Molly. “That woman belongs to me. You’d best stop sniffin’ around her.”
Barclay grabbed the mouthy dude’s t-shirt and punched his nose, breaking cartilage. Blood flew. The wild-eyed man started his SUV and sped off, slamming the door as he spun around the corner, the wheels screeching.
Barclay squatted next to Molly. “Sugar, are you all right?”
She flinched away when he reached to touch her. “Don’t touch me!”
“I’ve never beat a woman in my life. The danger is over, Molly. Take a deep breath and repeat after me. The danger is over.” Once she did as he told her, he scooted behind her to remove the ropes. “You know who I am, right? Barclay, the guy with the dogs.”
“Dogs? Yes.” She was slowly easing back into reality. He’d seen fire victims lose touch with the genuine world for a brief time or an extended period, depending on the level of their post-traumatic stress.
“Do you remember my dogs got sprayed by skunks?” She nodded. “Molly, I’m going to untie these ropes now and rub your wrists. I won’t hurt you. Your danger is over.”
Once he removed the rope and manipulated her wrists, he slipped the cell from his pocket and moved in front of her. He thumbed the flashlight app and slowly ran the beam over her battered face. Her lower lip was bleeding and a knot had risen on her cheek. One side of her face was scraped. “Did you know who that sombitch was?”
She nodded. “My…my ex-fiancé, Wade. He followed me here from Colorado.” She rose on shaky legs and he steadied her. “Thanks for your help. I’ll be all right now.” There was a pronounced limp when she walked. “Ouch! Damn, I must have twisted my ankle when I fell. My side hurts where he kicked me.”
“You need to get cleaned up and put ice on your injuries.” He scooped her into his arms as if she was as light as a feather and strode to the diner. She tensed against him. “Relax. We’re only going inside, out of the rain. Sarah will have towels to help us dry off.”
Her muscles relaxed a fraction. “Okay. Straight to the diner. N…no-where else.”
“Yes. I need to tend to your injuries and you need something warm to drink. This Wade fellow, was he the one who put those old bruises on you? What the fuck kind of man hits a woman? Holy hell, I could never figure that one out.” Which was why he hadn’t spoken to his dad in years.
“He’s pissed because I broke off our engagement.” She jerked the hood of her jacket over her head, using the edge to blot her eyes. “You see, I took offense to Wade screwing my maid of honor and he took offense when I told him I wouldn’t marry him if he were the last man to walk on God’s green earth.” She fiddled with the string on her hoodie. “Aren’t I too heavy for you? To lug around like this, I mean.”
“Seems to me you’re about perfect.” The crass remark the woman beater had uttered about her size no doubt made her self-conscious about her weight. Hell, what did that guy know about the beauty of a woman’s curves?
Barclay carried her into the diner and gently set her in his booth. “Sarah, need another cup of coffee.” He glanced at Molly. “Or would you rather have something cold? Whatever you want, just tell me.”
With a swipe of his forearm, he wiped rain water off his face and fought the urge to shake like his dogs when they came in from the rain.
“Ice water and blueberry herbal tea. Hot.” She shakily reached for paper napkins from the chrome holder to blot at her bleeding lips. He helped her out of her wet hoodie.
Barclay changed his order and grabbed some clean rags from Sarah to dry Molly off.
“I already dialed 9-1-1.” Sarah stood on her tiptoes to glance down the street. “After you charged out of here, I watched to see what had you so upset. I couldn’t believe that man was trying to drag you to his SUV. Think he was some kind of human trafficker? Picking up women for the sex trade in another country?” Sarah set a fresh cup of coffee and one of tea on their table while she prattled on. “Need some more dry towels? Give me a sec, hon. Barclay, you want one?”
“No thanks, I’ve got another shirt in my truck.” He turned to Molly and helped dry her long hair. “Stay put while I run out to my pickup to get the first aid kit and a dry shirt.”
“Okay. Thanks. Sorry to be so much trouble.” She cast her dejected gaze on him, sadness evident in those nearly violet eyes…and he was a goner.
“Trouble? Hell, this ain’t nothing.”
When he carried in a two by four foot yellow plastic container, her eyes widened. “What do you have in there? A portable operating room?”
Flipping the black closures open, he raised the lid, wiping the water off the case’s exterior. “As a certified EMT, I’m qualified to help in any emergency.” He shrugged, both proud of his job and embarrassed he’d bragged a little. Sarah waved a dry towel in front of him and he grabbed it to rub the rain off his face and hair. He peeled off his wet t-shirt and dried off before slipping into a t-shirt that proclaimed firemen had longer hoses.
Sarah ogled his bare chest, read his shirt and laughed as she gathered up the wet rags. “I still say Yvette was a damn fool.”
“Ancient history, Sarah.” He stooped and fingered through the neatly arranged emergency supplies.
“So, you really are a fireman and…what was it you said?”
“A diver with a marine rescue unit out of the best damn fire station in Clearwater.”
Molly was starting to tremble, no doubt coming down from an adrenaline rush. He removed a blanket from his box to drape around her shoulders. “Take a piece of pie and eat. You need something to bring your glucose levels up.” He glanced in Molly’s eyes. Her pupils were dilated. “Look at me. Double chocolate sin pie okay with you?” She nodded and he slid the dessert in front of her. “Sarah, bring us two more slices in case she needs them.”
He tore open some sanitary wet wipes to wash off her face. “Let me make sure you don’t need stitches.” Cleaning her banged up cheeks and lips, he tried being gentle, but every time he glanced at her eyes to gauge her pain level, a sensual pull warmed him. A faint floral scent penetrated his nose and beguiled. How long had it been since a woman caught his emotions like this and quickly tied them into knots? He wanted to protect her in the worst kind of way.
He snapped an ice pack to make it active and told her to hold it to the side of her face where the bastard had struck her.
“Who…who’s Yvette?” She laid her cheek against the ice pack.
“Ex-wife for over a year. In a small community like this, even though the tourists make it seem bigger, some people know all about your life. Isn’t that right, Sarah?” Few people could beat the café worker in the gossip department.
The middle-aged waitress leaned her elbows on the counter. “What we call neighborly concern, you call nosy.” She sniffed and went about filling salt and pepper shakers. “It only means we care. I remember a time when you worried about everyone too. We’re all waiting for the old you to come back.”
“Scoot around so I can examine where he kicked you. Has the pain lessened any? Pull up your shirt so I can make sure your ribs aren’t broken.”
