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distance and was about to call out to her when her head snapped over toward him, and she jumped from his closeness.
    She took a step away from the road, her feet landing unsteadily on the grass. “Aah!” she screamed as her ankle gave way and she swayed dangerously over to her left.
    Justin reached out and grabbed her arms before she crashed onto the floor.
    “Why am I always falling whenever you’re around?” she complained as she folded her knee back, pulling up her feet.
    “You all right?” he asked as he noticed her kneading her ankle. “Don’t touch it, you might make it worse.”
    Slipping a hand behind her waist and another under her knees, he scooped her up before she could reply.
    “Justin, what are you doing?” she asked, half laughing. “I’m fine.”
    He wasn’t going to put her down until he got a doctor to look at her ankle. “You might’ve sprained your ankle.”
    “That’s not possible, I can’t sprain my ankle anymore.”
    He scoffed, frowning at what she said.
    “It’s true. I sprained my ankle so many times that the joint has loosened or something. I can’t remember. It’ll just hurt for a while.”
    “No harm seeing a doctor.”
    She glanced around and frowned. “I don’t mind seeing the doctor, it’s just embarrassing to be carried there,” she said. “I’m fine, really. Walk me back, the pain will be gone by then. If it hasn’t, then I’ll let you take me to the doctor.”
    He scrutinized her face and considered what she had said.
    “I’m serious. I can’t sprain my ankle anymore.”
    He didn’t want to put her down, but he suddenly realized he was sweating from his run. Gently, he lowered her and only released her when she appeared stable on her feet. “Does it hurt?”
    “A little, but it’ll go away.”
    “You run fast,” he pointed out. He placed his hand under her elbow and led her back toward her house.
    “I know.”
    She wasn’t even panting or displaying a hint of exhaustion.
    “Were you in the track team or something?”
    “Long-distance runner.”
    “That explains a lot.” He took in a deep breath and tried not to pant.
    She walked alongside him, stopping the time on her digital watch. “I’ve been running for as long as I can remember. I’m sure I can’t do the weights you lift in the gym.”
    “You don’t have to make me feel better. I know I’m fit. You,” he said, “you’re not normal.”
    She chuckled softly.
    “You’re not even sweating.”
    “I just started running for,” she said and took a glance at her watch, “fifteen minutes. I run everyday.”
    He took in another deep breath and nodded.
    She laughed again.
    “How did you get so fast?”
    “I used to play catch all the time.” She smiled when she saw his brows raised. “My brother always roped me in when he plays catch with his friends. I was always the slowest, but I kept running with them almost everyday and soon I realized they weren’t catching me as easily as they used to.”
    His lips curled. “You don’t look like someone who exercises.”
    “Are you saying I’m fat?”
    “No, you just don’t have the sporty look.”
    She shrugged. “I can’t really do anything else besides running.”
    He grinned at her sheepish smile. Paige didn’t fail to surprise him at every turn.  
    Even before seeing Paige, he had thought she was a selfish, old lady. Instead, she turned out to be this gorgeous woman with a smile he couldn’t take his eyes off.
    He had thought she was a fearless woman to take over the town’s infamous haunted house, but her reaction to the blackout revealed a fear she had carefully concealed.
    When he saw her in the rain, smiling and apologizing about her car, he’d thought she was this weak and demure lady. But here she was, sprinting through the streets without breaking a sweat.
    “My ankle doesn’t hurt much now. You can go ahead if you want.”
    And the one thing that surprised him the most was this chivalry she had managed to bring out