Chapter Twenty-Three
Twenty minutes later, Grace watched Sean ease himself into the passenger seat of her car, his face pinching as he lowered himself with care. His injured arm stayed tucked in the sling the nurse had fitted before discharge, the white fabric stark against his dark T-shirt.
Dan had taken Bonnie home, while Brian and Matt headed back to the sheriff’s department to meet with the task force and compare notes. Before leaving, Brian had promised to call or stop by later to keep Sean updated.
Grace was grateful for that. It meant Sean had one less excuse to push himself before he was ready.
She started the car and backed out of the parking space, steering toward the hospital exit. The late-morning sun spilled across the windshield, forcing her to lower the visor. “We’ll stop at the pharmacy on the way home.”
A sigh drifted from the passenger seat. “I don’t need the prescription filled. I’ll be fine.”
Grace shot him a look. “Uh-uh. I can hear the pain in your voice, and it will only get worse when the Demerol wears off. You heard the doctor. Trust me—you’ll thank me later.”
He said nothing, and she took his silence as reluctant surrender. Good.
He might be tough enough to brush off pain when the job demanded it, but this was her territory. She knew exactly what the next few hours would bring once the medication wore off. The last thing she wanted was to watch him suffer when it could be prevented.
Stubborn man.
When they reached the pharmacy, she expected him to stay in the car while she ran inside. Of course, he refused.
He followed her in, moving with a stiffness he tried and failed to hide. While she waited at the prescription counter, he wandered toward the over-the-counter aisle and returned a few minutes later with a box of acetaminophen in his hand.
She glanced from the box to his face and fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Fine, but I guarantee you you’re going to want something stronger in about two hours.”
A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “We’ll see.”
The man was impossible. And far too handsome for his own good.
Shaking her head, she took the box from him and set it on the counter. “Why don’t I run next door and order a pizza to take home for lunch? I only had a bagel for breakfast, and you have to be getting hungry. If you’re not, I can reheat it later for you.”
“I could eat some pizza. Go order, and I’ll meet you in there when I’m done here.”
She leaned in and brushed a quick kiss across his lips. “Don’t you dare show up without the Vicodin, or I’ll have a headache for all of next week if you get my drift.”
The warning carried enough truth beneath the teasing to make her point.
Starting the next day, she intended to begin some gentle physical therapy on his shoulder to help him heal faster.
It would help in the long run, but there was no getting around the discomfort that came with it.
Sheriff Griffin had already ordered Sean to stay home for a few days, and his team could manage without him.
Whether Sean liked it or not, she planned to make sure he followed orders.
“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a wink. “You know, I like this take-charge Grace a lot. She’s turning me on.
Amusement bubbled up, and Grace fought to keep a straight face.
When Sean made a subtle grab for her as she stepped back, Grace sidestepped the attempt with ease.
Lowering her voice so no one nearby could overhear, she tipped her head and gave him a warning look.
“If I remember correctly, there isn’t much that doesn’t turn you on.
But if that’s what it takes for you to obey the doctor’s orders, then consider me in charge. ”
The way his gaze dropped to her mouth sent a stir of desire through her, despite his injuries. “Hmm. I have to admit, bossy looks good on you.”
The amusement dancing in his eyes made it impossible not to smile. “Nice to know.” She pointed toward the pharmacy counter, putting as much mock authority into the gesture as she could manage. “Now, get your meds and meet me next door.”
His low chuckle told her he saw right through her attempt at command. Still, he dipped his head in surrender. “Yes, ma’am.”
Satisfied, Grace turned and headed toward the door, her smile lingering as she stepped outside. For the first time since Dan had interrupted the yoga class, the knot of fear inside her had loosened enough for something lighter to take its place.
Sean was bruised and sore. He would be miserable once the pain medication wore off. And he was going to fight every order she gave him over the next few days. The thought should have exhausted her.
Instead, it made her smile as she crossed to the pizza place next door, already planning exactly how she intended to keep Special Agent Sean Malone resting where he belonged.
