Page 85 of See You at the Finish Line

“No update isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just means she’s still in surgery and they’re fighting for her,” Adam tells me.

“How do you know?”

“My mom is a surgeon.”

Right. I knew that. “At least that’s a more trivial fact to forget than someone’s name I guess.” I take the jab at him and he smiles, narrowing his eyes at me in a playful way.

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope. I’ll bring it up in every argument we ever have. We’ll be eighty and I won’t remember where I put my teeth, but I’ll remember this.” I clamp my mouth shut as it slips out.

Adam doesn’t call me out on it. He laughs. “I look forward to it, Paige Elizabeth Harrison.”

My heart can’t handle the emotions shooting through my body. Too much. This is too much.

“I can’t lose her,” I whisper. His hand tightens on my leg, and I realize I’m holding it so hard my knuckles are white. “Sorry for crushing your hand.” I loosen my grip but he doesn’t let me get far. He laces his fingers through mine and holds on firmly.

“Squeeze as tight as you need.”

I’m distracted by the simple gesture of Adam holding my hand. We’re driving like we’re teenagers—except his hands are not those of a lanky sixteen-year-old boy. They’re large with all these veins popping out as his grip tightens. His hands are sexy as hell, and they look ... capable. If I told Leah I was admiring his hands while she was open on the operating table, she would scold me and then congratulate me on getting to third base.

We didn’t know anything about anything when we were kids, so we made up our own bases. First base was being called a girlfriend, second base was an arm around the shoulders, third base was holding hands, fourth base was going on a date, fifth base was a hug. You get the idea. I think sex was like fifteenth base. We also knew nothing about baseball.

His hand is a comforting presence in mine, and I lean my head against the headrest, closing my eyes. I focus only on the spot where his thumb moves in reassuring strokes, soothing my entire nervous system. His touch allows my mind a reprieve. I drift off to sleep.

We’ve been driving forabout nine hours, the sun has long since set. Music plays softly over the speakers and the streaks of headlights blur my vision. I’m not going to say I’m speeding, but I’m definitely going faster than most of the other cars.

We stopped to grab some food, gas, and a bathroom break but other than that, we’ve been on the road. Over halfway there, I keep telling myself, we’re making great time, but I’m fighting the urge to close my eyes. I didn’t sleep well the night before the race, so I’m wicked beat. I’ll drive right through the night if that’s what she needs. It may not be the best idea, though.

Paige is asleep beside me, but I can tell she’s uncomfortable, constantly shifting to find a better position. A good night’s rest will do us both some good.

“Paige,” I whisper. She doesn’t wake but she stirs. “Paige,” I say a little louder.

“What?” she grumbles. I smile to myself.

“There was a sign back there for a group of hotels coming up, and it’s completely up to you, but would you mind if we stop to get some real sleep?”

Her eyes fly open in a panic. “No, we have to get there,” she says automatically.

I nod, understanding. “Okay, we’ll drive through the night.”

She looks around at the dark road and then turns her gaze on me. It feels like a laser to my head as she assesses me.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

She narrows her eyes. “You’re wiped. Why don’t I drive?”

“Yeah, no. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you drive.”

“Did you just say ‘yeah, no’?” she asks incredulously.

“I think it’s a northerner thing.”

“What?”

“‘Yeah, no’ means definitely not. ‘No, yeah’ means of course. And the best one is ‘Oh, yeah, no, for sure,’ which means absolutely yes.”

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