Page 16 of Wild Forever
His gaze is pure concern. “I’m so sorry. That must have been painful.”
I swallow another mouthful. If I’d been stronger, if I’d put up with the pain, things might have been different.
“The recovery took a long time. I had chronic pain for months.”
“I’m so sorry.” Grant’s looking at me with pity in his gaze, and I drink it in. This is the good part of my story. The part where I’m the wronged sister garnering all the sympathy.
“I didn’t speak to Karen for months. I blamed her for the accident.”
Which was stupid. If I’d known my days with my sister were numbered, I would have forgiven her sooner. So much wasted time.
I take a gulp of soda, because thinking about all of this really has me wanting something stronger. Karen had been reckless ever since out parents passed. I was the sensible one who kept her in check. I was always telling her to slow down, to drink less, to respect her body more. I was furious when her antics got me stuck in a hospital bed for nine months.
It was only when she called with the news that she was pregnant that I saw her again. Bailey was born a few months later. But by then, I was the reckless one.
But I’m not ready to tell Grant all of this. He’s been looking at me all day like he wants me, like he’s interested in me, like I’m someone worth spending time with. And it’s been a long time since anyone looked at me like that.
Not to mention the way my body’s responding. Every time he’s near, my knees go weak and my core tightens. He’s awakened something inside me that I thought had died in my accident.
“How about you? How did you end up halfway up a mountain?”
The subject change isn’t lost on Grant. I’ve given him all I can for now. The wounds are still too fresh, and if I keep talking, they might crack open.
Besides, if he knew all of my story, he’d probably chuck me out of his house. And the more time I spend time with Grant, the more I crave him.
It’s not just about Bailey now. I’m developing feelings for this man.
We talk easily for the rest of dinner, and Grant tells me about his life on the mountain but little about the military.
I’m not the only one with demons. Grant skirts around his experiences in the military but talks for hours about his bikes and the MC he’s a part of. They sound like good guys, and it makes me wistful thinking about the way they treated me last night, like I was part of a family. I wonder if I’ll ever have that. A family of my own.
“Penny for them?”
I’m snapped back to the present by Grant’s question.
I’m helping him with the washing up, and my hands are in the sink as I stare out the window at the dark forest. Grant’s looking at me curiously with a half-smile. In the dim evening light, the flecks in his hair shine silver and make him look even more handsome than in the daylight.
My body trembles at how close he is.
“Um, I was just thinking about going home.”
His expression darkens, and he drops the dishcloth he’s holding on the counter. “When do you need to be back?”
I lower my eyes. I haven’t told him that I walked out on my job. That I left everything in West Virginia, because if I stayed, I was scared I’d get pulled back to the darkness.
That I didn’t have any other plan than coming here, connecting with my niece, and saving her from the bad man I imagined him to be.
“I’ve got a few more days.” It’s not a complete lie, but it still feels like acid in my throat. He’s looking at me intensely and with such raw emotion that I catch my breath.
“You can stay here.”
For a moment I think he’s asking me to stay permanently, but that would be stupid. I’ve only just met him. He can’t mean that. He must just mean while I’m here.
“Thank you.”
He takes a step closer, and his breath caresses my cheek. I turn my head to him, and our gazes meet. Then his lips are on mine, firm and warm and sending tendrils of white heat through my body.
Our bodies move together, and I pull my hands out of the sink. He takes them in his and puts them around his waist, not caring that I’m dripping water everywhere.
