“Oh, that’s Cathy Terry. She’s new here. She’s living in one of Dan Amos’s rent houses.”

“What’s she do?” he asked.

LilyAnn shrugged. “I don’t know. She comes in here now and again. Really nice lady, but she sort of keeps to herself.”

Curiosity satisfied, Duke began picking up the items he’d come for. It didn’t take long for him to get everything on the list, and then he was back in his truck.

He stopped at the bank and used the ATM drive-thru at the bank for cash, and then realized he was still a little early for his haircut appointment, so he headed to the gas station to get his oil checked.

He was thinking about the day ahead when he realized the redhead he’d seen earlier was on the sidewalk running toward him. He had a clear view of her face, and despite the pink flush on her cheeks, his first thought was how pretty she was.

Then all of a sudden, she was falling, and he groaned aloud at how hard she hit the ground. He stomped the brakes, slammed it into park, and got out at a run.

He was down on his knees beside her in seconds. When he saw the blood on the palm of her hand, he knew that was going to burn later. Then he saw her ankle and was shocked by how much it was already swelling.

“Your ankle! Don’t move, it might be broken,” he said.

And then she looked up at him, and Duke took a deep breath. He’d never seen eyes that blue, and they were swimming in tears. It took everything he had not to sweep her up in his arms, but he was afraid to move her.

“Did you hit your head?”

She wasn’t sure. Maybe. She’d just watched a movie with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in it, and now either she was hallucinating, or his doppelganger was leaning over her.

“Uh… I don’t think so. Just the right side of my body. My ankle turned, and I think I need a little help getting up.”

“My name is Duke Talbot. I saw you fall, and from the looks of your ankle, I think you need to go to ER,” Duke said. “Will you let me take you, or would you rather go in an ambulance?”

Cathy frowned. “I don’t think I—”

“One or the other,” Duke said.

She sighed. Dictatorial male. Just what I don’t need. But both her hip and her ankle were throbbing now, and he did have a sweet, concerned expression on his face.

“If it’s not too much trouble, maybe you could just drop me off at ER, then.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Duke said, and then reached toward her hair, but when she flinched and then ducked, he frowned. Those were instinctive reactions someone might make from fear of being struck. “I’m sorry. You have a piece of grass in a curl. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Cathy sighed. “Then, thank you,” she said, and closed her eyes as Duke pulled it out.