Page 13 of Hold Me Down

Or fifteen minutes, according to his phone.

Oops.

Kalei turned and went back inside as Travis got near, so Travis followed him in and closed the door behind him.

"Take whatever you want from the fridge and let's sit outside."

It wasn't a question, and Kalei didn't wait for him to say anything before heading down the corridor towards the back patio.

Resigned to his fate, Travis went to grab a beer from the fridge, but then redirected and went for orange juice instead. While the upcoming conversation might be harder with no alcohol, it had a chance to be a calmer one this way.

He hoped.

Outside, he sat down on the lawn chair next to Kalei and stared ahead as he took a sip of the juice.

Kalei clasped his hands against his stomach. "Dave's settled in at home?"

"As best as he can, I guess. Since we have no bedroom downstairs, I suggested moving his bed into the living room, but he dismissed the idea, and I don't blame him. While the stairs will be a pain for a while, he likes his space. I helped him up before I left, though, and he has everything he may need—including a pair of crutches, which Melissa dropped off already. He hated them on sight, but he also knows he needs them, so."

"He probably hates them exactly because he needs them."

"Yeah."

For all that Dave was generally a laid back, optimistic guy, he didn't do well with losing control—or his independence. Travis had a feeling that part of the healing process would be much harder for Dave than the physical side of things.

"I came down hard on you back in the hospital," Kalei spoke next, and Travis's shoulders tensed in an instant. "I should have minced my words more."

"Not if that's how you see things. We didn't come this far to throw glitter at each other's shit."

Kalei snorted. "I was angry at you both, but I was equally angry at myself. Maybe more, if I'm being honest."

"Well, that part is stupid." Travis rapped his fingers against the glass as he balanced it on his thigh. "You're not responsible for every dumb thing we do."

"As your boss, I'm responsible for your safety on the job, and if I thought you might no longer be safe, I should've benched you."

"I don't want to sit on my ass."

"You're not talking me out of benching you now."

Travis swallowed the rest of the juice and put the glass down on the deck before leaning forward in his seat.

"I'll deal with whatever you think I should deal with, but benching me isn't the answer. I'll go mad."

"Listen to yourself, man. You're only giving me more reasons to do so—or rather, you would, if I didn't already know that." Kalei shook his head. "I tried talking to you, and it didn't work. It only brought us here, which neither of us likes. So, this time it's benching and therapy."

Fuck it all to hell.

"Boss—"

"You sent Dave flying up that wall and didn't stop for even half a second to see if he needed support because you wantedto score points, Travis." Kalei leaned forward as well and stared him down. "That's not who you are."

Travis looked away. He had done that. A spur of the moment or not, adrenaline or not, he had done exactly that.

"And I know you wouldn't leave him out in the field if things were rough, that's not what I'm saying. I'm telling you that in an everyday situation, when there was zero actual danger to consider, you were so pumped on adrenaline that you didn't think clearly. Which means you're too far down a road I don't want to see you on, so we need to pump the brakes."

"I would die to keep him safe."

The words were quiet and Travis's voice gritty, and he'd rather that thought stayed inside his head, but it felt like Kalei needed to hear it.

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