Page 81 of The Catch

Cat had been excited, though. He glanced at the empty chair beside him. She would have been there if things had turned out differently. Wearing some pretty dress, looking at him with pride, and bouncing in her seat excitedly.

Great. So much for focusing on work to keep from thinking about her.

The mayor’s speech was long and held little regard for the arctic climate in which it was being delivered. The sweat on Josh’s neck began to bead and roll down into his collar. His tie was a noose, and the loud, throaty cough that he couldn’t seem to quiet became too embarrassing after a while, so he slipped out of his chair and made his way around the corner. He was leaned against one of the builder’s trailers, trying to keep his eyes open, when applause sounded from the stage area. The ceremony was over, and now it was time to mingle. He just needed to stay upright for a little longer.

Jim appeared a moment later, and Josh watched him look left then right before finally spotting him slumped between the metal wall and the railing that led inside. “Josh, you gotta go home. You’re not going to be able to shmooze these guys while you’re hacking up a lung.”

“There’s no one here but me,” he explained. “Dylan is out of town for the holiday, and the project manager has the week off.”

“Listen, man, I got you covered. I know the design inside and out. I can speak on it.”

“I can’t leave you here by yourself.”

“You pulled me into this project, Josh. I appreciate it. Let me do this for you. I won’t let you down.”

“You’re sure?” The exertion it took to push the subject had him light-headed again. He had no choice. He trusted Jim. “All right. Thanks.” He reached a hand out to shake Jim’s, but his friend took a step back and shook his head.

“I don’t need that plague, bro. You get some rest.”

He tried to laugh, but it came out as another cough. He settled for a wave over his shoulder as he set off to try and make it to his Jeep.

The turnout hadn’t been huge, but they’d insisted on keeping the spots out front for the guests of honor. The satellite construction lot a block away was the closest he could get. He could have been walking to the center of the earth the way his skin burned. He definitely had a fever, and the extra breaths it took to propel him down the street were razor-sharp knives poking at his lungs. When he spotted his Jeep, he pushed himself to make the last few feet, then fell against it, sucking in air like a diver resurfacing.

After he caught his breath, it occurred to him that his hood was sloped at an awkward angle. He pried himself away to get a better look and saw the front right tire was low. No, strike that, it was completely flat.

Shit.Just what he needed. At the risk of not having the strength to get back up, he lowered himself to his knee to get a better look and found a three-inch framing nail jammed in the tread, air hissing out around it. He glanced at the spare on the hatch from his crouched position. There was no way he was changing that tire. He had half a mind to lower himself the rest of the way to the ground and fall asleep where he was.

“God damn it,” he muttered, wiping at his brow again. He managed to get up from the ground and hoist himself into the car, starting the engine for the heat while he devised a plan.

Maybe he could just sleep here for a little while, wake up rested enough to change the tire himself. He’d probably run out of gas or freeze, though. He glanced at the clock. Shawn was still at work on the other side of the Bay, which meant two hours until he could get there. He could call Minnie, but she was home with Matt, probably still in Christmas pajamas and enjoying leftovers from the holiday. He couldn’t ask her to pack her kid up and haul him into the city, exposing him to these germs in the process.

Maybe he could call Adam. Would that be weird? He ran a hand down his clammy face. He’d traveled so far around the obvious answer, but there it was, staring him in the face. Cat was the only one he knew in the city. He was a mile from her office, but he hadn’t spoken to her since that night in the parking lot.

He closed his eyes again, willing his head to stop throbbing, but it was no use. Now he was starting to shake from the cold sweat forming on his body. Cat would give him a ride home. She’d never turn him down, but seeing her was the last thing he needed right now. He didn’t have the strength to look at her pretty brown eyes and let her fuss over him the way he was sure she would.

He had no other choice though, unless he wanted to start calling hired cars to see about the hour-long trip. The hemming and hawing was exhausting him even more, so he picked up the phone and with one quick keystroke, it was done. The line was ringing.

Cat had been halfway out the door for her lunch break when her phone rang from the depths of her purse. She almost didn’t answer it. She almost silenced it without even looking at the caller ID. But she had looked at it, and her heart had leaped into her throat when she saw Josh’s name on the screen. It only sank a fraction when he’d told her about his flat tire, and asked if she could give him a ride home. Maybe it was pathetic, but an hour in the car with him was worth the whole night crying into her pillow after she dropped him off.

She didn’t have the proper credentials to pull into the construction lot, so she’d parked just outside of it on the street. When she glanced up at the bell tower of the Abbott Building as she got out of her car, she thought how ironic it was that the second time she and Josh would be here together would be under such painfully different circumstances.

Josh’s Jeep was parked in a row of pickup trucks and marked SUVs, and her blood began to pump harder as she approached it. She had no idea how it would be to see him again—if she could handle having him look at her with that flat, exhausted expression he’d given her when she’d watched him drive away.

But anything was better than missing him like this.

She knocked on the passenger side window, then opened the door and slid in beside him with her heart racing. It only took one glance to see Josh looked like absolute hell. His eyes looked like he’d been on a week-long bender, bloodshot and rimmed in purple. His skin was pale, except for angry strokes of pink on his cheeks and nose.

“Josh, are you still sick?” It had been weeks—surely he should be better by now. She instinctively pressed a hand onto his forehead and he didn’t resist, his head falling limp against the headrest.

“I’m not feeling great,” he said blandly. “I appreciate you giving me a ride home.”

Her hopefulness for a chance to clear the air faded into worry. “You need to see a doctor, Josh.” His skin burned, even against her numb fingertips. He didn’t respond, and in the silence every breath he took crackled like an open flame. “There’s an urgent care a few miles from here. I parked on the street. Can you make it to my car?”

He nodded affirmatively, then huffed in a few shallow breaths and pushed himself out into the cold air.

Cat pulled into the circular drive of the urgent care, snagging the last spot reserved for patients just as a red pickup truck reversed out of it. The fluorescent lights gleamed from the automatic glass doors, bright and clinical against the smudged grey sky. It had only taken ten minutes to get there, but Josh had fallen asleep in half that time.

“Hey,” Cat said, feathering her fingers over his cheek to keep from startling him into a painful gasp. “We’re here.”

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