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)
“Nope. Lost a good friend in high school to a collision like that.” Denver put his hand on my thigh. Not a pat precisely, but there, holding on. “A drummer on one of our tours lost a brother to a motorcycle crash, and I worked a few seasons at a resort with a dude who barely survived an accident of his own. Scary stuff.”
“You don’t ride?” Given Denver’s freewheeling nature, I might have assumed he’d have a Harley or two in his past, but he shook his head.
“I love adrenaline, but I don’t have…” He trailed off, mouth twisting.
“A death wish. It’s okay. That’s the opinion a lot of people have.” Hell, I’d had it myself for years. I stared off down the valley toward the creek Denver had mentioned. “But riders like Declan love it. The risk is worth it to him. Not to me, his dad, but he gets something out of riding that I’ve come to accept I’m not going to understand.”
“That’s a good perspective.” Denver squeezed my leg. “We’re not always going to understand what another person needs and why.” He said the words matter-of-fact, like he wasn’t already damn good at knowing what I needed, like this drive and walk. “Hell, most of us don’t understand that about ourselves.”
My chest filled with too much oxygen, too fast, too many feelings to hold, too much of a perfect moment to last. But it was here, and so were we, and I wasn’t going to let the moment pass. I leaned in, pressed a soft kiss to Denver’s surprised mouth, swallowing his gasp, then clinging to his shoulder when he deepened the kiss. Long and lingering, but not precisely sexual. Or rather, not only sexual. More soothing, a layer of affection I hadn’t expected. I returned his gasp as a shudder raced through me.
“What was that?” Denver pulled away slightly but kept an arm slung around my shoulders.
“I needed it,” I said simply.
“Good.” Denver gave a sharp nod like that was ample reason. I inhaled deeply, tasting not only the spring air but also acceptance. As with the sex, it was okay to be a little needy and clingy with him, to ask for things I might not with others.
“Most days, I accept that Declan’s going to take risks I don’t agree with. And then, last night, we got called to a crash. A pickup truck and a biker tangoed on the interstate. Both lost, but the biker got the worst of it.”
“Fuck.” Denver whistled low and squeezed my shoulder.
“We were first on the scene before the ambulance unit. We did what we could. I did what I could.” I tried to stick to the facts, not share too many gory details, but it was all too easy to relive the scene, fresh adrenaline surging through me. But Denver held me close, steadying me.
“And you kept seeing your boy.”
“Yeah.” My breath whooshed out of me. Denver got it. “And now that John, Eric’s kid, is learning to drive, I saw him in the kid in the pickup too. It’s so damn easy to get distracted as a young driver. And yeah, the whole time we were working on the motorcycle rider, I kept seeing Declan. Hearing him. Similar age. Similar build. Similar fearlessness.”
“Did you call him?” Denver asked.
“Who? The patient?”
“No, your son. Declan.” Denver kept his voice calm amid my confusion. “Did you call him after?”
“Why would I?” I wasn’t being flip or defensive. It had honestly never occurred to me to call anyone after a hard shift. Maxine had preferred not to hear about it, and I had my first responder buddies to vent to. Declan might be an adult now, but he was still my kid, and I wanted to protect him from the ugly side of my job. “He doesn’t need to hear all my worries or that I had a bad shift or any of that. He’s young and living his best life.”
“But it would make you feel better.”
I pursed my lips, about to issue a denial, then shook my head. “You’re right. How’d you get so wise?”
“I’ve got a stack of numbers I can’t dial.” He stared into the distance, beyond the valley and the creek, into a past I couldn’t follow.
“I’m sorry.” I shifted so I could lean into his embrace.
“And maybe your kid is like me. Maybe he’d want to help.”
“He would. He’s got a good heart.” I squinted at the sun, rethinking all sorts of things I’d thought I’d known. “So do you.”
“Eh. Don’t go spreading rumors of my niceness.”
“I’ll keep it between us.” I patted his thick thigh before digging out my phone. Declan was likely still asleep, phone on silent. I could simply leave a short message. But my phone stubbornly refused to find even a roaming signal. “Damn. No signal out here.”