lashes, thick and spiky, that shadowed his cheekbones. Thick eyebrows slashed above his eyes. No wax. She would know. She did plenty of wax jobs, even on men, though some of them swore her to secrecy.
“I’m a hairstylist. I do nails, too. My partner, Louise, and I run the Tress and Tan Salon in Whisper Falls.” She wiggled her fingers at him. Her nails were acrylic, a tidy length but decorated with tiny tuxedoes in honor of the wedding. “Need a mani-pedi?”
His face was still too pale, but he managed a faint smile. More of a grimace, really, but an attempt to stay awake. “If I have any toes left.”
Ouch. “My brother should be here soon. Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here and that pedicure will be on the house. All ten toes.”
“Optimist.” The word had weakened, tapering off at the end so that it sounded more like ‘optimisss.’ Not good. Come on, Austin.
“Do you always drive off into strange places during raging thunderstorms? And why Whisper Falls? Visiting relatives?” When he didn’t answer, she touched his arm. “Come on, Heath, stay awake.”
“Late start.” He was trying. She’d give him that much. “GPS...not too dependable.”
“You got lost. Figures. Anyone can get lost out here.” And he probably had been too proud and stubborn to stop and ask directions. Darrell had been like that, confident the location was right around the corner. “Mountains and trees are not impressed by modern technology.”
He closed his eyes again, worrying Cassie. The car engine was still engaged, and a quick glance at the dash indicated plenty of gas. At least he’d had the presence of mind to fill up sometime in the recent past. They were warm and secure, the thunderstorm subsiding somewhat as it moved toward the east, though the rumbles continued and lightning flickered.
“Thunderstorms here are pretty spectacular. The noise echoes for miles.” His cheek twitched but he didn’t answer. Cassie reached for his pulse. “Are you still with me?”
“Yeah.” The word was barely a whisper.
Was he bleeding internally? Going into shock? Cassie’s mind raced, but all she could come up with were scenes from General Hospital and crazy words like subdural hematoma. Whatever that was.
The car grew silent. Cassie thought she should be doing something proactive but didn’t know what. So she sat beside the injured man and chatted away about Whisper Falls and every single head of hair she’d ever groomed, praying that Austin and an emergency crew would get here soon. The man would know more about Whisper Falls than she did—if he could remember.
“Heath?” she said, shaking his shoulder.
His eyes fluttered up. Did they look more glazed now than before?
“You’re pretty,” he mumbled. “Got a boyfriend?”
Yes, he was delusional. Delirious. Poor man.
“No. My husband died.”
“Sorry.”
Not wanting to discuss Darrell’s death, she shifted the topic to him. “What about you? Any significant other I should call? Girlfriend? Wife?”
“No more.”
Okay, so he was either divorced or had recently broken it off with a girlfriend or worse, like her, his spouse had died. A curl of empathy circled through her. Being alone hurt. No matter how she’d tried to fill her life with activities, she missed the closeness of being a couple. She missed Darrell. In fact, she’d been missing him the day she’d climbed Whisper Falls. And guess what? Her prayer hadn’t been answered. She was still laughing at herself over that silly episode.
“Who are you visiting in Whisper Falls?”
“Police chief.”
“JoEtta Farnsworth?”
“Know her?”
His words were definitely slurring.
“Everyone in Whisper Falls knows Chief Farnsworth. Tough, fair and...eccentric to say the least. Are you related?”
The chief had kids somewhere but Cassie couldn’t recall whether they were male or female or where they lived. One thing for certain, they didn’t come around Whisper Falls too often. Heath’s last name was different but that didn’t mean much these days, and if Heath was the chief’s son, he was a jerk of the first order for never coming to see his mother. JoEtta was gruff and rough but a good person.
Whatever the connection, Heath didn’t answer. The car went silent again except for the endless drip of rain from the overhanging trees.
“Heath?”
He didn’t move.
She touched him. “Heath.”
He didn’t respond.
“Come on, pal, stay with me. I don’t like it when you take naps. It’s not fair. You can’t nap if I can’t.”
Heart in her throat, she grabbed his wrist, felt for a pulse. A thready beat pulsated against her fingertips.
“Heath, wake up. Talk to me.”
He didn’t.
Help needed to get here and it needed to get here now.
Chapter Two
Cassie pulled out her cell phone and tried again to reach her brother. She had one single bar of service but maybe that was enough. When Austin didn’t answer, she punched in 911 once more. Before the call could connect, she heard the wail of a siren.
She almost melted in relief. Thank You, Lord.
“They’re here, Heath.” She patted his shoulder. “You’ll be okay now. Hang tight. I’m going up to the road to direct them down to you.”
She didn’t know if the handsome stranger heard her or not, but she shoved the door open and raced up the steep incline, heedless of the brambles that were every bit as relentless on the ascent as they were coming down. Her breath came in short gasps as she tried to hurry.
She saw Austin’s truck first and though light rain peppered her skin, she rushed toward her parked car and flipped on the headlights. Austin wheeled in next to her and leaped out of the truck.
“You okay?” Her tall, cowboy brother was a born protector.
“Soaked. Cold but all right. The guy in the SUV isn’t doing so hot, though.”
“You look like a drowned rat.” Austin reached back inside the truck and pulled out a jacket, handing it to her. “Put this on.”
Grateful for the warmth, she slid her arms into his oversize fleece.
About that time, the Whisper Falls’s volunteer fire and rescue truck arrived. The crew varied, but tonight was not the usual group of volunteers. As the siren died away, Mayor Rusty Fairchild, a fresh-faced Opie
