Page 138 of Hurry Up And Wait

I slapped a hand over my mouth, desperately trying not to laugh as Bowie hauled himself up and Riley yelled at him over and over again for being so pigheaded. I wasn’t sure what I expected when Riley woke up in the hospital and found out what had happened. It sure as hell wasn’t her stomping down to his room to cuss him out for being stupid enough to push her out of the way and taking the brunt of the hit by the car.

“If you want to help, make me a fucking sandwich,” Bowie snapped.

“Fine, I will,” she retorted.

But as she spun around, Bowie grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into his lap, not caring at all that he was injured. I tried not to listen to the intimate conversation, but it was impossible.

“Are you okay?” he asked, running his hand along her jaw. “How’s your head today?”

“I’m fine,” she grunted in frustration.

“Seriously, tell me if you get a headache or?—”

“I’m fine,” she cut in.

But I knew she wasn’t. I heard the nightmares the last several nights. I knew that though the physical hurt was over, the emotional scars remained.

Not wanting to intrude, I slipped out the front and closed the door behind me. With Shawn out of the picture, I took the opportunity to sit on the front porch and enjoy my freedom. I put my foot on the railing, gently rocking myself back and forth on the swing, and as I glanced down the street, I stiffened at the sight of the gray car idling at the curb.

No. Shawn was in the hospital. There’s no way it could be him.

But if it wasn’t him, who else could it be? The car pulled away, turning in the opposite direction and taking off. I was so focused on the car that I didn’t even hear the other threat approaching until it was too late.

“Isla.”

His voice was a soothing balm on my nerves. After the night he stayed with me, I’d seen him outside every night, waiting to see if I needed him. I did my best to be strong—to not rely on him until I figured things out. I didn’t want to lead him on and think this was going somewhere until I was certain it could.

But the time had come to finally discuss the elephant in the room. One way or another, I had to make a decision. Pushing to my feet, I walked over to him, my heart hammering in my chest with every step I took. There was a huge part of me that just wasn’t sure I could trust him. It was all too fast, too much at once, and if I allowed him back into my life, he could crush my heart and make me regret ever knowing him. But as I looked up into his eyes, the only man I saw was the one I knew as a child.

Vulnerability shone bright in his eyes as he waited for me. I held out my hand, my heart slowing as he took it, and I said what my heart felt.

“I don’t know if I can trust you.”

He nodded, his eyes dropping to the porch.

“I want to, Kavanaugh. What we have…I feel this…pull to you. When I saw you in the grocery store, there was nothing more I wanted than to be with you. But I need to know that you won’t ever do that to me again. You broke something with us, and—” I stopped as my throat closed up. I didn’t want to cry. I just wanted to fix this hole in our relationship. “I can handle anything if I know the truth. Don’t break that trust a second time.”

He nodded. “I won’t.” His voice came out rough, but it was the dark circles under his eyes that really had me flinching. When was the last time he slept? With all the pressure on his shoulders with this job and with his father, I hadn’t even bothered to ask how he was holdingup. Not that he had offered that information when I tried asking before. But now…

“I need to know everything.”

He nodded, his jaw hard as he stared at me. “Everything. I swear to you, Isla. I will earn back your trust.”

I glanced down at our hands intertwined and gave him a tug. He stepped forward, his hand sliding around my waist as he pulled me in for a hug. It was just like the other night—that peace I felt being in his arms. There was nothing quite like it. And the longer he held me, the more I knew I was right to trust him. We might not be fixed, but we were on our way there.

His hand cupped my cheek and he stared into my eyes. “I missed you, Red.”

“I missed you, too,” I said, lowering my voice to a baritone.

He cringed, pinching my ass. “Dammit, I’ll never be able to call you that again.”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with another nickname.”

“Let’s hope so. If I take you to bed and can’t snuggle you, you’ll know it’s all your fault.”

I opened the door and winked at him over my shoulder. “I’ll find some way to help you get past that.”

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