By the time Sean’s prescription was ready, the steady ache in his shoulder had grown into a deep throb that pulsed with every movement.
The rest of his body had begun to protest as well.
Bruises he’d barely noticed at the hospital now made themselves known, each step sending fresh reminders of the impact through his ribs, hip, and legs.
The pharmacist set the white paper bag on the counter and slid it toward him.
“Make sure you take this with food. It can wreak havoc on your stomach. Do you have any questions about the drug?”
“No, thanks.”
Sean signed for the prescription, checked the box declining the consultation, and handed over the twenty dollars he had borrowed from Grace to cover the copay and the Tylenol.
The whole thing grated on him. He had left for his run with nothing but his house keys, phone, and his concealed weapon. Deputy Montgomery had secured the gun at the scene, and Sheriff Griffin had returned it when Sean was discharged from the ER, but everything else had fallen to Grace.
She had driven him to the pharmacy, covered the copay without hesitation, and overruled every halfhearted protest he had made about not needing the prescription filled.
Sean was no stranger to people looking after him when circumstances called for it.
His family had done it often enough over the years, and there had been a few women in his past who had fussed over him after an injury or a rough case.
This felt different.
Maybe it was the calm certainty in Grace’s voice when she told him what he needed.
Maybe it was the way she slipped into caretaker mode without making him feel helpless.
Whatever the reason, the part of him that hated being dependent warred with another part that found himself taking comfort in her quiet authority.
“Okay, then, have a nice day.”
The pharmacist’s bright smile earned little more than a grunt from Sean.
Bag in hand, he headed next door to the pizzeria, following the scent of baked dough and melted cheese. The warm, crowded shop buzzed with conversation from the noon-time customers and the clatter of pans behind the counter.
His mood soured the moment he spotted Grace at the register. The guy behind the counter was staring at her. Not glancing. Staring. And practically drooling.
Sean’s jaw clenched.
Dressed in tight yoga pants, a fitted tank, and the lightweight hoodie she had thrown on after class, Grace looked incredible. Her blond hair was twisted up at the back of her head, exposing the elegant line of her neck.
He could hardly blame the man’s interest. That did not mean he had to like it.
The pizzeria clerk was not the first. Sean had noticed more than enough male attention directed her way since the accident. The doctor. One of the hospital security guards. An orderly. The pharmacist. A handful of others who had looked with varying degrees of subtlety.
Jealousy was not an emotion he had dealt with in years, and the sharp scrape of it across his nerves caught him off guard.
It was not Grace’s fault. She couldn’t help being beautiful.
He just needed to keep reminding himself that men could look all they wanted.
She was going home with him. The thought caused some of the irritation to fade.
As Grace accepted the pizza box, Sean slipped his good arm around her waist and guided her toward the door and out to the car.
Dan had promised to drop off a bag with clothes and toiletries after he closed the hardware store, leaving Sean with nothing to do but ride shotgun while Grace steered them toward her condo. Not that he minded.
The thought of spending the next few days at her place carried an appeal that had nothing to do with the doctor’s orders.
Even before getting run down, he had spent more nights there than at the beach house.
Most mornings, he had driven straight from her condo to the sheriff’s department, stopping by the cottage only when he needed clean clothes or something he had forgotten.
The arrangement had come together without discussion, as natural as breathing.
He shifted against the seat, trying to find a position that did not aggravate the growing ache spreading through his shoulder and ribs. The movement sent another pulse of discomfort through him, and he let his head rest against the window as his thoughts drifted back to Grace.
To them.
The last few weeks had changed something in him. It was too soon to ask her to move in with him. They had only been dating a short time, and Sean was not fool enough to rush her into something she might not be ready for.
Still, those weeks had been the best of his adult life, even with a serial killer wreaking havoc across the county.
He had known attraction before. Desire. Lust.
But what he felt for Grace ran deeper than any of that.
Somewhere along the way, without fanfare or warning, he had fallen for her.
He knew it with a certainty that left little room for doubt.
The realization had been building for days, growing stronger with every quiet moment they shared, every laugh, and every conversation that stretched long after midnight.