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.He felt like he got the shit beat out of him.The EMT's disagreed.They assured him that given the circumstances, he put up a pretty good fight.They'd come across people in worse conditions.They had insisted he go to the hospital to get his ribs taped.With Marilyn's insistence, he finally agreed, as long as he could drive there himself.Jim assured him that they would get the crime scene straightened out and his property back to Poudre Hops as soon as they reasonably could.He preferred it if they would keep the lines of communication open in case they had any more questions.Otherwise, they were free to go.With a small amount of arguing, Marilyn slid into the driver's seat of Blake's car.Boy, he was a stubborn man!"Ah, a girl could get used to a ride like this."She adjusted the rear view mirror, scooted up her seat and was good to go."You can drive it anytime."He would do anything for her."Really?""Yeah, really.It’s only a car.Besides, you single-handedly saved my life; it's the least I could do.""I don't know about saving your life, it was teamwork.We make a good team." She glanced over at him.He was already watching her.He had a cut above his left eye and his lower lip was split.Even beat up, he was delicious-looking.How did she get so lucky to have this man want her?He reached for her hand, "We make a great team.Tell me, Marilyn, how long have you been a gun wielding bad-ass, sexy-as-sin, woman?"She laughed, "Surprised?""Pretty much.Utterly grateful though.You're a pretty good shot."That was a nice compliment coming from a sharpshooter like himself."I go to the shooting range regularly.It's fun and a girl never knows when she might need protection.My dad got me into it.Anyway, I always carry.But it's not something I go around telling everyone - it's concealed for a reason."He spread his hands out, and winced, "I totally get it.One of the many reasons I'm in love with you."He continued to track her with his gaze.Watching to see what her reaction was.Maybe she wasn't listening to him.Marilyn kept a steady gaze on the road.She was glad he understood why she never mentioned she owned a gun.And he loved her anyway.Wait.Did he just say that he was in love with her? She must be hearing things.She looked over at Blake who was still staring intently at her.Her voice wavered, "Did you just say you love me?" she might need to pull over.She would hate to wreck this fancy-schmancy hybrid he calls ‘just a car.’"Not exactly.I said I'm in love with you.Not exactly the same as saying I love you.Do you want to hear me say that?" He reached over and tucked her wild hair behind her ear."I love you Marilyn Monroe Jacobs."It felt really good to get that out.He kept denying it, tucking it away, not listening to his heart and the minute he realized Marilyn was in a bad situation it was as if a light had suddenly turned on.He knew he loved her and frankly it wasn't as hard to accept once he admitted it.It felt good to tell her.They arrived at urgent care before Marilyn could respond.What could she say? She loved him too.That would be a start.She was afraid it would sound so.teenager-ish.I love you and are you going to say it? Oh I love you too.Her mind was reeling with this new information.While she was pretty much silent, Blake grumbled all the way to the receptionist desk.They explained what the EMT's had told them and the woman behind the desk kindly told them someone would call his name when it was his turn.Thankfully Urgent Care wasn't packed.They waited for a short time before his name was called."I can wait here.""No, you're coming with me.You are going to be the one taking care of me while I heal." He gave her that wicked grin she couldn't resist, “At least, I hope you will.” He held out his hand.Together they walked into the exam room.Chapter Twenty ThreeBlake had three cracked ribs and had to get six stitches above his eye.That was the worst of it.He had major bruising along both sets of ribs, as well as his arms.He had plenty of various cuts as well, otherwise, he was in decent shape considering.The doctor set up a prescription for pain medication but Blake insisted he didn't need it.Nor was he going to fill it.They were in the car, heading to Blake's place when the reality of what Tyler had done, really sunk in."I can't believe Tyler thought he was really going to get away with stealing from the brewery and still rake in money as an owner.What a dick."Marilyn giggled, "Yeah, what a dick.I never mentioned this before but that day he stopped into the bookstore, he threatened me.He actually terrified me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]