She Loves Me (Harmony Pointe #3) - Melissa Foster Page 0,1

spread, and all the cancerous cells had been eradicated during surgery.

“Yes. She’s getting stronger every day,” Debra said. “Honey, it’s Harley. He’s had an accident at work and he needs a ride home from Harmony Pointe Hospital. I didn’t know who else to call.”

“Oh no. Of course I’ll get him. Is he okay? What happened?” Many moons ago, the youngest Dutch sibling, Marshall, had been Piper’s first love. He’d been as risky and rowdy as Delaney and Harley were responsible. Marshall had left town to attend college, but he’d quit after his third year and returned home so rarely since, even his family had no idea where he was living. Harley had always picked up the slack. Piper was sure that times like these, though rare, made it even more difficult for Debra.

“I don’t know exactly. I just know he had an accident.”

“Don’t worry, Deb. I’ll leave now.” She ended the call and hurried over to the guys with her heart in her throat, hoping Harley wasn’t hurt too badly. “That was Debra Dutch. Harley’s in the hospital. I have to go get him.”

“Is he okay?” Kase asked.

“I don’t know.”

“The cockblocker strikes again,” Mike said teasingly. “Tell him I said thanks a lot.”

Piper glowered at him, although Harley did have a habit of scaring off her dates. “Kase, I’ll text you when I know something,” she said as she headed for her truck.

“Give him my best,” Darren called after her.

“Tell him his timing sucks!” Mike added.

Piper flicked Mike the bird as she climbed into her truck. She knew he was kidding, but she was worried about Harley.

Harmony Pointe was a small town, and her job site wasn’t far from the hospital. A few minutes later, she rushed through the emergency-room doors, heading for the registration desk. The waiting room was crowded, and the woman behind the desk was on the phone. Piper’s anxiety rose as she waited. She hated hospitals. The lights were too bright, the atmosphere too sterile, and the underlying thrum of pain was inescapable. Oh God, is Harley in pain?

She tried to keep from drumming her fingers on the desk as she waited for the woman behind it to get off the phone. She thought about all the times Harley had broken up barroom brawls, taking punches like they were given by children instead of grown men. He’d gotten a few deep gashes over the years from broken bottles and out-of-control patrons, and he’d always refused medical treatment, which left him with tough-looking scars from cuts that should have been stitched. Piper couldn’t imagine a fight breaking out at the bar on a Wednesday afternoon, much less what had to have happened to land him in the hospital.

As soon as the woman behind the desk hung up, Piper said, “Hi. I’m here to pick up Harley Dutch. He came into the emergency room earlier.”

The woman typed something into her computer, then pointed to a set of double doors. “You can go through those doors and they’ll direct you.”

“Thank you.” Piper rushed through the double doors, scanning the curtained-off patient areas, and spotted Harley lying on a bed. His head was tipped back, his eyes closed. His jeans were rolled up on his right leg to his calf, and his right ankle was wrapped. That explained why he needed a ride home. She went to him, wondering how he’d gotten to the hospital. Her gaze moved over his face. He was truly a handsome man, with dark hair and a short beard. Though his eyes were closed, she knew how powerful his deep-set slate-blue eyes were. She’d seen women hanging on his every glance and men cowering when those eyes turned fierce. She couldn’t help allowing her gaze to crawl down his beefy arms and broad chest to his waist. Harley wasn’t lean or cut, and he didn’t have six-pack abs. He was thick-bodied, brawny, and rugged. She never allowed herself to look him over—they were just friends after all. But now she couldn’t help herself. Her eyes drifted to the impressive bulge behind his zipper—she knew he wasn’t lean there, either. Harley was a few years older than Piper, and he had gotten quite a reputation in high school for the monstrous heat he was packing. Her pulse quickened, and she forced her eyes back to his face. He might be built like a grizzly and hung like a horse, but Piper had a feeling that despite his tough reputation and bravado, when it came right down