“You’re not stupid. You have a big heart and always see the best in people.”
She rested her chin in her palm and sighed. “Being bighearted is the nice word for being a fool.”
He took her hand in his. “You are nobody’s fool. Don’t forget that. Besides, if that son of a bitch shows up within a two-hundred-mile range, I’ll know about it and I’ll arrest his ass myself.”
She sighed heavily and picked up her fork. “Let’s change the subject, shall we? How was your day?”
“Long.” He took another bite. “How was yours? Anything interesting happen?”
Her fork paused halfway to her mouth. “I’ve got some beer if you want that instead of tea.”
“Tea is fine.” Sloan narrowed his gaze. “Allie?”
She shoved a fork load of potatoes in her mouth.
“What is it you’re not telling me?”
She swallowed, took a sip of tea and met his gaze. “Promise you won’t be mad?”
“Oh, God, Allie. You have talked to Rob.” Sloan dropped his fork, his appetite suddenly gone. “Where is he? I’m going to kill him.”
She shook her head. “It’s not Rob. I really haven’t heard from him. Even if he tried calling, I would just hang up on him.”
His muscles relaxed. “What is it? The last time you cooked a big meal like this you hit your neighbor’s car.”
“Stop bringing that up. That happened one time. I told you, I thought it was the garbage can.”
“What is it, then?”
She winced. “I hit something else.”
He sucked in a breath and mentally counted to ten. “Like what? A mailbox? A deer? A small child?”
“Like a person.”
The blood drained from his face. “Shit, it wasn’t a small child, was it?”
“No.” She winced.
“Who was it?”
“Well, she was crossing Main Street and I kind of bumped into her. I wasn’t going that fast and she jumped up, well, not exactly jumped up, but she did say that she was fine.”
“Jesus, Allie, did you call the ambulance?” He rubbed his hand across his face, already knowing the answer. “No, you didn’t, because I would have heard it on the police scanner. You should have at least called me.”
“I was going to call the ambulance, but she wouldn’t let me. I even told her I would pay for all the medical bills because she said she didn’t have insurance. She said she was fine. She got up and everything.”
“Who was it?” He closed his eyes, thinking of a list of possible victims. There were a lot of businesses on Main Street so it could have been any number of people.
“Nobody you know. Her name is Grace and she just moved to town.” Allie took a sip of tea. “I gave her my number and address in case she changed her mind about going to see a doctor. She seemed okay. Plus she got up and everything.”
“You said that already.”
“I think it needs to be emphasized.”
Sloan shook his head. “You should have insisted she go to the hospital. If something happens she can come back and sue you.”
Allie’s face paled. “Oh, God. I didn’t think about that. She seemed so adamant about not going. I even saw her go into the grocery store afterwards.”
He stood and stared at the panicked expression on his sister’s face. He took Allie gently by the arms. “You know what? You’re probably right. She’s probably fine and feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing.”
“You think?” She gave him a look of hope.
He nodded. “Where did she move to?”
“The old Hadley place.”
“I was beginning to think that place would never sell. It was on the market for a while. How about I ride out there tomorrow morning to check on her myself?” He needed to see for himself not only if this woman was okay, but also that she wasn’t aiming to sue Allison down the road. He didn’t want to see his sister go through an ordeal like she’d been through with her lying ex-boyfriend.
Allison let out a sigh of relief. “Would you? That would make me feel better. I’ll even make a cake for you to take to her.”
Sloan grimaced. “I don’t know about that, Allie. Shouldn’t that be something you take out there? It sounds like a girl thing.”
She gave him a wide smile. “Actually it will be perfect if you took it. What better way to say ‘welcome’ than an eligible bachelor showing up on her doorstep with a cake?”
***
Grace curled her hands around the steaming cup of coffee and gazed out her kitchen window. The lush green foliage surrounding the back of her house were highlighted with the first tips of sunlight. The overgrown grass swayed slightly in the early morning breeze as the call of a mockingbird echoed on the wind. She wished she felt as brilliant as the day promised to be.