Page 38 of After You

“I go because it’s the only way Butch will go,” Kyle said, lifting hiscup.

“Why’sthat?”

“He had a heart attack fishing last year. He was alone and he barely got the phone dialed before he passed out. Scared the shit out of him. Now he won’t leave the city limits withoutme.”

“You specifically?” she asked. “Not just any friend?”

Kyle shrugged. “I’m a doctor. I make him feelsafe.”

That made some sense. But what she loved most was that Kyle was willing to do it. “But you don’t even have time to dig your own night crawlers. I think it’s sweet that you take time out to make sure Butch still gets tofish.”

He gave a half grin. “I could buy night crawlers at The Stop. Brady and Hunter are doing it for me because they oweme.”

She couldn’t help it. She was intrigued. She didn’t even know who Brady and Hunter were for sure, but she loved this peek into Kyle’s life. His happy life. She wanted him to be happy. Needed for him to be. “For what?” she asked, with her own smile in place.

“Well, technically because I loaned them money to buy their mom a birthday present,” he said. “But the purse they got her was like forty bucks. I don’t think they can dig that many night crawlers in a summer. But they feel like they’re paying me back. I’m actually doing it because I like that they’re spending time together doing stuff other than playing video games or watching TV. Brady’s about two years older than Hunter and has been hanging out more with his friends, and I know Hunter misseshim.”

Hannah knew she was staring, but…wow. “Are you making this stuff up?” She glanced around. “Did you plant all ofthis?”

He lifted an eyebrow and looked around. “Plantwhat?”

“All these people who love you and who you help with all this stuff that’s so much beyond just being their doctor,” she said frankly. “This is a little…do-gooder, even for you, isn’tit?”

He frowned slightly, set his cup down, and leaned in. “You think I’m trying to impressyou?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. It just seems like…alot.”

Kyle huffed out a laugh that didn’t sound particularly amused. “Well, this is my life. So yeah, it’s a lot. But I’d hate for my life to be anything butalot.”

She looked at him for a long moment. The thing was, this wasn’t above and beyond the possibility for the man sheknew.

He reached out and ran the pad of his finger over the back of her knuckles where she had her hands folded around hercup.

“I sure as hell hope your life is a lot,” he said, his voice a little lower. “Dammit. I really do hope that.” He looked a little pained by that admission.

“You’re not secretly wishing that my life is miserable in Seattle?” she asked.

“I probably should be. I guess no one would blame me,” he agreed. “But no. I would hate to think that anything short of amazing got you to stay out there.”

Hannah felt her chest tighten. There were lots of things about her life that she did like. But no, it wasn’t amazing. Not really. Some of the moments, the people, the things she did were. But overall, that was not why she’d stayed. But in that moment, she realized she couldn’t tell him that. No matter what had happened, or not happened, between her and Kyle, she knew it would hurt him to think she was less than incredibly happy. And even while that was sweet and made her feel humble, she also knew she couldn’t hurt him with the truth.

Just like after the accident had happened; she couldn’t have put that on him. Kyle fixed things. He took care of people. He couldn’t have fixed that for her. And he couldn’t have come to take care of her. So it would have only hurt him to know what had happened.

The stroking of his finger on her hand sank in at the same time she realized they were being watched. So, she pulled her cup away, removing her hand from his touch.

And she hated doing it. Very. Long. Six. Weeks.

“Hey, Larry,” Kyle said as Vi set their breakfasts in front of Kyle and Hannah.

“Yeah?”

“You know that elbow that’s been bugging you? Maybe you should ask Hannah aboutit.”

Hannah stopped unrolling her silverware from the napkin that Vi had set down. “What?”

“Oh, yeah? Albert said she had some ideas about hisback.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said with a nod, shaking hot sauce over hiseggs.

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