He glanced at Quinn, who’d taken the opportunity to take a breath. Then he ducked under Sam’s arm and pushed out into the lobby.
“Quinn!” Wolfgang said, but Sam stopped his pursuit with a hand to his chest.
“Give him a second to cool off,” Sam said. “And yourself.”
See, this was why she’d kissed him—and would forgive herself for it. Because Sam was the kind of man she could—probably already did—love. Compassionate, strong, and safe, he gave people the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t jump to conclusions but listened. Cared. Understood. And while he might be the law, he knew it wasn’t about the rules but the relationship. Frankly, he’d proved that to her earlier, with his compassion to her after she’d kissed him.
Probably, he’d already forgiven her. Understood. “Let’s talk about this.”
“You don’t understand, Sam. He’s going to destroy his entire life with this girl.”
C’mon, Sam, tell him to calm down. True love is worth—
“I know. I couldn’t agree more. Kids are stupid, and they lead with their emotions. Right now his emotions are making him impulsive and unpredictable.” Sam clamped Senator Starr on his shoulder. “My advice—get him home. Calm him down. And wait until tomorrow to tell him you’re sending him to military school, right?”
The senator’s chuckle rattled up the stairwell, right into Willow’s bones. Her throat burned, her breath caught.
And then her eyes blurred when Sam, too, laughed.
“Never trust anyone when they’re emotional, Senator. Not even yourself, right? It only leads to mistakes, regrets, and most of all, people getting hurt. The best you can do is try to steer them away from trouble and hope they’ll come to their senses.”
He opened the door for Wolfgang and gave him a diplomatic smile.
It burned all the way through Willow.
She’d definitely come to her senses.
If she smiled any longer, her face might break. Jess Tagg gritted her molars, holding on to her final string of patience as Tallie Kennedy, reporter for the Mercy Falls Register, smiled up at Pete.
Out of all the PEAK team members still congregated in the ER, the former Miss Montana had cornered Pete Brooks as her spokesman.
And why not? Out of all her choices, Jess would have chosen Pete too, probably. If she were choosing.
Which she wasn’t.
“How did you spell your name again?”
Right. How hard was it to spell B-r-o-o-k-s? Jess would lay heavy bets on the fact that Tallie wanted to say something else. Like, “Where do you live?” or even “Wanna go over that article later, maybe at your place?”
Jess closed her eyes, turned away, ignored the tiny churn of her gut. But what did she expect? Pete had been amazingly heroic tonight, saving everyone with his quick thinking.
Throwing an ax at a charging grizzly, like he might be Thor? He even looked like Thor, with his long, shoulder-length blond hair, now held back with his requisite baseball cap, and the slightest grizzle of crimson-gold whiskers.
Never mind the very Thor-like muscles and the blue eyes that could make a girl say yes to just about anything he suggested.
Other girls. Not her.
Sorry, but Pete Brooks could wield all his mystical charm on her and she’d simply suggest a night out, maybe a game of touch football with the guys.
The last thing she needed was to fall for a good-timing man like Pete. Not when she’d finally put her life, not to mention her broken heart, back together again.
She glanced at the door to the ER, hoping to see Gage or Ty edging out. Kacey had disappeared, probably to fly the chopper back to the base, and with her Ben King, her fiancé.
Which left Jess stranded at the hospital.
“Naw, I’m not hungry,” she heard Pete say, and realized that Tallie had popped the question.
A little late for pizza, a burger, or really any food, wasn’t it?
Although, admittedly, his rejection of Tallie’s offer had Jess curious.
Not like charmer Pete Brooks to pass on a date with a cute girl like Tallie.
No, Tallie was more than cute. With her faded jeans and a V-neck T-shirt that looked more sorority girl than ace reporter, she had “Hot Night” written all over her. Her long golden-brown hair tumbled down in soft waves, surrounding big amber eyes and an I-like-you smile, and yeah, Pete must have come down with a raging case of the chicken pox to be walking over to Jess, his hands in his pockets.
Huh.
Even Tallie looked confused.
But if Tallie thought she’d been blown off for Jess, she clearly didn’t know there was nothing but friendship between them. And Jess certainly didn’t have anything on Tallie Kennedy. Not in her less-than-shapely blue jumpsuit and her hair pulled back in a ponytail.