Somehow, I stop her from falling, but her breasts press snugly against my hand.
揢mm棓 She blushes, but makes no effort to move more than gravity pushing her back.
Not what I need.
Not at fucking all.
She抯 so cute, so delectable, I could kiss her.
And the way she looks at me, flushed red with full lips, her perfectly palm-sized breasts teasing my hand…
No, sir.
She抯 just my employee. How many times did I say that to Wyatt?
Yeah, I don抰 believe it either, but I still need to pull my head out of my ass right now.
揟his is our stop. Stay there,?I tell her, getting out and rounding her side to open the door for her.
揌ave you been here before??I ask as she follows me up a winding, hilly sidewalk to a platform.
揧eah. Maybe once after I first moved to town.?
揟he stars aren抰 as impressive as the North Dakota flats, I抦 sure,?I say. 揝till, when you see that view of the city and the ships at night, you can抰 help falling in love.?
揟hat抯 kinda beautiful. I抦 a small-town girl at heart, but I always love a pretty scene.?
揌ow do you like Seattle??
揑 love it, honestly. The arts are alive here in a way that抯 totally different from Dallas. We have a lot of creative, crafty people there, but it抯 pretty rustic. Out here, you get all the flavors. Modern, historic, experimental, international…？
She抯 speaking to my soul. I抦 not quite sure how to handle that.
Damn if I can抰 resist the urge to slide an arm around her waist and pull her closer when we抳e reached the top of the overlook and its platform.
揑t抯 a narrow path up here. Watch your step and stay to the side,?I say, pretending that抯 the only reason I抳e put my hands on her.
She smiles.
揧ou抮e worried about me again? Or are you still freaking out about me lawyering up to leave you penniless??
揟his is America, Nevermore. We all live in fear of frivolous suits, but I抎 rather you not fall, all legal wrangling aside.?
揧ou抮e such a charmer,?she says, dripping sarcasm. 揃ut honestly, you抮e not the ginormous jackass I thought you were.?
揟hank you. I think,?I say with a smile.
揥hen you tried to attack me棓
揂ttack you??
She rolls her eyes. 揥ell, when you accosted me for my cinnamon roll, I thought you were just some entitled rich prick.?
揂nd what do you think now??More importantly, why do I care?
揧ou抮e a grump. You抮e demanding, focused, and sometimes just rude. But deep down? After what I saw tonight with your friend, I抎 call you a sweetheart.?She looks at me. 揇on抰 let it go to your head,?she adds quickly.
揃ah, I liked the first part. You抮e giving me more credit than I deserve.?
She laughs as I sit down on the bench with a breathtaking view of the night. It抯 a small seat, almost a ledge if not for the safety railing, and she stumbles.
I swear, I抦 not trying to pull her into my lap and lock my arms around her.
揟his isn抰 inappropriate. Obviously, I抎 like to stop you from going over the edge.?
She curls against my chest and smiles up at me, a pretty splash of moonlight in her eyes.
揙f course.?
Then it happens. Something that can抰 be trumped up to accidents, however unlikely.
She lays her small hand over mine, nervously at first.
I bristle.
揕et me guess. You抮e wondering who Wyatt is and why he抯 so important??I say, desperate to keep talking so I don抰 let my mouth get other ideas.
揧eah.?She nods firmly. 揧ou said 'war buddy,' but it抯 more than that, isn抰 it??
揌e saved my life in Iraq.?I close my eyes and I抦 back there again.
Hot flashes of death light up a sky reeking with black smoke.
My skull feels dislodged from the deafening improvised blast.
I breathe in Dakota抯 flowery, faintly minty scent to blot out the stink, holding her tighter, anchoring myself to the present.
揥yatt should抳e been okay. Our unit ran into a trap, a buried bomb,?I tell her slowly. 揟he armored carrier was ripped open like a tin can. I was pinned under something棓 I shake my head. 揂 huge piece of steel, I think. I don抰 know how it never crushed me, but there was an opening, and he still had his wits. Wyatt dragged it off me and carried me out. We were almost to safety when the second explosion went off. Another fucking bomb, hidden just a few paces away like a landmine. He lost his leg because he was ahead of me. A few bruises and a concussion aside, I walked away fine. The leg wasn抰 the worst part, though. For saving my life, he lost his own…？
揑抦 sorry,?she whispers, folding into me like melted butter.
揟he rest, it抯 a long story,?I whisper.
揑t抯 okay. I get it now. He saved you, so you keep him in cinnamon rolls and prosthetics…？
揑抦 trying to keep him alive. Everyone else gave up on him a long time ago. The leg was just the trigger for what Wyatt lost later.?I pause, inhaling slowly. 揝ome of it was his fault. A lot of it wasn抰。 Regardless, he loved his wife so much. He…he almost bled the fuck out that day. I kept telling him to stay, to pull through for Olivia and their boy. I抳e never seen anybody fight so hard in physical therapy, but he came through it.?
I lose my train of thought. Or maybe just my words.
Nevermore watches me softly, her green eyes twinkling in the night, all moon and stars and roaming questions.
揙livia left him broken. She blamed his addictions, but she was cheating long before that. Before the accident,?I tell her slowly. 揝he filed for divorce and won custody of the kid easily. She said he had PTSD, and technically, she wasn抰 wrong, even though he was getting treatment. She said he couldn抰 be around their son unsupervised.?
揟hat抯 brutal,?Dakota whispers, bowing her head.
揧eah, well, the judge went by the book and threw out any context, so that was that.?I have to stop because it still puts me in a blinding rage. 揜ight? Wrong? Who the fuck knows. I抦 not here to play social worker or argue morals. I just know Olivia Emory kept the kid, the house, and a lot of their shit. Wyatt was cleaned out, left homeless with no job and no people. It抯 a damn miracle he got off the opiates when he hit the streets. I helped him with that, before he left my place after crashing a few weeks. Even now, I have plenty of room, but he抯 a hard-nosed fuck. I can抰 make him stay with me.?
揑t抯 sweet of you to try. It抯 really kind how you care for him.?Her fingers find my brow.
She抯 stroking me.
Touching me like a big, angry animal needing to be soothed.
For fuck抯 sake, she抯 not wrong.
Maybe I am tonight, as hard as that is to admit.
揑t抯 not sweet. It抯 responsible, and I owe him my life. Bringing him his daily sugar rush and making sure he can walk is the least I can do. That divorce annihilated him. It drove him to drinking, bad habits, and took what little hope he ever had. He抯 basically an alcoholic wreck, and I can only do so much.?
I glance away sharply. It抯 not her problem, but putting this shit into words makes it feel like she should share it.
I don抰 want that.
I don抰 want her to shoulder this boulder I抳e been heaving back and forth for years, a task that feels like it抣l only end when the very thing I抦 trying so hard to stop finally happens. When I walk into the camp one day and find Wyatt抯 cold, stiff body.
揑 understand. I…I wanted to die after my wedding. I didn抰 get out of bed for days,?Dakota admits with a sad sigh. 揗y mom finally threatened to send me to the Larkin抯 farm to clean stables if I didn抰 start moving and doing normal things.?She pauses and smiles. 揑 wouldn抰 have minded cleaning horse poop so much. My town is kinda famous for animals, and there was this old horse named Edison. He抎 always escape and drive his owners crazy, but it was always entertaining for everybody else. One time this tiger got loose, and Edison even helped track it down棓