Free All Wrapped Up (A Pine Mountain Novel) by Kimberly Kincaid Page A

it. “An RTA is just an assessment, that’s all. I want to take a quick look at your head and the spot where you got hit to make sure your ribs aren’t bruised. It’s strictlyprecautionary, but it’ll make me feel better. Please?”
    “Oh.” Ava’s breath fluttered against his side as he guided her up the stairs leading to the Double Shot’s office, one step at a time. “Well, if you put it that way . . .”
    Relief pulsed through Brennan’s veins. Although both her tone and her expression had gotten exponentially tougher with each passing second, Ava was still shaking likecrazy.
    Shit. Maybe that was him.
    “Okay, here we go.” Teagan’s voice threaded past his realization, and Brennan lowered Ava to the bright orange couch cushions. He sucked down a breath, then another as Teagan placed her hands on the crown of Ava’s head and started to work her way downward. Taking in Teagan’s movements and Ava’s ensuing responses with care, Brennan mentally checked off eachstep in the process, letting the precise order calm him further.
    At least until Teagan’s hands coasted over the spot where Ava’s pale skin met the green silk of her shirt and Ava jumped about a mile off the couch.
    “Sorry,” she murmured, her black hair spilling over her eyes as she dropped her chin toward Teagan’s frozen hands.
    “No problem. Can you rate that pain on a scale of one to ten?”
    “Oh, um. Not bad. Maybe a two?”
    “Are you asking me or telling me?” Teagan slid her glance from Ava’s rib cage to her face, but Ava shook her head, suddenly resolute.
    “It’s a two.”
    “Okay,” Teagan said. She continued even though her expression said she wasn’t buying Ava’s assertion, and hell if that didn’t make two of them. But Ava sat statue-still, with her hands on the knees of her blackdress pants and her eyes locked forward as Teagan asked her a few more standard-issue questions and took a look at the bruise already blooming at the open neck of her blouse.
    “You’re going to have one hell of a tender spot on your chest for a few days, but other than that, I think you’re okay.” Teagan stood, taking a few steps to the small refrigerator tucked away by the desk to grab a bottleof water for Ava. “Driving after you’ve been rattled up probably isn’t the best idea, though. Is there anyone we can call for you?”
    All the color that had returned to her cheeks disappeared, and Ava took a long sip of water before answering. “No, thank you. I’m grateful for your concern, but really, I’m not rattled up. I feel fine.”
    “Hmm.” Teagan ran her palms down the front of her jeans,flipping a glance at Brennan that broadcast her displeasure. “Why don’t you take a few minutes to just camp out here and relax, then? Brennan, can I see you in the hall for a second?”
    Murmuring a quick “be right back” to Ava, Brennan followed Teagan to the narrow space in front of the Double Shot’s office. He knew Teagan well enough that he could already hear her protest about Ava driving herselfhome.
    So it was a complete and total potshot to his gut when she crossed her arms over her white T-shirt and said, “Would you like to tell me how you know what an RTA even is, let alone all the other medical procedures that go with trauma assessment?”
    “Uh,” came the only answer Brennan could readily grab. Shit. Shit . Of course Teagan would’ve noticed his instinctive reaction. She’d been justas well trained to notice details as he had, and he’d been too firmly ensconced in go mode to cloak his response to Ava’s injury or his default terminology afterward. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”
    Teagan surveyed his face, her gaze sliding to the gently closed office door before she finally shook her head. “Damn, Brennan. You’ve got a lot of secrets, don’t you?”
    At least he had her here.“No. I’ve got a lot of shit in my past that’s going to stay there.”
    “If you say so. Look, I can respect that you