I was tucking the outrageously expensive watch back in its hiding place when the cell phone Ben had left behind jangled and vibrated on the counter. He’d mentioned the town doctor was going to call and try and make his way up to the cabin to give me the all clear to travel, but it was an intrusion into my newfound sanctuary that came much sooner than I anticipated. I moved across the room as quickly as I could, making me breathless when I answered the call.
“Hello.” I trapped the phone between my ear and good shoulder as I leaned on the edge of the counter and stared at the door, willing Ben to walk through it and finish what I’d started in the shower.
“Is this Echo Hemsley? My brother Cooper called me yesterday and said you were stranded up on the mountain with a pretty serious set of injuries.” His voice was deep and smooth. I wasn’t even in the same room with him and I could tell he had a good bedside manner.
“I got pretty banged up when the SUV rolled. I’ve got a nasty cut on the top of my head so I’m sure I ended up with a mild concussion.” I moved my shoulder and let out a wheeze of discomfort. “I also dislocated my shoulder, but Ben, the guy who found me, put it back in place and has been making sure I keep ice and heat on it. I think it’s about as good as it’s going to get until it heals up.”
He muttered something I didn’t quite hear and asked, “Are you nauseated at all, out of balance? Do you feel more sleepy than usual or have any ringing in your ears?”
The questions came so quickly that it took me a minute to work through them all in my head. “The first night and into the second day it was a yes to all of that, but I slept normally last night and feel mostly normal today, except for a slight headache and my shoulder hurting like a bitch.”
He grunted and I heard the scratch of pen across paper. “Do you feel you need emergency medical care, Ms. Hemsley? I’m the only doctor in Surrender and while I would like a chance to check you out, I would prefer doing it when I can get to you in a vehicle and bring you back to town with me. I would only put someone with all the symptoms of a concussion on the back of an ATV in a true emergency situation. Not to mention, the ride would be incredibly bumpy and miserable on that shoulder.”
I snorted out a laugh and shook out my drying curls. “If I didn’t die the night of the crash, I’m not going to die now. I think I’ll be fine until you can make your way up here in a real car.”
“Good. The highway is supposed to open up sometime this evening and I made sure to keep my morning clear tomorrow, just in case. I’ll head up the mountain and check you out, then bring you back to Surrender so we can work on a way to get you home.”
If Ben found my bag and my purse, it shouldn’t be that hard to get me back to Denver. If he didn’t, I was going to be in a bind. I didn’t have any other form of ID than my driver’s license, so there would be no renting a car or getting on a plane if that was lost to the Montana winter. As much as I hated it, I was going to have to call Zeb Fuller, Hyde’s dad, and ask him to come and get me because there was no way I was riding a Greyhound through the mountains for hours on end. Just the thought of all those switchbacks made my tummy tighten.
“Sounds like a plan. I would call when you’re on your way. Ben doesn’t seem too fond of trespassers and likes to greet visitors with the business end of a shotgun.”
There was a chuckle on the other end of the phone. “Sounds like he’s finally starting to fit in around here. See you in the morning, Echo.”
The line went dead just as the door swung open, revealing a panting and soggy-looking Ben. His dark hair had glittering white flakes of snow clinging to it and his off-center nose was tipped red. He kicked the door closed with his boot and I gasped in shock when he dropped my chevron-striped weekender on the floor by his feet. It was filthy, covered in all manner of dirt and debris, but the zipper was still closed and it didn’t appear to have any holes in it. I was excited at the prospect of putting on my own clothes and a pair of underwear, but none of that helped me get home.
“No purse?”
His steely gaze tracked my movements as I started toward the bag. “It was a mess. It’s been snowing the last couple hours, so it was hard to find anything. The only reason I found this was because I tripped over it.”
I sighed but managed a weak smile. “That’s fine. You didn’t have to go tromping through the woods for this in the first place. I appreciate the effort even if it means I’ll have to get creative getting home.” I bit down on my lower lip and looked at him from under my eyelashes. “The doctor called. He’s coming up in the morning to look me over and take me into town.”