become the chief medical examiner for the entire county. It was a huge honor, one I’d worked diligently toward. It was also the breaking point for my former best friend’s sanity. When the promotion had been offered to me instead of her, Ashby decided to frame me for murder. I’d never seen it coming.
The doctor didn’t seem impressed by my career choice, but that wasn’t anything new. When your patients weren’t breathing, those in the medical field typically tended to look down on you and your work.
The man didn’t say much else. He gave my head a brief look and tried to rotate and flex my wrist until I protested in pain. It took him less than ten minutes to repeat back my original diagnosis. He asked me if I wanted a prescription for pain meds and told me he would send in a nurse to wrap up my wrist. I declined both, not wanting the drugs or to wait around for another hour when I could wrap my wrist on my own. After he shrugged and told me I was good to go, I maneuvered out of the room. I gave a brief thought to trying to give Kody the slip, but I knew that if I did she would just show up at my apartment, more riled up than she already was.
Normally, aggravating Kody wouldn’t bother me, but I hated the idea of something happening to her because I was being stubborn and foolish. I couldn’t risk her safety. The guilt I felt over taking the Lawtons’ father away, even indirectly, was crippling. It was the Lawtons themselves who’d forced me to accept that Conrad was gone because of his own misdeeds and bad choices. Ashby was certifiable, and that had nothing to do with me. On bad days I still struggled to believe both of these things, but my new siblings were unshakable in their emotional support.
Kody caught sight of me as soon as I cleared the noise and chaotic energy of the emergency room. She gave me a critical look since I was still holding my injured wrist tightly and asked, “Why didn’t they take care of that for you?”
I tilted my chin in the direction of the desk used for check-in and out. I told her I needed to take care of whatever I owed and then I would explain why I was leaving seemingly untreated. She didn’t seem too happy with the curt answer, but she didn’t hound me with questions or try and manhandle me with aggressive affection like she normally did until we were in the parking lot and headed toward her unmissable lime-green Jeep.
Once we reached the neon vehicle she turned to face me. “Why didn’t you let them help you? I know you think you can handle everything on your own, but isn’t this taking things a little too far?”
“I didn’t want to wait around for someone else to wrap up my wrist when I can do it myself. I just want to go home and take a nap.” I fought back a tired and slightly frustrated sigh. I was navigating the ups and downs of our newly formed relationship. The boundaries between friend and family were still new to me, and I kept tripping over them. “But I honestly appreciate your concern and how you rushed to the hospital to check on me.”
Kody sighed dramatically and tossed her fall of curly hair over her shoulder. “You can’t seriously think I’m going to leave you on your own after someone took a shot at you today. You’re not going back to your apartment until Case gives the all clear. You’re coming home with me. There’s an armed Texas Ranger there. That should be enough to make anyone think twice about shooting at you again. You can nap better knowing that you’re absolutely safe under my roof.”
Her words were fierce and so was the expression on her face. This was exactly what I meant by her aggressive affection. She cared so much, almost to the point of it being painful to someone very unused to being the center of all that concern. She looked like she was going to take no arguments from me, but I had a few.
“Kody,” I started, and she immediately held up her hand to get me to stop talking.
“You’re going to say that you’re fine on your own and you’ve been trying for months to draw Ashby Grant out of hiding. I know you think if