Kilty Pleasure (5 page)

“I know you do, but your mom is in Seattle, lass. You’ll be all right. I’m here with you.”

Her sobs grew.

Keeping her voice steady and comforting, Hailey asked, “You
will
be fine, sweetie. Can you answer me a question, though? Did you hear anything pop or crunch when you fell?”

Emily shook her head.

“Okay, that’s good. I need you to be brave for a moment, okay? I’m going to just look at it real quick.”

Emily had to be around ten, and was clearly between the age of wanting to cry hysterically and put on a brave face. But she bit her lip and gave a stiff nod.

Not seeing any blood pooling or rapid bruising, she asked, “Does it feel numb? Or is it tingling at all?”

“I think it feels tingly.”

Reaching out, Hailey began a gentle exam of the wrist and forearm, knowing those were the most likely spots she would’ve fractured in the fall.

Trying to distract her, she admitted, “I climbed that same cliff once.”

It wasn’t very high, as far as cliffs went, but it was high enough to be dangerous. It was part of the hillside that crept out and divided the beach, and often you’d find kids and adults alike trying to scale it to get to the other side.

“Did you get to the top?” Emily asked, her voice trembling.

“Yes.” She lifted her fingers from Emily’s arm and smiled down at her. “And you know what? It totally wasn’t worth the cuts and bruises I got.”

“It wasn’t?”

“Nah. Pretty much just kind of boring in the end. So, if I were you, I’d skip trying again, okay?”

Emily nodded and bit her lip, clearly trying not to cry again. “Okay.”

“Can you tell if she broke anything?” Colin asked tightly from behind her.

“I don’t think she has. Likely just landed on it pretty hard and might’ve sprained it. She’ll have a nasty bruise at the very least. But you’ll probably want to swing by the ER and have it x-rayed to be sure.” She gave a slight smile.

“The ER?” Emily’s voice rose in pitch. “Oh no, I hate those places. Can’t you just tell me if it’s broken?”

“I really wish I could, sweetie. Unfortunately, just because I’m a nurse doesn’t mean I have x-ray vision.”

Colin snorted with obvious disdain. She kind of had the urge to smack him again. Funny how he brought out that urge in her.

“I’ll take her to the hospital to be safe.” He glanced back toward the trees and sighed. “Emily, lass, we’ll have to make the hike back up to the parking lot, all right?”

“All the way back up that hill?” Tears gathered again in her eyes. “I can’t walk up that hill right now, Uncle Colin, my arm hurts too much.”

Impatience and confusion flashed in his eyes. “Em, it’s your arm, not your leg. It’s just a ten- or fifteen-minute walk.”

Clearly Uncle Colin was new at this kid thing. When a kid was in pain, even a two-minute walk was agonizing. Be it all in their head or not.

“You know, my car is actually in the lower lot. I could drive you up to yours. It would only take a second.”

Colin’s dark expression turned even darker. He glanced away from her, as if the idea of accepting her help was as appealing as dealing with the devil. Well, tough. He’d already accepted her assistance this far, what was five more minutes?

“Please, Uncle Colin? Let her drive us. If I have to walk I’m going to
die
. I just know it.”

Having worked with kids plenty, Hailey bit back laughter at Emily’s dramatics and waited for Colin to give in.

“Fine. That would be great.”

Every polite word nearly killed him, she could tell. While she wanted to laugh, somehow she just barely managed to keep her expression blank as she nodded.

“All right. Let me just grab my stuff superfast and we’ll go.”

Chapter Four

Colin watched as Hailey jogged back to her blanket a hundred feet away or so and began to collect her things. He hadn’t even realized she was on the beach—had instead been so focused on making sure nothing happened to Emily.

Which had been his biggest fear today. It being his first time baby-sitting, and his niece would be hurt on his watch. He liked kids, but lacked sorely in the baby-sitting department.

Of course it only figured that the moment he’d chosen to answer a phone call from the station Emily had gotten herself into trouble. He’d known he shouldn’t have answered. It was habit and he’d been curious if there were any updates on the series of home invasions in the area.

As he watched, Hailey slung a backpack over her shoulder, gathered the blanket in her arm and made her way back to them. Despite his effort, it was hard not to notice her tanned legs stretching out from denim shorts. Or the way her black cotton halter top hugged her breasts and the flat stomach below it.

“All right. Are you guys ready?” She gave a cheeky little smile that had both his scowl deepening and his blood quickening.

“I’m ready,” Emily answered. “I don’t think we can get to the hospital fast enough. My arm is going to fall off.”

“It’s not going to fall off, Em.” He tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice. Were all children this prone to dramatics?

“Your uncle’s right,” Hailey jumped in with a laugh. “I know it might
feel
like it could actually fall off—because it’s swollen, throbbing and just sore, right?—but I promise you it won’t.”

“I know.” A tiny sniff accompanied his niece’s words.

Shite, how did he handle this? Surely he’d have to call Ian and Sarah and explain that their daughter had been hurt on his watch. Clearly, he’d failed at his uncle duties.

“Here’s my car.” Hailey paused after opening the back door. “Does she still need a booster seat?”

“No. I’m way too old for those.” Emily slid out of her uncle’s arms and scooted into the backseat.

“She’s of age,” Colin agreed, only knowing the child-seat laws from when they’d come into play during his job. “She could probably go either way, though, because of her size.”

“Don’t call me short.”

The glower Emily gave him was a perfect match for Ian’s.

“Petite is a much nicer term,” Hailey agreed as she helped the little girl buckle up. “I claim it all the time. Hang on a second.”

She disappeared to open the trunk and then returned a moment later with a pillow.

“Go ahead and rest your arm on this and try not to move it, okay? We want to keep it stable.”

