Her Unlikely Bodyguard - Excerpt
Jemma Leigh woke to a high-pitched wailing sound and tried to sit up but couldn't, only then realizing she was strapped down in a moving vehicle. Before she could panic or even give voice to the questions floating around in her head, there was a flurry of movement in her peripheral vision.
One of the paramedics kneeled beside her in an instant. "Don't be alarmed, Miss Harding. The straps are for your own protection. You can't be expected to hold on in a moving vehicle when you're unconscious."
"Unconscious?"
"Yes. That truck knocked you unconscious when it hit you. Don't you remember?"
"I remember hearing the truck and jumping back to the sidewalk. I was standing there, watching the approach of a rather irate driver when everything became foggy. I don't remember anything after that."
"We couldn't find any signs of a head injury. Is it possible you just fainted?"
"I've never fainted in my life!" she exclaimed.
"Shock does strange things to people, especially when there's personal injury involved."
"Shock I can understand, after seeing that monster of a truck coming directly at me, but I jumped clear. How could there be personal injury?"
"You have a nasty abrasion on your left ankle. It's going to require stitches, at the very least."
"What? How?" she asked, confused, finally becoming aware of a gentle throbbing in her foot.
"The driver found blood on his front fender. Your ankle got a good clip before he managed to stop."
At mention of the driver, Jemma Leigh's thoughts returned to Theodore Garrity. The moments they'd shared during high school and summer vacations were still mighty precious, turning her dreams into an erotic oasis on more than one occasion over the years. Why did she have to have a close encounter with him of all people…and on her first day back, too? What was he doing in town? Her mother told her he'd married and lived out west somewhere.
The cessation of movement brought her back to the present predicament and she gave the paramedic a questioning look.
"We're at the hospital. The staff here will have you stitched up good as new in no time. You'll soon be on your way as long as there are no internal injuries."
"Hopefully sooner. I don't have time for this."
"Some things you have to make time for and having that ankle tended to is one of them," he answered. Another paramedic opened the rear doors, helped roll the stretcher out of the ambulance and into the emergency department. The smell of antiseptic and disinfectant assaulted her nostrils as they wheeled her over to the nurses' station.
When the nurse came out to greet them, Jemma Leigh stated, "Hi, I need to make a phone call."
"I'll bring you a phone just as soon as we have you settled in an examining room," the nurse assured her.
As luck would have it, emergency wasn't busy that day and the doctor arrived as they transferred her from the stretcher to a bed. He was tall, with short blonde hair and electric blue eyes, and extremely good-looking. "Good afternoon, Miss Harding. I'm Dr. Harrison. Heard you had a run-in with a truck and the truck won," he stated, turning a megawatt smile in her direction.
Wow! She wondered what had happened to draw so many handsome men to this backwater town. This guy seemed almost too perfect…good looks, a sense of humor and a secure, good paying job at that. Clueing in to the silence surrounding her, she shot a shaky smile at the doctor and said, "I prefer being called Jemma Leigh. The truck was much bigger than I was and all it got was a bit of skin off my ankle. I think the fact that I'm still here means I won that round."
"Either that, or God isn't ready for you yet," Ted quipped sarcastically from where he stood in the doorway listening to the exchange. "Maybe it was just my excellent reflexes that saved your hide."
"You always did have a strange sense of humor, Teddy. You should pay more attention when you're behind the wheel of that brute. What are you doing here?"
"Just checking on the invalid. I was worried when you didn't immediately regain consciousness."
"As you can see, I'm fine. No insurance claims pending, so now you can go."
"Consider me gone."
Surprisingly, he left without a good-bye or a backward glance, just as he'd done...no, she wasn't going there.
One of the paramedics kneeled beside her in an instant. "Don't be alarmed, Miss Harding. The straps are for your own protection. You can't be expected to hold on in a moving vehicle when you're unconscious."
"Unconscious?"
"Yes. That truck knocked you unconscious when it hit you. Don't you remember?"
"I remember hearing the truck and jumping back to the sidewalk. I was standing there, watching the approach of a rather irate driver when everything became foggy. I don't remember anything after that."
"We couldn't find any signs of a head injury. Is it possible you just fainted?"
"I've never fainted in my life!" she exclaimed.
"Shock does strange things to people, especially when there's personal injury involved."
"Shock I can understand, after seeing that monster of a truck coming directly at me, but I jumped clear. How could there be personal injury?"
"You have a nasty abrasion on your left ankle. It's going to require stitches, at the very least."
"What? How?" she asked, confused, finally becoming aware of a gentle throbbing in her foot.
"The driver found blood on his front fender. Your ankle got a good clip before he managed to stop."
At mention of the driver, Jemma Leigh's thoughts returned to Theodore Garrity. The moments they'd shared during high school and summer vacations were still mighty precious, turning her dreams into an erotic oasis on more than one occasion over the years. Why did she have to have a close encounter with him of all people…and on her first day back, too? What was he doing in town? Her mother told her he'd married and lived out west somewhere.
The cessation of movement brought her back to the present predicament and she gave the paramedic a questioning look.
"We're at the hospital. The staff here will have you stitched up good as new in no time. You'll soon be on your way as long as there are no internal injuries."
"Hopefully sooner. I don't have time for this."
"Some things you have to make time for and having that ankle tended to is one of them," he answered. Another paramedic opened the rear doors, helped roll the stretcher out of the ambulance and into the emergency department. The smell of antiseptic and disinfectant assaulted her nostrils as they wheeled her over to the nurses' station.
When the nurse came out to greet them, Jemma Leigh stated, "Hi, I need to make a phone call."
"I'll bring you a phone just as soon as we have you settled in an examining room," the nurse assured her.
As luck would have it, emergency wasn't busy that day and the doctor arrived as they transferred her from the stretcher to a bed. He was tall, with short blonde hair and electric blue eyes, and extremely good-looking. "Good afternoon, Miss Harding. I'm Dr. Harrison. Heard you had a run-in with a truck and the truck won," he stated, turning a megawatt smile in her direction.
Wow! She wondered what had happened to draw so many handsome men to this backwater town. This guy seemed almost too perfect…good looks, a sense of humor and a secure, good paying job at that. Clueing in to the silence surrounding her, she shot a shaky smile at the doctor and said, "I prefer being called Jemma Leigh. The truck was much bigger than I was and all it got was a bit of skin off my ankle. I think the fact that I'm still here means I won that round."
"Either that, or God isn't ready for you yet," Ted quipped sarcastically from where he stood in the doorway listening to the exchange. "Maybe it was just my excellent reflexes that saved your hide."
"You always did have a strange sense of humor, Teddy. You should pay more attention when you're behind the wheel of that brute. What are you doing here?"
"Just checking on the invalid. I was worried when you didn't immediately regain consciousness."
"As you can see, I'm fine. No insurance claims pending, so now you can go."
"Consider me gone."
Surprisingly, he left without a good-bye or a backward glance, just as he'd done...no, she wasn't going there.