COLD CASE AT CAMDEN CROSSING Read Online Free PDF Page A

Although no one knew how she’d escaped the burning vehicle.
    Chaz started to say something, but the sound of a siren wailing rent the air, and red lights twirled in the night sky as the ambulance approached. A second later, the tow truck rolled in on its heels, and Tawny-Lynn had to succumb to an exam by the paramedics.
    Meanwhile, Chaz spoke with Henry, the fiftysomething owner of the auto repair shop, and supervised as the man towed her Jeep from the ditch.
    “Your blood pressure’s a little high, miss,” the blond medic said.
    “Wouldn’t you think that’s normal after an accident?” she said wryly.
    He nodded, then listened to her heart while the other medic cleaned her forehead and applied a small butterfly bandage.
    “Heart sounds okay,” the medic said. He used a penlight and examined her eyes, instructing her to follow the light.
    “I’m really fine,” Tawny-Lynn said. “I was wearing my seat belt so I didn’t hit the windshield.”
    “How about the steering wheel?”
    She nodded. “My chest did, but nothing is broken.” She had suffered broken ribs in the bus accident and knew that kind of breath-robbing pain.
    “We should take you in for X-rays.”
    Tawny-Lynn shook her head. “No need. I told you, I’m fine.”
    The medics exchanged looks as Chaz approached. “If you won’t go in, you need to sign a waiver, miss.”
    “Then let me sign it. I just want to go home.” Not that she considered White Forks home anymore. But she didn’t like people hovering over her.
    She’d had too much of that after the bus wreck. Of course, the hovering had been people demanding that she remember, pressuring her, wanting answers that she couldn’t give.
    “Maybe you should go to the hospital for observation,” Chaz suggested.
    She’d been taking care of herself far too long to welcome attention, especially from Chaz Camden.
    “I don’t need a hospital,” she said. “It was just a little accident.”
    The medic handed her a form attached to a clipboard, and she gave them her autograph.
    They packed up and left just as Henry finished dragging her SUV from the ditch. The thing was old and beat up, so a bent fender with a little body damage didn’t faze her. Not as long as the car would run.
    “You shouldn’t drive it until I check it out,” Henry said. “Front end probably needs realignment. And that back tire is as bald as a baby’s butt.”
    “How long will it take to replace the tire and check the alignment?”
    “Day or two. I can call you when I’m done.”
    Tawny-Lynn hedged. She didn’t have a lot of money, but she also didn’t want to get stranded on her way back to Austin. And her father’s old pickup was at the ranch, so she’d have transportation. “All right.”
    “I’ll give you a lift home,” Chaz offered.
    She didn’t want to be in the same car with Chaz—to share the same air—because he smelled too good, too darn masculine.
    Sexy.
    And whether or not she wanted to admit it, she was shaken by the accident and would love to lean on him.
    But she couldn’t allow herself to do that.
    She grabbed her purse from the Jeep, then removed one of her business cards with her phone number on it. “Call me when you have it ready.”
    By the time she finished talking to Henry, Chaz had unloaded her supplies and stowed them in the trunk of his squad car.
    Henry waved to her, then jumped in the tow truck and chugged away, pulling her Jeep behind him, the clank of metal echoing as he disappeared from sight.
    “He’ll give you a fair price,” Chaz said as if he sensed her concerns about money.
    She didn’t comment. Instead she walked around to the passenger side of his car and climbed in. The world was spinning again, the seconds before she’d slammed into the ditch taking her back seven years.
    She massaged her temple, but the sound of screams and crying reverberated in her head.
    “Tawny-Lynn,” Chaz said softly. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He closed his hand over