Everyone in his everyday life called him doctor. He expected it, liked it. But hearing her call him that felt altogether wrong.
“Sorry,” she said, holding her hands above her eyes to shield them from the sleet. “That’s what most people call you around The Ranch. I figured …”
“You’re not most people, Margaret.”
“It’s Maggie,” she said, stepping closer and into the shine of his headlights. Ice clung to her pink knit cap and eyelashes, making her look like she was dusted with tiny diamonds. “When I’m not there, it’s just Maggie.”
“Why do you change it there?”
She grinned, despite the storm and the shitty circumstances. “Because Maggie is the least intimidating name ever. No one is scared of a Maggie.”
“Then they haven’t seen you in session. You can be terrifying.”
She laughed. “Oh, Theo, you say the sweetest things.”
He glanced at her car. No way was that getting out of there without a tow truck. “Come on, let’s get in my car where it’s warm. You can call a wrecker.”
“Okay, let me grab my stuff.” She headed over to the backseat door and wedged it open far enough to get a bag and her purse.
He took the bag from her, recognizing the size and shape of it. Her toy bag. The thing had been in his line of sight enough times for him to know it by heart. He ignored the little ripple that sent through him. He held out his hand to her. “Be careful. This kind of ice puts people in the ER all the time. We don’t need to add a broken arm to the list tonight.”
Maggie eyed his hand for a second. Despite her knowing him in many intimate ways, there was rarely direct touching. She always wore thin leather gloves in session. Holding her bare hand seemed downright rebellious. But after a moment’s hesitation, she wrapped her cold fingers into his. He ignored the pleasure that simple skin-to-skin contact gave him.
He guided her to the passenger seat, set her things in the backseat, and then hurried into the driver’s side. He shut the door and she groaned. “Oh my God.”
He glanced over at her as she wiggled in the seat and tilted her head back in what could only be described as pure bliss. The sight and the sound went straight to his dick.
“These seat warmers are the best thing ever. I think my blood may have frozen.”
Theo adjusted in his seat. “Probably not.”
She turned her head, a smile touching her lips. “Professional opinion, Doc?”
“You’d be pretty dead if your blood was frozen.”
“Okay, my soul is frozen.”
“Entirely possible.” He handed her his cell phone. “You call for a wrecker. I’m going to get back on the road and find a gas station or something. Sitting on the shoulder with a patch of black ice out there is asking for trouble. Is there anything else inside your car that you’re worried about?”
She frowned. “No, just my phone, but I have insurance on that. It’s not worth sitting out here for it. But the nearest gas station is in BFE. I only live two exits up the road. Would you mind dropping me off there instead?”
“That’s fine. Just type the address into the GPS and you can get on the phone.”
She punched in the address and then started making calls. He concentrated on the road, the ice getting worse, making his BMW fishtail onto the shoulder a few times. When he finally turned onto her street, which really turned out to be more dirt road than anything, his fingers ached from his hard grip on the wheel. Maggie let out a sigh and set down his phone. “They said all the trucks are already on calls. They’ll try to get to it by morning. Happy new year to me.”
“New Year’s sucks,” he muttered.
She peered over at him, her expression softening, and reached out to give his arm a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine what you see on nights like this. I shouldn’t be bitching about car drama.”
The sympathy made his chest feel tight. He didn’t want that from her—or anyone. “Bitch away. Under that logic, we’d never be able to complain about anything. People are dying every day, starving, being abused. There’s always something more tragic than what’s going on in our own lives.”
She gave him a grim smile. “That’s a sunshiny outlook.”
The words were delivered deadpan, but he could tell she was teasing him. He liked that she wasn’t afraid to give him a hard time. He smirked and tapped his temple. “Oh, you have no idea. It’s all butterflies and rainbows up here.”
She laughed, the sound a frothy, honest thing. “Are there puppies, too? Please tell me there are puppies.”
“Even better, baby penguins.”