crossed his arms; a smile quirked the corner of his mouth. “And how are you going to explain not having a cast four days after breaking your leg?”
I started toward the dining room. “I’ll wear long pants and use the crutches. No one will know.” I settled into a chair and angled the foot, planning my attack.
“You can’t be serious,” he said, standing in front of me.
I looked up at him. “Oh, I am.”
He laughed. “At least let me help you. You might chop off her leg from that angle.”
“No, I got this,” I said, placing the tip of the blade down.
His hand touched mine, sliding down to the knife. “I insist.”
Our proximity added an extra beat in Ally’s heart rate. “Okay,” I breathed, focusing on his eyes.
He plucked the knife from my hand, placing it on the table. He knelt in front of me, moving the fabric of Ally’s sundress off her leg. His feather-light touch traced her smooth skin. I swallowed, aware of every spot his fingers came in contact with.
Thank goodness I’d shaved that morning. I’d managed to only suffer from two cuts, which was a feat in itself.
Cooper reached his arms up, tightening the black shirt across his broad chest.
Don’t look at his chest.
He grabbed the broadsword from the sheath on his back, holding it in front of him.
My breath hitched. I wanted one of those.
“Don’t move.” He carefully pointed the tip of it against the plaster and gently pressed down. The line he drew melted the cast as if it were ice under hot water. He drew a straight line down the center of the cast, his movements precise. Soon enough the cast loosened against my leg and I was able to slide the rest off.
“Now you can put it back on when you need to,” he said, sheathing his sword.
I wriggled Ally’s toes and dug her nails into her skin, scratching deeply. “So much better than a wooden spoon,” I moaned.
Cooper leaned back on his heels and looked up at me. “Glad to be of service.”
Something in his voice made me stop scratching. That awareness crept back in. I looked up at him to see if he noticed it as well. His gray gaze stayed with mine; this time I knew he wasn’t looking at Ally.
Ding dong!
Both of us jumped. Cooper stood at attention and disappeared to the front door. I picked up the cast, and slid it back on Ally’s foot. The seam was a dead giveaway.
“Who is it?” I asked.
Cooper peered through the shade of one of the windows flanking the front door. “It’s the girl from the hospital; she is a classmate of Ally’s. She’s holding a bunch of books. I’m assuming they assigned her to bring Ally’s homework.”
I lifted Ally’s leg. “What am I going to do about this?”
Cooper disappeared again, appearing at my side holding a blanket and the crutches.
“Um,” I said, not really getting it.
He sighed. “Stand up, wrap this around your body; it’s big enough.” Cooper helped cover Ally’s body with the oversized soft blanket. Each touch against Ally’s skin sent sparks of electricity through me. When I was wrapped up enough to cover the leg, he tucked the crutches under her arms. Standing away from me he examined his handiwork. “That will work; just keep your leg covered.”
“Will do,” I said, hobbling to the door.
I opened it.
Jamie wore a black raincoat, with the hood pulled up. Her small body shivered under the soaked jacket.
“Hi,” I said.
She looked up at me, holding up a set of books. “Mr. Dean asked me to bring you your homework from today. And I thought we could work on our paper for Mr. Thorn’s class, since it’s due next week?”
A memory of Ally’s popped up, somewhat fuzzy. Jamie and Ally had been assigned an English paper together earlier last week. Ally hadn’t been happy about it since Heather was assigned to another girl in their clique.
“Mr. Thorn is the English teacher,” Cooper said. “This paper is almost half their grade.”
I nodded, attempting to take the books from Jamie. She flinched.
I stepped back. “Are you coming in or do you want to do this in the rain?”
She walked into the house and looked up at the tall ceiling of the foyer, not unlike my first day. She shrugged out of her soaking jacket and put it on the tall coat rack by the door.
“Can I get you something to drink or eat?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, thanks.”
Now, where could we go that wouldn’t show how much I didn’t need the crutches?
“Let’s go in here,” I said, walking toward the parlor.
“Remember,” Cooper reminded. “You are supposed to be hurt.”
I leaned into the crutches a little more. “Better?” I mumbled.
Jamie turned to me. “Did you say something?”
“Nope.” I sat on the bigger leather couch, keeping my leg covered.
Jamie spread books and notebooks across the coffee table. “I, uh—” She started, her eyes darting around the room. “I thought we could start with the paper since it’s almost done. I wanted to see if you could read over what I wrote.”
“Sure,” I said.
Jamie cleared her throat, looking around the room again. I twisted around in my seat, scanning the room. Cooper sat at the small desk, watching us.
“What?”
Jamie shook her head furiously, a chunk of hair from her bun tumbling out of the elastic. She turned around and reached into her bag.
Déjà vu settled over me.
Jamie was in the hospital when you woke up.
No, that wasn’t it. I thought back. Maybe I had Collected someone she was close with and I’d seen her in my past?
Jamie pulled several sheets of paper from the bag and handed them to me. Great, now half this girl’s grade depended on me.
“Can I use your bathroom?” she said, standing up.
“Sure. It’s down the hall past the kitchen.” I was thankful for the reprieve. Maybe Cooper could read the paper for me, or I could just tell her it was fine. She seemed
