“Yes, ma’am,” Demetrius said. “Dust vacuumed up, tools put away.”

“Thank you. Have a good weekend.” Sierra threw a casual wave over her shoulder to all of them, more than ready for them to move on and stop gawking at her ankle, which, admittedly, was getting uglier by the minute.

“You have a way to get home?” Carlos said. “’Cause I don’t think you’re driving.”

“I’ll get her home,” Cole said, standing and emanating his silent but unmistakable take-charge manner—and maybe a hint of possessiveness? Was she imagining that? “See you guys on Monday.”

Her crew got the message and called out their goodbyes as they made their way to their various vehicles.

Cole squatted in front of her again, his focus back on her ankle.

“I’ll ice it and stay off it all weekend,” she said before he could lobby for the emergency room again. “Promise.”

“Let’s get you in your truck. I’ll take it and you home.”

“And do what? Your truck will be stuck here.”

“I’ll come get it later.”

She scanned for his bright blue Ram, found it parked a ways down the residential street. With no other immediate options, she nodded.

“Ready for the hard part?” he asked her, his palms on his thighs as he stood again. Before she could ask what the hard part was, he extended a hand to her.

Yeah. Standing.

She eyed his hand for a moment, mostly trying to gather the nerve to put weight on her bad foot but partly also taking in every detail of Cole’s strong, masculine hand. He had his share of callouses, just like her, and…

And she wasn’t going to think beyond that.

When he raised his brows in question, she took his hand and snapped back to the challenge of standing. The pain on her right side just from shifting her leg slightly had her biting down on a gasp.

“Can you put any weight on it?” he asked.

“I don’t think so. Not until I get a bottle of wine down.”

Cole bent over her, and before she could fully register the male scent that filtered to her nose, he grasped her torso under her arms and prepared to hoist her up. His palms were a hairsbreadth away from her breasts and she couldn’t think about anything else—until he lifted her to her feet, and though she held her right foot up, balancing on her left, the pain stabbed at her. She let out a sharp exhale and grabbed his arm even though he hadn’t yet let go of her.

“I’ve got you,” he said. “We’re not moving yet. Just get your balance.”