Page 11 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity
“Oh, Sky,” he whispered, walking to her and unbuckling her seat belt. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise. Is it okay if I carry you to the couch?”
Rather than answer, she gazed at him, dazed, until he put her arms around his neck and lifted her from the chair, supporting her back and knees. He’d done it so many times when she was first injured. She’d worn a plastic back brace that bit into his freshly repaired arm every time, but he’d never cared. All he wanted to do was comfort her. He hadn’t been given that chance, so he would take this one and make sure she felt safe, if only for a few minutes of this wild, unexpected day.
Once they were settled on the couch, he held her, forcing himself to keep his lips closed and remind himself that this wasn’t about him. This hadn’t happened to him. Sky was the one whose entire life had been destroyed today, and there was no way for him to make that better for her other than to do his job. Right now, though, his job was to comfort her. She would need it for the conversation that was still to come.
The clock ticked off another fifteen minutes of her resting against his chest with her eyes closed as her breathing evened out. Reece wasn’t sure if she’d fallen asleep, not that he could blame her. He hated having to wake her, but their work wasn’t done for the day, so he had no choice. Holding her again reminded him of when they were kids and she would get mad or sad. She’d cry herself out, rest for a few minutes and then pop up, ready to go again as though nothing had happened.
When she sat up and swiped her hands under her eyes, Reece bit back a smile to know she hadn’t changed. “Sorry about that meltdown. After I hung up with my parents, it hit me how hard my world had fallen apart today.”
“Nothing to apologize for,” he assured her. “After the day you’ve had, I don’t blame you one bit for feeling like your world has fallen apart. How are Mary and Joe?”
“Scared for me,” she said with a shrug. “Roman and Mina put a scare in them.”
“They aren’t a pair to mince words,” he said with a shrug. “Frankly, I wouldn’t want them to. We can’t be too safe until we know who this is.”
“Mom and Dad agreed. They’ve locked their accounts so no one can access them, which is about all they can do, and they’re going out to an island with a friend for a few days. Dad got a burner like Roman instructed him to do, and we have that number so we can update them as necessary.”
“Good. I’m sure your mom was frantic to think she couldn’t race up here and protect you.”
“You do know my mom,” she said with a chuckle. “The only reason they aren’t already in the car is because you’re with me, she said. She knows you’ll figure this out. Mom always called you her bonus son.”
“Probably because I lived at your house half my life.”
“Might have something to do with that,” she agreed with a wink. “I need better support.”
Selfishly, Reece didn’t want to stop holding her, but he twisted to the side and propped her into the corner of the couch anyway with a pillow behind her back. Sky’s core back and abdominal muscles were affected by the paralysis, so if she wasn’t in her chair, she had to be adequately supported or she’d end up with a back spasm.
“Better?”
Her nod had him climbing up off the couch. “I’ll get your chair and then I’ll make some tea so we can talk.”
“Oh boy. Tea and talking are not my favorite things. Wine and Netflix would be better.”
Reece laughed. He couldn’t help it. Sky was always witty and ready with a comeback to make him laugh. He was glad at least that much hadn’t changed. “I would love to oblige, but life on the line and all that.”
She bit her bottom lip as she nodded. “Fair enough. Okay, how about coffee? You know I can’t drink that swill you like so much.”
“Coffee it is. We’ll probably need the jolt of energy anyway. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
He didn’t miss her exhaled breath and muttered words as he headed to the bathroom to grab her chair. “I was afraid of that.”
Chapter Eight
Her head was pounding, and she could thank her crying jag for that. The worst part was they hadn’t even gotten into the nitty-gritty regarding the list Mina wanted. She’d been thinking about it since Mina had brought it up, and there was only one guy she could think of who might have it out for her this badly.
Miles Bradshaw.
She’d run afoul of him without ever having met him in the beginning. He was another artist from the area who believed he should be the only artist. Miles didn’t subscribe to the idea that there was room in this world for everyone’s talents. He’d made sure she knew that at their last run-in a few months ago.
The sounds from the kitchen ceased, and Sky glanced up to see Reece walking toward her with a mug in each hand and a bag of cookies between his teeth. She couldn’t help but smile at the look of domestication it gave him. The way he moved, even with a bag of chocolate chip cookies dangling from his lips, was like watching a lion stalk its prey. She remembered how he used to take flak at school for doing cheer instead of football. His response was always the same: He’d say running around the field andchasing a ball was a skill. Holding another human being over your head on one hand was a skill at a level they’d never achieve.
It made her smile every time she heard it. He wasn’t wrong. Cheer was a sport, and it was a challenging sport that tested your endurance and skill in competition. Few understood that, but they had never cared what anyone else thought. It was a sport they could do together when everything else was separated by gender. Since the accident, people had asked her if she regretted it. Her answer was always the same: No. Nothing in life is guaranteed. When you take risks, sometimes you get big rewards. Sometimes you’re disappointed. That’s just life. She wouldn’t give up all those memories they’d made together because of one night. Those were the terms she came to early on after her injury. Living in the past wasn’t living, so she refused to do it.
Except when it came to Land. He was a part of her past she couldn’t let go. The ghost of who they could have been haunted her every day of her life. They’d never gotten closure—about the accident or their relationship. Maybe they could have that now. Would she love to have him in her life? Yes. Would she allow it? Not unless he understood that she would never let them be more than friends. Skylar had accepted the reality of her world, but she would never ask Reece to sign up for it, too. That was why she’d pushed him away all those years ago.You were always my land, but now I am your sky, so use me to be free.
“Coffee, as you wish, madam,” he said around the bag in his mouth as he set the cups down.
“I see you still don’t like to make two trips.” Sky winkedwith a smile, which brought one to his face when he took the cookie bag from his mouth.
