As she got up, there was a knock on the front door. “That must be my son-in-law. He always brings us coffee before he goes to work. He’s an absolute peach to both our daughter and us.”
Great. More people I don’t want to see right now.She didn’t want to tell them, but her body was starting to ache. If she didn’t get out of there soon, there would be no hiding it from them. Before she could make it out of the room, to her surprise, a face she knew entered the room. What are you doing here?
Although she hadn’t met him in person, Shaun Henderson was on her list to arrange a chance encounter. Was this fate? She looked at Loras and Elizabeth. There was no way this was the lovely son-in-law they’d mentioned. Sure enough, he was holding two cups of coffee.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you had company so early.” Shaun looked at her with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
“Hi. I’m not company. They were kind enough to help me when I fell.”
“Fell? Really? Oh, Shaun, you should’ve heard it. The tires screeching and then the thud. This poor young lady was hit by a car right in front of our house. I can’t believe you didn’t hear it from yours,” Elizabeth sputtered out as she took the coffees from Shaun. She handed one to Cori and the other to Loras.
“I can’t take your coffee.”
Shaun walked over and gave her the once-over as though he didn’t honestly believe she’d been hit. “It’s true. But thankfully, I’m okay.”
“You should be at a hospital getting checked out,” Shaun said gruffly.
“I’m fine, really. Nothing an ice pack can’t handle.” That was the wrong thing to say; Elizabeth was all over that.
“Oh no. Is it that bad? Show me where. Loras, you get the ice and Shaun, call your brother. Have him come right away.”
Elizabeth was barking orders, and both men were following them. It felt wonderful to have such TLC, but Cori knew exactly which brother he was going to call. Logan can’t find me here. There’s no way he’ll believe this is a coincidence. And for once, it actually is.
“I don’t need a doctor. I only need a bit of rest. She took a step forward, and the stabbing pain in her left thigh said otherwise. She sucked in a deep breath and took the second step. It was worse than the first. She knew nothing was broken, but a bad bruise could hurt like heck. “I just need to walk it off so it doesn’t get stiff.”
Shaun grabbed hold of her arm and said, “You’re not going anywhere.” He pulled out his cell as he walked her to the couch. Pressing a button, he said, “Call Logan.”
Shoot. The black cloud is about to rain on my parade.“I really—”
“Don’t waste your breath. Once you entered their house, you became our responsibility.” Shaun made sure she sat on the couch, and then he started talking to Logan. Who are these people? I’m a stranger to them. And how is Shaun okay with this?
“I don’t know, she looks like early to mid-thirties, and since she’s in a jogging suit, I’d say in overall good health. No apparent injuries except she’s favoring her left leg.”
Cori didn’t mind this so much. She was being evaluated over the phone. There was no reason for Logan to know it was her. Not that he’d remember me anyway.
“I’m not a doctor. I have no idea if something is broken. We told her to go to the hospital, and she refuses. What do you want me to do? Force her?”
Shaun’s voice was filled with aggravation, but it didn’t seem to be at her. She wished she could hear the other end of the conversation. Was this what she’d been looking for? The proof that they weren’t the little happy family everyone thought?
Cori watched as Shaun ended the call and put the phone in his pocket. When he spoke to her again, she really didn’t like what he said. “Looks like you have two choices. Either you can go to the hospital with me, or we can go to my brother’s office, and he’ll examine you. Which do you prefer?”
Since her visit to Logan’s office didn’t pan out the way she’d planned, she opted to negotiate with Shaun. “How about an urgent care clinic. This is no medical emergency, and they have all the services I’ll need.”
“Oh, that does make sense,” Loras said. “Shaun, you take her, and Elizabeth and I will go help Morgan get Tyler ready for school.”
“I could just as easily take a taxi.”
Shaun shook his head. “I don’t know you, but something tells me you wouldn’t go.” He stared at her as though challenging her to deny it.
She shrugged. “I have been told I’m stubborn.”
Shaun snorted as he pulled his keys out. “Maybe they can fix that, too, while we’re there.”
Although he wasn’t in the best of moods, he was at least making conversation. He asked her questions on the drive to the urgent care clinic. Nothing too personal, just small talk. It was more than his brothers had done.
After she was given the all-clear from the doctors in the clinic, he told her he’d drop her off at her home. That wasn’t good. She didn’t want any of them knowing her address. She even gave a false one on the medical form in Logan’s office. But if she gave him a false one, and he insisted on walking her to the door, he’d know she was a liar, and somehow that’d be the domino effect she’d been able to avoid so far.
“That’s quite a jog you went for. Either you’re a health nut, or you’re pissed at something. Which is it?”