Page 151 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

“Um.” I shook myself, dragging a sobering breath in. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

I slid my phone into my back pocket and tried to shove the conversation out of my head.

An hour later, once we were home and curled up in bed with the light off, the unwelcome realization crept back into my thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?” Holden murmured as his arm tightened around me. “I can feel your eyelashes moving against my chest.”

“Sorry,” I whispered.

“It’s fine. What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

I had convinced myself Holden was Grant’s total opposite, and he’d never hurt me like Grant did.

Now I wasn’t so sure.

58

Holden

Gravel crunchedbeneath my truck tires as I pulled up to the construction site for the first phase of the apartment buildings project. The site was bustling as they prepared the foundation. Before I climbed out of my truck, I checked my phone for messages.

Sadie had been acting weird since last night. Quiet and closed off, like she was worried.

I rubbed my chest, frowning. It was nothing. She was probably worried about how to break the news to Willa and Claire. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, thinking about her distant smile as I kissed her goodbye this morning.

Things were so solid with us. Almost too good. I thought back to what she once said to her aunt about me. Was she having second thoughts?

A shout on the construction site snagged my attention and I watched as several people sprinted to the base of the crane. My gut clenched hard and I climbed out of my truck. Someone shoutedcall an ambulanceand my heart began pounding as I ran over.

Robert, one of the construction leads, lay on the ground, as the first aid person hovered over him, asking him questions. His arm was slung across his chest and his face was pale.

My blood pressure sky rocketed.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

Aiden appeared at my side, looking stricken. I’d never seen him not smiling. “The ambulance is on their way,” he told the first aider before turning to me. “They were lifting rebar for the foundation when one of the straps broke. The rebar slid out and hit Rob. We think his arm is broken and he might have a concussion.”

Terror boiled up my esophagus and I scrubbed a hand down my face. Fuck. Concussions were serious. In my mind, I saw Finn’s sheet-white face as he lay on the ground beneath the tree.

I glanced at the rebar, scattered across the ground. Those rods were heavy and sharp. If the angle were different, they could have seriously injured him. If he had lost his footing and fallen on his neck or back, he could have died.

Blood whooshed in my ears. This was a big fucking mistake on my part, handing this project over.

“Let me see the strap,” I snapped.

When someone brought it forward, I flipped it over, inspecting it. “Is this an old strap?” I asked Aiden.

He shook his head. “We inspect them before every lift. It was in perfect condition.”

“And the weight—”

“Within the limits,” he supplied. “We were safe, Holden. We checked everything.”

“Obviously not.”

Shame washed over his features.

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