Page 8 of Holding On to a Hero
Cole made a whooping sound and started clapping. I made it upright and instantly launched myself into a run. My back seized and I almost fell, but I managed to stumble forward and limp quickly away.
Prickles swung around, quills up and tail out. Cole yelled, “Hey, asshole, look this way!” Prickles shifted back and forth on his front legs but didn’t follow me. His head moved back and forth between me and Cole.
I whisper-yelled, “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” as I limped toward Cole, bent over like Marty Feldman inYoung Frankenstein.Cole looked at me in horror. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did he get you with his quills?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” I wheezed out. “My back just took exception to this entire experience. I’ll be fine.”
Cole put his hand on my arm.Cole Washburn is touching me! Cole Washburn, who is definitely wearing compression pants with no underwear! Okay, maybe he’s wearing a jock. But still!“Let’s go to the house. You can lie down or whatever you need to do that helps.”Cole Washburn invited me to his house!
“Thanks,” I managed. I shuffled my feet around to look back at Prickles. He’d apparently decided we were not as interesting as my camera bag.
“We can come back for your stuff later. I don’t think anyone is going to bother it except that guy.”
“Okay. Sounds good.” I shuffled back around and began to hunch toward the road.
“Um,” Cole was beside me, hovering his hands around my shoulders. “Can I…help? I could maybe… carry you?”The fuck?
I choked out a laugh. “As much as my inner fangirl would love that, it wouldn’t be a good idea for my back.”
“Oh. Got it.” Was hedisappointed?What was happening?
I clenched my teeth against the pain and made like Igor toward the ranch house. No one was sexier than me. Yep, good thing Cole had a boyfriend, or he’d be overcome with lust.
“Uh, thanks for helping me back there, Mr. Washburn. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get away without a face full of quills.”
“Oh, God, please. Call me Cole.” He laughed. “That was actually fun. Well, for me at least! I got a good adrenaline rush, without any of the risk! You’re sure teaching me and Jason about all the animals around here.”
I coughed out a laugh, and he put a hand on my arm. “Hey, I’m really sorry I pulled a gun on you when you came to the house. I’m a little…on edge…about people with cameras.”
I waved my free hand at himsince his hand was still on my arm!“Water under the bridge. Please don’t worry about it. And I told your boyfriend already, but I want to assure you that your secret is safe with me.”
He smiled at me, and it looked different than it did in the movies. Suddenly it dawned on me why. The smile reached his eyes.
Chapter Five
Jason
“Thanks for coming into town for that meeting, Jason.” My brother Brian returned from escorting our new clients to the elevator, shedding his suit jacket and loosening his tie.
“Of course. They seem like they’ll actually listen to our suggestions.” Lord knew how rare that was.
“I think so. I’ll get the proposal drawn up this afternoon. Do you want to review it before I send it to them?”
I stared at Brian in surprise. “Why? You know what you’re doing. You don’t need me to check your work.”
He seemed flustered. “I’m just trying to keep you in the loop, so you know what’s going on here.”
His words crystalized some thoughts that had been floating around in my head for a while now. “Brian,” I said slowly, “I think we need to talk about my involvement with Shelton Security going forward.”
Brian sat down heavily in the chair next to my desk. His brown eyes, so much warmer than my hazel ones, looked worried behind his hipster glasses. “What do you mean? Are you trying to quit or something?”
“Not exactly. Or maybe? And I haven’t really formed a plan or anything.” I leaned back in my chair and ran my hand over my head. “It’s just that since Cole retired I’ve been wanting to spend more time with him helping set up the rescue. I’m not working here as much as I should, and I feel awful since I begged you to move to Austin so the company could be near the ranch.”
Brian’s brow crinkled and his lips pressed together, his signature expression that immediately preceded the delivery of either a scathing set-down or a cut-to-the-chase reality check. I braced myself.
“Jason, I’m an adult. If I didn’t want to move to Austin I wouldn’t have. I get that you have other priorities now, but I want to keep Shelton Security going. What’s your suggestion?”
I carefully breathed a sigh of relief. That hadn’t been too bad. “Um, like I said, I haven’t really thought through all the options. I know you can’t afford to buy me out, but I’m willing to be a silent partner and give you a bigger percentage of the profits.”
