Though she had a headache, Shay hadn’t thrown up. The doctor told her that was a good sign and that if she still hadn’t thrown up in the next hour, she could leave.

Wondering how Josh was doing, she considered going to find him, but decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to barge in. What if he was talking to the doctor? Then again, what was going to happen when it was time for her to leave? She’d told Josh she wanted to come with him and he’d seemed happy about that, but what if now that they were away from his cabin he changed his mind?

Worried again about her future plans, the pounding in her head increased.

“Is it okay if I come in?” a voice called through the curtain surrounding the bed where Shay rested.

Recognizing Josh’s voice, Shay smiled despite her discomfort and concern. “Yes.”

He pulled the curtain back and stepped into the small space, his right arm in a sling. “Are you okay?”

Besides the headache, she felt all right. “Yeah.” Trying not to think too much about what would happen next, she pointed to his sling. “What about you? What’s wrong with your arm?”

Frowning, he said, “It’s not my arm. I have a separated shoulder.”

Shay had no idea what that meant, but it didn’t sound good. And if he was an NFL quarterback, that made it even worse. Could an injury like that end his career? What had she done now and why did she always mess things up so badly? Tears sprang into her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

Josh pulled up a chair and sat close to her bedside. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Wondering why he didn’t see it, she inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled as she got her emotions under control. “Yes I do. If I hadn’t left without talking to you, you never would have come after me, and then you wouldn’t have crashed, and then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

Hot tears were pushing into her eyes again. Will had trained her to blame herself anytime something went wrong, so taking it onto her shoulders had been second nature. Besides, it really was her fault and she was certain Josh saw that too, that he was just too nice to say it out loud.

One side of his mouth tugged up in a smile. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s that deer that stepped in front of us.”

Frustrated that her memory had been affected, she frowned. “What deer?”

“I guess you didn’t see it.”

Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, she said, “The last thing I remember was…” She almost said, When you kissed me, but stopped herself before blurting it out. Though it wasn’t the last thing she remembered, it still blazed in her mind, and the memory of it brought a blush to her cheeks.

“What, Shay? What’s the last thing you remember?”

Hoping her face didn’t betray her thoughts, she said, “Telling you I’d go back to your cabin with you.”

A lazy smile curved his mouth as he nodded, and she knew he was thinking about the kiss too. “Right.”

“What?”

“I think you were going to say something else.”

Glad the conversation had gotten lighter, she smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He gazed at her, his blue eyes sparkling. “Uh-huh.”

“What? You don’t believe me?”

“No. Not really.”

“I do have a concussion, you know.”

His eyebrows pulled together. “What did the doctor say? Are you going to be okay?”

Touched by his concern, Shay nodded. “Yes. He said I can leave soon.”

“Good.”

She didn’t want to ask if his offer was still open. She didn’t want to put him in the awkward position of having to tell her he’d changed his mind, that he secretly blamed her for his injury even though he’d said the accident wasn’t her fault.

“Was there really a deer?” she asked, afraid he’d made it up to make her feel better.

“Yes. What, do you think I’m that bad of a driver?”

“No. It’s just…I don’t remember seeing a deer.”

“Trust me. It was there. It came out of the forest right as I reached that spot. I swerved to avoid it and… Well, here we are.” He stared at her a moment. “I should’ve had a helmet for you.”

He was blaming himself for her injuries? That was crazy. It was also the polar opposite of the way Will would have reacted. That realization gave her pause. Josh was such a good man.

“Please don’t blame yourself,” she finally said, her voice soft.

* * *

Who else would he blame? It had been his choice to go after her, and he couldn’t be angry with her for leaving without talking to him. After all, she’d left a note explicitly telling him not to come after her. This was absolutely his own fault. He should have seen that deer coming, but he’d been lost in thought. At the very minimum, he should have had a helmet for Shay. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have one in her size. He could have gotten one for her…somehow.

Josh knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t stand the idea that he was responsible for Shay sitting in a hospital bed. The idea sickened him, especially when he thought about what her ex may have done to her in the past.

He needed to stop that line of thinking. What happened on the ATV was an accident, pure and simple. No one was to blame.

A twinge of pain in his shoulder reminded him that he was suffering enough for his mistake and that he needed to look to the future.

“One of my buddies is going to pick us up,” he said. “The team doctor will want to take a look at my shoulder, so if you don’t mind coming along…”

A look of pure relief spread across her face, then she smiled. “No, that would be fine.”

Had she thought he would jettison her now? After everything? What kind of man did she think he was? He would have to prove to her that he was nothing like she was used to.

Needing to know what she was thinking, he asked, “Why do you seem so surprised?”

Her shoulders lifted slightly. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to assume…anything.”

Yep, she’d thought he was going to leave her in the hospital, helpless and with nothing but the clothes on her back. Wow. What kind of man had she been with before that she would think that of him?

Wanting to put her worries to rest once and for all, he took her small hand in his. “Let’s get one thing straight right now, Shay. You’re welcome to stay at my place as long as you want.”

Wait. Did he just say that out loud? What had he just committed to? Then again, would having her around indefinitely be a bad thing? He had to admit that there was a lot of appeal to that idea.

“Really?” Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

“Yeah.” He would figure things out later. For now she needed reassurance and he was happy to give it to her.

“I…I really appreciate that,” she said. “And don’t worry. I’m sure I won’t need to stick around too long.”

Those words should have reassured him, but instead they sent a sharp pain to his heart. What was up with that?