“Okay.”

Colin sat on the passenger side and spared a quick glance over his shoulder. Emily nursed her right arm with her left as she stared out the window. Fortunately she seemed much calmer.

Despite his dislike for Hailey personally, one thing could be said about her. She certainly knew what she was doing and seemed right decent with children.

“You’re parked up near the bridge?” Hailey asked.

He turned in his seat and found her gaze on him. There was wariness there, along with confidence and a
fuck-off
attitude that he actually somewhat respected.

“Aye. On the island side of the bridge.”

“Can she go to the hospital with us, Uncle Colin?”

He stiffened at his niece’s innocent question, biting back a string of curses in his head.

“Ah, lass, I’m sure she has plans—”

“Do you, Hailey?” Emily interrupted.

“Um, well, no,” Hailey seemed reluctant to admit. “Today’s my day off.”

“You’ve already done enough.” He held her gaze, narrowing his own.

“Pleeeease, I like her.”

Emily hadn’t had much decent male influence in her life until Sarah and Ian had reunited, and he could well understand that she might be seeking out gentle female reassurance when she was injured. Unfortunately, that female came in the form of Hailey at this moment. Too bad Kenzie was at work.

“I don’t mind, and it might be better to not move her again and just keep her arm stable.”

Her gaze drifted away, and he sensed that although her words agreed she could go with them, she wasn’t thrilled to be spending this much alone time with him personally. Well, the feeling was certainly mutual.

“Yay, you’ll come then?” Triumph sounded in Emily’s words.

“Aye, she’ll come.”

Hailey’s eyes narrowed, and he knew his tone was terse. He could almost hear her silently telling him where he could go shove it. Instead, she turned and started the car, pulled out of the parking lot, and he was left studying her profile.

She had a cute, upturned nose with a smattering of freckles on it. The same faint freckles that lightly decorated her shoulders and the hint of cleavage he’d seen below the neck of the halter. Would there be more freckles on other parts of her body?

Fuck it all, where the hell had his mind just gone? He shook his head, clearing it from the insanity that had just taken hold.

He’d been observing Hailey’s body, not as if forming a detailed description of a suspect, but more in the form of assessing a potential lover. Complete crap. Maybe she was pretty. Maybe she had a nice body. Venus flytraps were fun to look at too; you just stayed the hell away if you were smart.

“Where would you like me to take her?” Hailey asked, her fingers clenching and unclenching around the steering wheel.

“Whidbey General is probably closer.”

“It is.” Hailey paused. “You know what, Emily?”

“What?”

“Your mom hurt her ankle once doing gymnastics and had to go to the hospital here.”

“I know. She told me.”

“Did she tell you that your dad took her?”

Colin gave her a sharp look. Now what was she about? Why this story?

“No.”

“He did. Your mom once told me that was the day she fell in love with him.” Hailey’s voice cracked slightly. She bit her lip.

Did she regret bringing up the past? Bringing up the reminder that she was the reason Ian and Sarah had been forced apart for over a decade?

“She did? That’s cool. So did she need crutches?”

Colin’s lips twitched as he stared out the window at the passing trees. Funny that Emily was just focusing on the injury part of the story.

“She did,” Hailey replied. “And she rocked them.”

“That’s so cool. Maybe I’ll get a cast.”

“Maybe, though I think you might’ve gotten lucky this time and not broken anything.”

“Hmm. Bummer. A cast would’ve been fun. People could’ve signed it.”

“I think you ought to be happy you didn’t break anything, Em.” He cast an admonishing glance over his shoulder. “Trying to climb that cliff? Really, now.”

Emily just rolled her eyes at him. “I totally would’ve been fine, I just lost my footing.”

“Aye. Well, you’re lucky you’re not more seriously hurt.”

His niece didn’t respond, just sulked as she stared out the window.

“Perhaps you should’ve been watching her closer.”

He almost didn’t hear the soft accusation, and swung a disbelieving gaze at Hailey.

“Excuse me?”

“I said we’re having nice weather.” She cast him an overly bright, innocent smile. “Don’t you think?”

The hell she’d said that. He stared at her, until her lips twitched and she glanced away.

He stole another glance at his niece and found her oblivious to their quiet conversation as she stared out the window. Even so, he couldn’t risk her hearing any reply he’d been about to say. Instead, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Ian to fill him in on the news.

The conversation went about as well as he expected. Despite his assurances that he would take care of everything, that Emily was already calming down, they were leaving Seattle and hopping the next boat home.

He hung up a moment later, his stomach sour.

“They’re coming back?” Hailey guessed.

“Aye.”

“Yay!”

Emily’s cheerful exclamation from the backseat only compounded Hailey’s theory that she was probably just bruised, not broken.

How to Fail at Being an Uncle 101. He would surely be able to teach the class after today.

The rest of the drive was made with light chatter between Hailey and Emily while he stewed in his own frustration. When they arrived at the ER there was more of a wait than he’d hoped. Of course it took a couple hours to be seen, x-rayed and diagnosed with what turned out to be a nasty sprain in her wrist. No cast needed, just a fun brace she could show off.

As they waited for the discharge papers, Colin cast a glance at his niece. With a little pain meds in her system and an exciting adventure in the emergency room, Emily was definitely looking a little more tired.

“You did brilliant, lass.” He rubbed the top of her head and was rewarded with the wrinkling of her nose.

“I guess.”

“Your uncle’s right. You were very brave,” Hailey joined in. “I’ve seen teenagers throw bigger fits than you.”

Emily’s eyes rounded. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Wow, they must be wimps. When I’m a teen— Mom! Dad!” Emily jumped off the exam table and ran to the door as Sarah and Ian stepped into the room. “I hurt my arm.”