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you,” she said, determination in her voice. Beth curled tighter against Joe, escalating from a groan to a scream, which parted the crowd more than anything Will was doing.
    “Daisy,” Will yelled. “Take over the bar.” A purple lanyard with keys on the end flew through the air. “Call Lucas and Sid and tell them to meet us at the clinic.”
    The blonde waitress caught the keys with wide eyes and an open mouth, then ran behind the bar to do as ordered.
    Beth’s breathing grew more ragged as Joe slid her onto the backseat of Randy’s truck and followed her in. Will climbed into the passenger seat up front, then propped up on her knees to face Beth behind her. “It’s going to be alright now. We’ll get you to a doctor.”
    Joe was holding Beth half in his lap, stroking her hair. “Let’s go.”
    Randy drove as quickly as he could while trying not to jostle Beth around. At one point, Will looked his way. “Could it be her appendix?”
    He shook his head. “Hard to tell. Do you know if she still has hers?”
    Will returned her attention to the backseat. “Beth, do you still have your appendix?”
    Randy heard a growl but couldn’t make out the answer.
    “She says yes,” Will translated. “We need to go faster.”
    “Almost there,” he said, unable to ignore the fact that half of Will’s body was pressed along his right arm. Warm curves fit tightly against his elbow, hindering his steering and his ability to concentrate on the road. She’d either gotten over her fear of him overnight or had no idea what she was doing.
    He figured on scenario number two.
    Arriving at the Anchor Island Health and Wellness Clinic, Randy had barely slid the vehicle into park before Joe’s door flew open.
    “Come on, baby. I’ve got you,” he said as he coaxed Beth from the truck. She didn’t seem capable of uncurling, never mind walking on her own. With his fiancée in his arms, Joe barreled around to the entrance where Will was holding the door open. She hit the large square button that would automatically open the inside door for anyone in a wheelchair.
    As they stormed into the lobby, Beth let out another scream, which got the attention of the girl sitting on the other side of the sliding window. “Hold on!” she yelled, disappearing from sight, then bursting through the door on their left. “Bring her back here.”
    Joe carried Beth through the door. Will moved to follow, but Randy grabbed her by the elbow.
    “What are you doing?” she demanded, jerking her arm free. “I need to go with her.”
    So body contact was once again off limits. “The doc will only kick us back out. They’ll let us know when they have some answers.”
    “But—”
    “Your intentions are good, Will, but we’ll only be in the way.” Randy had been involved in enough trauma and accidents to know doctors needed room to work. You didn’t climb mountains, scale cliffs, and race anything with a motor without someone getting hurt.
    Will clamped her mouth shut, shot him a dirty look, then began pacing the small waiting area. After a thirty-second pout, she said, “Do you think we got her here on time?”
    “Beth has been healthy as long as I’ve known her,” he said, which, granted, wasn’t that long. “Whatever it is, they’ll take care of her.”
    “But what if we didn’t get here fast enough? What if—”
    “What if we grab some water and sit down to wait,” he suggested.
    Will gave a long sigh, crossed her arms, and dropped into a chair two down from Randy. He struggled not to roll his eyes at the mandatory distance. As if one chair length would protect her from whatever she thought he might try.
    “I guess water couldn’t hurt.”
    Randy filled two cups from the water cooler and handed one to Will. “You’re a good friend,” he said, and meant it. Will didn’t reveal much of herself, especially not to him, but she’d just dropped everything, including the busy restaurant she was running, to take care of a friend.