Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Yeah.” Sean shook his head, clearly not in agreement but without the energy to argue. I’d been there. He stretched away from the EMT guy before asking, “Any updates?”
“Yep.” The EMT nodded. No smile. I braced for Sean to get some sort of bad news. “Lifeflight landed in Portland. The trauma team and burn team both met the chopper, and the dude is in surgery now. It’s the best news we can hope for, really.”
“Young guy.” Even the usually jokey Caleb was somber.
“Yeah.” Sean stared off into space. “About the same age as Declan.”
Oh. That had to be the kid he’d mentioned a couple of times. Twenty-something and some kind of motocross racer. Damn. Bad night on duty and likely a bad night to be a dad. My feet twitched as I watched Tammy bring Sean and Caleb their plates. I wanted to go to him, a strange but undeniable need.
However, I managed to bide my time until Tate disappeared to the restroom right as Caleb’s phone rang.
“I better take this.” Caleb stepped outside the diner.
The sun was barely peeking over the horizon. The day shift would be here soon, and I couldn’t waste this chance. Tammy was busy taking orders from a trio of construction workers, so I scooped up the coffee pot and headed to the booth on the slimmest of pretexts.
“Hey.” I slowly refilled all three coffee cups.
“Hey, yourself.” For the first time all morning, Sean met my gaze, and yeah, the dude was hurting, exactly as I’d suspected. The pain and vulnerability in his expression made me want to offer him everything I had. I wasn’t a caretaker. I didn’t have siblings or family. I’d been a lone wolf for so long that I had no clue how to exist in a pack. But even knowing all that, I wanted to fix things for Sean so badly that my hand clenched on the coffee pot.
“Gonna need a ride?” I asked in a low whisper. Please say yes. Let me help. I tried to beam the message directly into his eyeballs.
Teeth digging into that lower lip of his I liked so much, he took his sweet time nodding. “Yeah. That might be nice.”
I’d give him better than nice. Ride. Sex. Talking. Whatever he needed. Hell, I’d give him the whole damn world if only to see him smile again.
Chapter Twelve
Sean
I stood near Denver’s truck in the cool morning breeze, feeling a little foolish and a lot needy. My own perfectly serviceable truck sat only a few spots away. But as Denver emerged from the diner, I exhaled for the first time in what felt like days.
“You waited.” His tone was solemn, matching my mood just fine.
“You asked.” I waited while he unlocked the truck, and then I climbed into the passenger seat.
“I did.” Denver ambled over to the driver’s side, taking his time turning the truck on and letting it warm without peppering me with questions, which I appreciated more than he’d ever know. “Want to drive a bit?” he asked at last before putting the truck in gear. “Clear your head?”
“Sure.” My voice was so flat even I was sick of my own presence. Denver didn’t need me being a sad sack on his day off. “I mean, that, or you pound me through your mattress. Both might work.”
Denver didn’t laugh, nor did he head toward Prospect Place. “I’m not fucking you with you all kinds of twisted up.”
“But I’m flexible.” I offered him a grin I really didn’t feel.
“I’m not.” Denver drove steadily out of town, away from the houses and stoplights and neighbors taking advantage of a sunny spring morning to jog or garden or breakfast on their decks. Ordinary lives on a morning when nothing felt ordinary and everything seemed to be closing in. My skin was tight and dry, nasal passages burning, eyes bleary, and despite the multiple glasses of water Tate had forced on me, I was parched. But as we fled town for the green hills covered in evergreen trees and familiar rocky terrain, I exhaled, reaching for the window controller.
“Everything okay?” Denver’s tone was wary like I might be about to hurl in his truck.
“Sorry. Just wanted to smell the fresh air.”
“Smell away.” He rolled his own window down, creating a marvelous cross breeze. “We can get out and walk at some point if you want.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I wasn’t at all sure I’d earned his concern. I hadn’t told him a thing about my shift, and our few short text messages had been casual, a pronounced gap between hookup buddies and friends. Yet, this, taking me on a drive instead of fucking, was definitely a friend gesture.
Denver shrugged. “You brought me muffins. I owe you.”
“Now who’s not being serious?”
“Honestly, I don’t know either.” His tone turned thoughtful. “You’re hurting. I want to fix it. I don’t know how, and I’m probably doing a crap job, but I’d like to help.”