As far as nicknames went, Smalls wasn’t so bad. Especially when it was a handsome boy prone to heroics calling her that. “You can start your engine, Biggie.”

Jaxon’s laugh rumbled through the truck and then he leaned across Lucy’s lap to buckle her seatbelt. The action might have been overbearing had anyone else done it, but with Jaxon, Lucy could tell he genuinely wanted to keep her safe. She could practically feel safety radiating off the guy like heat. It was such a rare notion in her life, that Lucy felt herself wanting to cling to it.

“Ready?” Jaxon asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Jaxon started the engine and the truck roared to life. The calm that Lucy had been feeling instantly vanished. As if sensing it, Jaxon reached over and took her hand, pulling her back from the panicked abyss of her mind.

“Hey, stay with me, Lucy.”

Every fiber of Lucy’s being had been sucked toward the memory of being slammed off the road in her Jeep, but those five little words from Jaxon instantly pulled her back. They were like an anchor and she wrapped her fingers tighter around his.

“I’m right here,” he murmured. “Just breathe.”

She did. She took a deep breath. Then another.

“Good. Stay with me.”

“Don’t let go,” she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. Lucy wasn’t even sure he could hear her over the roar of the engine, but when he spoke she knew he did.

“I won’t. I’m right here with you, Lucy.”

Those words might have been the best thing she’d ever heard. How could someone she hardly knew make her feel so safe? Lucy couldn’t explain it, but she didn’t need to. All she really had to do was cling to Jaxon’s hand and keep breathing. Somehow she knew he would take care of the rest.