Page 14 of You Can Make Me
I hurried down the path, tripping over the uneven ground. My heart beat wildly, and I broke out in a sweat as terror gripped me.
What if he’s hurt? You don’t have the strength to help him, and you don’t have a way to call for help because you told Denny to keep your phone hidden. You’ll be all alone out here and no one knows where you are.
But more than that?
You can’t lose Denny like this. You have unfinished business with this man. You owe him the truth. You owe him your life. Whether you can ever be satisfied with this life or not, you owe him your gratitude.
I got to the edge of the hot spring and fell to my knees a second before Denny emerged from the dark water’s surface.
“Denny! Denny, are you okay?”
He wiped at his face.
“Cooper?”
Three
Denny
To be honest, the hot spring was a big selling point of this place, and I’d been looking forward to the day Cooper’s wounds would heal so I could bring him out to soak. His muscles were so bunched up tight from sitting weirdly to avoid agitating his injuries and from his messed-up gait. I longed to massage him, but up ’til now, with the wounds on his legs, backside, shoulder, and forearms, it would have been tough to find places I could touch without hurting him.
But he was better…
Of course, he’d have to want to be touched, and so far, that did not seem to be the case.
I’d taken to soaking in the hot spring some evenings after Cooper went to bed. The stress was getting to me, and I couldn’t have that. I couldn’t slip up or take the chance I wouldn’t be well enough to care for him.
On this particular night, I didn’t wait until he’d retired to the room. Fuck it. I had to get out of the cabin before I brokemy promise to myself that I wouldn’t lose my temper with him. He’d chosen me for this gig, not anyone else, and I wanted him to trust me. It was killing me to see him in such pain and not be able to provide him any comfort, but his moods sometimes got my hackles up. I knew he couldn’t necessarily help it, butman…
Whoever had thought to enclose the hot spring with large boulders for privacy was a genius. The river was just a few steps away to dip into and cool off, and there was a deeper section nearly big enough for swimming at the edge of the property, which I wouldn’t do at night, but when the weather got hotter, you bet your ass I’d be in there. Occasionally rafters or canoers came by, but the house was hidden from view, and so was the hot spring.
I stripped down and left my towel and clothes within reach so I could grab them immediately if necessary. I sat my phone on top of the pile in case of emergency, and my backup weapon I stashed between a couple of rocks. I wasn’t about to get caught with my pants down by a madman jumping out of the brush at me. There were motion-sensor lights around the perimeter of the house, and I had cameras installed so I could keep an eye on things out here, but the few moments I allowed myself to shut off my brain and relax in the warm water did wonders for my peace of mind.
Before I got out, I dunked my head for a few moments and allowed myself to float suspended in the warm water surrounded by silence…that is, until I heard a ruckus above me.
I pushed off a rock and popped out of the water to find Cooper’s frightened face.
“Cooper?”
“Oh my God, Denny!” He was on his knees with his hand pressed to his chest and his breath was coming in gasps. “I thought you… I thought?—”
“Hey, I’m okay. Everything’s okay. I was just floating. What’s wrong? Did you fall? Oh, shit, your poor knees.”
He sat back and shook his head. “I’m fine. I… I saw you through the window and when I looked back, you were gone. I worried you’d passed out or something. I was so scared.”
I rested my elbows on the flattest part of the rock and held out a hand to him. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”
I kept that hand outstretched for several beats, hoping maybe, just maybe, he’d reach for me this time. It felt like forever since I’d held him in my arms. I didn’t count the night I’d found him covered in blood and dying, but like that last night we’d spent together in Austin. He’d let himself be vulnerable with me, telling me that he was sometimes afraid that his relentless drive was going to be detrimental to his career, that he was going to spend his life alone because he’d managed to push so many people away.
I’d assured him that I wouldn’t be deterred, that if he wanted to continue being with me, we’d make it work.
And then it happened.
I let him push me away, and I didn’t fight for him. I let him go, but I hadn’t given up. You always think there’ll be time…
But tonight, finally, after four and a half months, he reached for me and squeezed my hand while he tried to slow his breathing.
“Let me climb out. I’ll dry off and help you to the house?—”
