Healing Her Heart (Crystal Lake Series Book 1) Read Online Free

moment, trying to gauge her mood. He rose to his feet and crossed over to the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to her. After taking a swig of his own water, he took a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer. “Here, use this as an ice pack,” he said, draping the bag over her ankle.
    She let out an unexpected chuckle. “Too funny. I have a bag of frozen peas that I use as an ice pack, too.”
    He couldn’t help but return her smile. “I bet every runner has a bag of peas in their freezer.”
    “Maybe,” she agreed. She took a long drink of water before recapping the bottle. “So, is there anything else you think you need to fix, Dr. Allen? Or should we get going?”
    He had the insane urge to offer to make her dinner but stopped himself just in time. “I’ll drive you home. Here, lean on me. My car is in the garage.”
    “No problem.” She held on to the peas and the water bottle with one hand and held him around the waist with the other. It was a short distance, but he found he missed her touch once she was safely tucked into the passenger seat.
    Larissa kept glancing out her window on the ride home, and he got the sense she was avoiding him for some reason. After about ten minutes, he pulled up to her apartment complex.
    He insisted on helping her up to her apartment despite her protests that she’d be fine. “Do you need anything else?” he asked after she unlocked the door.
    “Nope, but thanks again. See you later,” she barely got out before she shut the door firmly between them.
    He stared at the closed door for several long seconds before turning to make his way back outside to his car. The thought that she’d been so anxious to get rid of him didn’t sit well.
    And much like the way she’d interrupted his run—granted, through no fault of her own—she annoyingly infiltrated his thoughts for the remainder of the day.

Chapter Three

    Larissa slid behind the wheel of her car, intending to attend Sunday morning church services. However using her right foot to drive proved nearly impossible. After several jerky attempts at driving with her left foot, she let out a frustrated groan, turned off the car, and awkwardly climbed back out from behind the wheel. No way was that going to work. She was more likely to hit something than not.
    She stared up at the cloudless sky, fighting a wave of helplessness. This stupid ankle was going to ruin her few days off work if she couldn’t manage to drive a car. She propped herself against the vehicle, enjoying the cool breeze as she tried to figure out what to do next.
    Less than one day and she was already heartily sick of being stuck in her apartment. Maybe she could manage to hobble down to Rose’s Café? Josie would keep her company at least for a while. There was nothing the café owner liked more than gossip.
    “Larissa!”
    She turned when she heard her name, surprise widening her eyes when she caught sight of Gabe Allen walking toward her. He’d parked his car a few spaces down from hers.
    “Hi, Gabe.” She was glad that this time she didn’t smell like sweat and was dressed in a flowery skirt and a matching pink, short-sleeved top. She tried not to fidget with her clothing. “What are you doing here?”
    “I brought over a pair of crutches in case you needed some help getting around.” He gazed at her attire and lifted his brow. “Are you headed somewhere special?”
    She blushed and wished she could stop this ridiculous reaction to him. “I planned on attending church services, but driving is apparently not an option.” Had he mentioned crutches? She brightened with the possibility. “I bet I could walk to church, though, if you’re serious about allowing me to borrow those crutches.” Church and then Rose’s café. Much better than sitting around and staring at the four walls of her apartment.
    “I think it would be better if I drove you to church,” Gabe said slowly. “Crutch walking isn’t easy for long