Page 93 of Keep You Close

With that, I walked AJ outside as the guys did one last tour of the building, checking all their work, then following us out.

Kingston, who was most familiar with him, took Samson, promising to drop him off at our place and hang with him for a bit.

Then I took AJ in my car to the hospital.

She rallied again, appearing both upset, in pain, and a little embarrassed about her mishap, claiming I’d even warned her that the steps were slippery as she was heading out the door, and she still fell anyway.

Silly me, right? was the vibe she gave off. And the nurse and the doctor smiled and nodded, sharing their own stories of being klutzes on occasion.

“We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?” she joked, waving at my boot, as the doctor slipped a brace onto AJ’s wrist, begging her to take it easy, so she didn’t move the bone out of place and require a cast.

“You guys need to be bubble-wrapped,” she agreed, shaking her head.

She was given instructions to take over-the-counter pain meds, as needed, to elevate and ice, and to follow up with an orthopedic doctor, then she signed her papers, and around sunrise, we were heading back to the house, both of us quiet, lost in our own thoughts.

As we pulled in, Kingston quietly made his way out of the front door, giving me a nod, and disappearing into his car, understanding that we weren’t up for company.

We were barely inside the door before AJ dropped to her knees.

My heart sank for a second, thinking she was breaking down, until I saw Samson rushing toward her, butt wiggling.

She wrapped him up in a big hug, holding on tight until, eventually, Samson wriggled away to go back to his bed, turn in a circle, and close his eyes, beat from the night’s events.

“What do you need, sweetheart?” I asked, reaching down to help her back onto her feet. “Food? Better medicine? Sleep?”

“Let’s go to bed,” she said, reaching for my hand, and leading me down the hall.

We climbed into the bed fully dressed.

More quickly than I expected, she drifted off to sleep, her braced hand on my chest.

As for me, I lay awake.

And I plotted.

Because there was no way for us to move forward.

Until Joss was fully in her past.

And that could only mean one thing…

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Atlas

“Stop looking at me like I’m going to break,” AJ demanded as I grabbed my keys, feeling like a fucking monster for even thinking about leaving her.

It was six days after the attack.

We’d been home together nonstop, thanks to her boss and coworkers who insisted she stay home and rest. And since the job kind of required the ability to use both of her hands in a pinch, she’d agreed to taking some time off.

As much as you need, her boss had been quick to demand. A few weeks, even a month or two. Just focus on you.

It was a good time for time off, too.

We were knee-deep in decorating and creating new little Christmas traditions. Movies we swore were worth watching every single year. Painting ornaments with the date on the back, then hanging them on the tree. Having a gingerbread house decorating competition. Going to the local live manger, then looking at Christmas lights on the way home.

I usually made it back to Navesink Bank for Christmas, knowing it would crush my family not to see me. But I didn’t realize how much of the holiday spirit I’d really been missing out on when I wasn’t observing traditions.

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