Page 70 of You Wish
Georgia was curled up on the couch, blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders, firelight flickering over her face. She wasn’t crying, but the look in her eyes hit him harder than tears would have.
He moved in, quiet, and sank down beside her. “You okay?”
Her lips pressed together, then she let out a shaky laugh. “When Ben saw you and his face lit up, it reminded me of Connor when you brought him to the track that day. Remember?”
“I remember.”
Just like with Georgia, every moment he spent with Connor was tattooed in his memory.
Jake hadn’t known the first thing about transporting people in wheelchairs. How tricky oxygen tanks with all the lines could be. So he’d done his research because he wanted to make sure that kid smiled. And he wanted to prove to Georgia that he could help shoulder the load, if she’d just let him.
The day had been a comedy of errors. The oxygen tube popped a tiny hole—nothing duct tape couldn’t fix. Connorbecame so excited when he met one of the drivers that he knocked his funnel cake onto the ground, igniting a powdered sugar IED. A glitter bomb would have caused less damage because the driver came out looking like he’d battled it out with a bag of flour and lost.
But nothing was going to dampen their time. Jake had gone big, calling in favors, saving his cash, wanting to make it Connor’s best day ever. He even managed to convince the security guard to look the other way while they snuck into the owners’ box. A day for the books.
As the engines had thundered to life, Jake had leaned closer to Connor. “Here it comes, buddy. Best part—first lap. You’ll never forget it.”
But Connor was rocking side to side in his wheelchair, his little knees knocking together. “I have to go.”
Jake had looked at Georgia, who lowered her voice for Jake’s ears only. “Right now, he feels like one of the guys. He’ll be mortified if his sister takes him to the bathroom in front of all these men.”
He’d looked at Connor and back to Georgia. “How do I…?”
She’d placed a gentle hand on his and squeezed. “You’ll figure it out.”
How many times had he told her that he could handle her life, that he wanted to be a part of every aspect of her world. This had been his chance to prove to her how much she meant to him.
He’d leaned over and gave her a smack to the lips.
“Hey, buddy, I have to make a pit stop too.” Jake had opened the owners’ box door and held it so Connor could wheel his way out.
It had taken a little maneuvering and quick thinking on Jake’s part, but the pit stop was successful and when they made it back to the box, Georgia had greeted him with a look, which hecouldn’t quite decipher, but wanted to be on the receiving end of for the rest of his life. He was pretty sure it was pure love.
Just thinking about it now made his heart roll over in his chest.
“I don’t know how you made it happen, but you made it happen. The perfect day,” she whispered. “That was the best day of his life.” Her voice trailed off, words dissolving in the flames.
Jake’s hand found hers, steady, warm. “I remember. It was one of the best days of my life too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Connor was so happy and he made me feel like I was a superhero.”
Her hand tightened around his. “In his eyes, you were.”
“And in yours?”
“You were everything bright in my world,” she said. “Then it all went black.”
“Mine too,” he murmured.
Her eyes flicked to his. Soft. Tired. So damn vulnerable it nearly undid him.
“God,” she muttered, forcing another laugh. “I must look ridiculous. Everyone else is in the family room sipping hot buttered rum, and I’m in here hiding out like?—”
“Like a person who feels things?” Jake cut in gently. “That’s not ridiculous.”
She turned toward him fully, brows lifting. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one brooding by the fire like some tragic heroine.”
