Page 70 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

“Oh my god, relax, Holden.” She huffed a defensive laugh. “You’re so uptight about everything.”

“This is serious,” I insisted.

“I’m fine.”

She could have been hurt. She could have broken something. What if she had dropped her phone and it broke, and she couldn’t call for help? What if she had a concussion like Finn did?

What if… worse?

The idea of Sadie getting hurt made my veins freeze.

I should have checked the lattice. I hadn’t inspected it in years. Fuck.

“You could have landed on a bush,” I spat out.

She paused. “A bush,” she repeated.

I sounded like a fucking asshole, but I couldn’t stop myself. The idea of her getting hurt made me sick.

“That Japanese maple out front has been there for over ten years,” I continued, because I couldn’t seem to shut up.

“Wow,” she drawled. “Well, thanks for your help on the trellis. Don’t bother coming to the bar tonight unless you want bleach in your beer.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Sadie, wait—”

She hung up.

* * *

I was waitingon the porch when she got home that night.

She craned her neck to look at the garden on the side of the inn. She held a pizza box. “Is the Japanese maple okay? Thank god you were here to guard it.”

She shot me a cold look and I stood up. “I’m sorry. I was a dick.”

“Yes, you were.” She wouldn’t look at me as she climbed the steps and tried to pass me.

I put my arm out to stop her. “Hey, hold on a second. Let me apologize properly.”

She sighed and raised her gaze to mine. She shrugged. “Go ahead.”

I kept my hand on her upper arm while I raked the other through my hair. My stomach twisted. “I don’t like when people get hurt. Finn’s fucking insane, he gets into dangerous situations all the time and it freaks me out.”

I pictured her falling, falling, before the crunch, like I had been all evening, and a shudder rolled through me. The chill in her gaze melted a bit and she frowned.

“I don’t like being snapped at like that.” Her tentative gaze flicked up to mine. “I was really tired that night and I didn’t want to go all the way back to the bar.”

“You could have called me.” My tone was soft. “I would have come running.”

She snorted. “No, I think you would have been happy to get rid of me.” She smirked.

I glared at her. “Don’t say that.” I swallowed past the rocks in my throat. “I would never want you to get hurt. If you get locked out again, you call me, okay? Call me if you need anything, ever.”

She watched me for a second.

“Please say yes,” I whispered.

She nodded. “Okay.” She slanted me a look. “Actually, I do need help with something.”

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