Paige blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
He swallowed and flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to sound like I had any right to tell you what to do, it’s just that—” he shuffled his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets “—I feel a little responsible and just want to … um … help. Will you let me?”
Unsure how to respond, Paige simply looked at him. She racked her brain for an appropriate response, but she couldn’t very well tell him the real reason she needed to get to the school and get started in her job as guidance counselor. “I … uh … sure. I guess.”
A smile finally crossed Will’s little lips, and his grip tightened once again. She hadn’t realized he still held her hand. He was so quiet. Not like other kids his age she’d been around. And she’d been around a lot during the training that taught her how to question children exposed to trauma.
“So, you want to take care of me, huh, Will?”
A nod so slight she thought she might have imagined it moved his head.
A sharp, indrawn breath from the boy’s uncle made her glance his way. Shock and joy stood out on his handsome face making her wonder what was going on.
“Hmm. Well, let me think about it and I’ll let you know.” She had to contact Charles and let him know that she was okay. He’d be chomping at the bit at the fact that she hadn’t checked in with him in over a day. She wondered how many voice messages he’d left on her phone.
The doctor flipped her chart closed. “There’s a whole army of reporters outside wanting to talk to you. Apparently, someone called the local news.”
For the first time since she’d awakened, a chill of fear shot through her. She couldn’t talk to reporters. Staying alive meant maintaining her cover and keeping her face out of the limelight.
If the wrong person found out what she was doing in the town of Rose Mountain, she would wind up as dead as her fellow agent and friend, Larry Bolin.
TWO
Dylan had been so focused on the fact that Will had responded to a question that he almost missed the flash of … what? … that crossed her face at the mention of the reporters. Fear? Consternation? Something.
“You don’t want to talk to the reporters?” he asked. “Everyone is saying what a hero you are.”
A flush crept up her neck causing her white cheeks to pinken. “I’m not a hero. So, please, tell them just to go away.”
He glanced at the doctor who shrugged and said, “Okay. I’ll tell security to handle it. Now, let me check you out.” He motioned for Dylan and Will to wait outside.
Dylan took Will’s hand, and the boy finally let go of Paige’s to follow him. Once outside the room, Dylan thought about the woman who’d saved Will’s life.
And her reaction to the idea of talking to reporters. Most women that he knew would love to be in the limelight, talk about how they’d saved a child. And even if they didn’t necessarily revel in the attention, they wouldn’t mind giving an interview.
But not Paige.
Interesting. Curious. It made him want to ask her about it, find out why she didn’t want to be in the spotlight.
The hair on the back of his neck tingled, and he looked up. Nobody in the hall looked like they had an interest in what he was doing. Still, he frowned. After the incident with the car, he was on edge.
He’d been stopped by several reporters since the accident but thought he’d given them enough of what they’d wanted. Another sweeping glance still didn’t reveal any reason he should feel watched.
Uneasy, he pasted a smile on his face and said to Will, “How about we go grab a little snack and then come back to see Ms. Worth?”
Will’s lips parted in a smile.
For the second time that day.
Dylan’s heart flipped. Ever since Will’s mother, Dylan’s sister, Sandra, had been killed in the fire that ripped through her house, Will had become mute, haunted by nightmares that woke him, that caused the little boy to scream until he was hoarse. And that was the only time he ever made a sound. Even when he cried, his tears were silent.
Dylan had shortened his hours at the medical clinic, working only during Will’s school time so he could be there to pick up the boy from school.
And Will always seemed glad to see him. But Dylan felt there was something he was missing, something he should be doing for Will. He just wished he could put his hands on what that something was.
Even the therapist Will had been going to seemed stumped at the child’s continued silence.
They walked into the cafeteria and Will went straight to the fruit section. Dylan got him a bowl of grapes and banana slices, and they found a table in the corner. Will picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of banana.
Surprise hit Dylan when he found himself wanting to hurry Will up so they could go back to check on Paige.
Swallowing hard, he examined what he was feeling. He wasn’t in a good place to be this attracted to someone. He had been engaged until very recently, but Dylan could finally admit that his and Erica’s relationship had died long ago even though the recent betrayal still hurt.
Pushing those thoughts away, Dylan felt a smile curve his lips. It might be fun to get to know Paige. To see what she was all about.
To hear her deepest secrets.
Then he frowned. Of course if he expected that of her, he’d have to be willing to reciprocate.
Then he flushed, embarrassed by his premature thoughts. He’d just met the woman. He knew nothing about her. For all he knew, she might have a boyfriend somewhere. Someone who lived in another state and just hadn’t come to be by her side.
The television caught his attention. The reporter was talking about Paige’s amazing rescue this morning. Captivated and horrified all at the same time, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the woman who stood in front of the school where it had all happened giving a detailed account of the near miss.
In his mind, he watched it all over again as her bike flashed in front of the car, her arm snaked out to grab Will and then the front headlight clipped her back wheel. And down she went.
He sucked in a lungful of air.
Not knowing where the sensation came from, he couldn’t help feeling his life was getting ready to be rocked by the strawberry blonde, blue-eyed woman lying on the bed upstairs.
As soon as the doctor stepped from the room, Paige grabbed the cell phone that had been placed on the table beside her. She punched in the number she’d memorized a long time ago.
Her boss answered on the second ring. “Ashworth,” Charles Forester almost growled, “where are you? Are you all right? I just talked to ‘your principal’ who said you were in the hospital. What’s going on?”
“I’m fine.” Well, she would be. “But we’ve got a problem. Reporters
