Page 156 of Hold Me Until Morning

Then he walked out, having no idea what that really meant.

THIRTY-FOUR

CODY

I was drenched in sweat, and my tee clung to my skin as the sun blazed down from the bluest sky. No clouds or coolness were to be found. I drove the shovel deep into the earth, grunting as I shifted to use my boot to ram down on the sides to dig it in deeper.

Wry laughter rolled from behind me. “You look like you’re taking out whatever happened to you last night on that dirt.”

I tossed a glare over my shoulder. Matthew stood with his hands on his hips, smirking down at me where I was in a hole that was about three feet deep. We’d used the Bobcat to dig most of it out, but we’d gotten down close to some pipes, and we needed to do the rest by hand to make sure we didn’t hit one.

The last thing I needed was to cause a huge fucking leak.

“And you look like you’re standing around like a lazy prick when you could be helping me dig this hole.”

Two guys on our crew hadn’t shown today, and I was down here doing it myself since the rest of the team was working on the mold for the pathway in front of Cabin 6B that was going to be poured tomorrow.

Turned out it was the exact kind of day that was going to piss me off.

I was completely on edge. Raging on the inside and trying to keep it tamped, riding a thin line that warned I might snap.

My head fucking throbbed like a bitch, and my face was so swollen I was lucky I could see out of my right eye.

Matthew’s brow arched. “I thought we were past all the manual labor?”

“The day the boss decides he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty is the day the business goes to hell.” I grunted it as I pitched the mound of dirt in my shovel up onto even ground.

“Looks like you got more than dirty, Cody. You look like you were about five seconds from needing that hole for yourself because someone was close to putting you six feet under.”

Fury blistered through my blood.

I’d been able to keep it partially under control last night. Giving it everything not to lose it in front of Hailey, even though I’d been half mad when I’d fucked her.

Fast and quick and hard, terrified it might be the last time I would get to touch her.

I’d seen it in her eyes. The fear of fully letting me in. Thinking she was responsible when I deserved any ugly thing coming my way. I should have known Karma wouldn’t let me get by so easily.

“It was just some punk who jumped me at a bar.”

The half-truth was going to have to suffice.

Matthew laughed like any of this was funny. “You might look like shit, but I’m betting that guy is worse for the wear.”

Not yet, but he would be.

“He caught me by surprise then took off. It was over before I even knew what happened,” I said, focusing my agitation on the shovel that I drove deep into the ground.

“Well, damn. Hope the fucker tripped as he was running around the corner.” Matthew was all lightheartedness, making it a joke, like I normally did, too.

I couldn’t find it in myself to find the humor in it.

Not when I knew what this meant for Hailey. What was riding on it.

“I’m sure he’ll get what’s coming to him,” I said, tossing the dirt up onto the pile.

“No doubt. So, you want my ass in that hole, huh?” he said, shifting gears, gesturing to the pit I was making.

“Nah, go check on the rest of the team and make sure they have those molds correct. They need to be set before anyone leaves this afternoon.”