Page 68 of Rush

“Then fuck him if he's so far up his own ass he can't see that you adore that little girl as much as he does.”

Taking a deep breath to squeeze out the ache in her heart, she pushed out her next words before she lost her nerve.“There’s a flight back to Kansas later this afternoon and I plan to be on it, but I couldn’t leave without seeing you first.”

Oz’s voice was suspiciously hoarse as he reasoned, “You don’t have to leave. You can stay here. We’ve got plenty of room now.”

“The new house is beautiful, Oz, truly, and I do love it here in Portland and being close to you, but I don’t think I can stay. You're not only friends with Linc but teammates. It hurts too much right now for me to take the chance I'll run into him. And the media coverage he gets here is crazy, you know that. What happens when he moves on? I just… I can't see that.”

His hand moved from her shoulder to clasp her hand and a lump formed in her throat that she struggled to swallow down. “There is something I need to tell you though. Before I came out here, I was so worried you’d resent me for what our father did. I felt so betrayed by my parents and know your feelings had to be a million times more. But the moment I met you, all those worries disappeared because you and Emerson both made me feel so welcomed and loved. You’re no longer just a name that I found on a piece of paper in the closet. You’re now a true brother who I love with all my heart. I may be leaving now, but we’ll keep in touch and Iwillbe back. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

His eyes turned pleading. “If you mean that, stay and think things through before making any rash decisions about going back to Kansas. If you want to be alone, I know the perfect spot. I’ll rent you a place at Cyan Beach. It’s secluded and quiet and no one will know where you are. It’s the perfect place to heal. And when you get back we can talk some more. You have so many options. You can stay here with us and go back to school or find a job and get a place of your own. And yes, I knowit’s selfish, but I’m not ready to let my baby sister go. Not after just finding her.”

Nora’s heart swelled, filling with even more love for her brother. “You’re going to make me cry again.”

His pleading eyes morphed into panic-filled ones as he held up two oversized hands. “Please don’t do that.”

The last thing she thought she’d ever do that day was laugh, but that’s exactly what she did as a watery chuckle slipped past her lips. “Okay, I’ll take you up on the first part and think about the second.”

He whipped out his phone. “I’ll book you a room now while you call the airport and cancel your flight. And Nora?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s not a friend or teammate I’d let come between us. If Linc really does blame you and is stupid enough to let you slip through his fingers, he’s not the man I thought he was. You keep that in mind, okay?”

“Stop talking and make that reservation or you really will see some waterworks.”

He couldn’t dial fast enough. “On it.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Linc trained his gaze on the stairs. “Nora sure is sleeping late.” Even though he’d only just woken up himself not long ago, he was still starting to worry. That he’d fallen asleep so hard he hadn’t even gotten up to look in on her during the night made him feel like crap despite the reassurance of Dr. Pierce that waking her wasn’t necessary.

“I’m gonna go check on her.”

“Nora?”

He looked over at Sophie, heart swelling at the fact she was talking again even if he was still getting used to her responding. She stared up at him now, and by the look on her face, she knew something he didn’t. “Yeah, she sure is being a slow-poke this morning. I want to make sure her head isn’t hurting.”

“She’s ok, Unca Linc, she told me bye-bye before she left.”

Nora wasn’t in the house and he hadn’t known it. His anger intensified at himself followed by fear that he might’ve missed the one catch in his life that had meant the most. “You saw her leave?”

“Yeah. When you were sleeping. It was still kinda dark out.”

So, she’d been gone long enough that Linc could deduce she wasgone. Stomach churning now for an entirely different reason, he questioned, “Did she say where she was going?”

“To see Unca Oz.”

He picked up his phone, first calling Nora. The line didn’t even ring, just went straight to voicemail. Why was her phoneturned off? Next he tried Oz. That call went to voicemail too but only after it had rung four times first. Linc checked the time and realized he’d still be at practice and his phone would be in his locker. When he tried Emerson next and couldn’t get ahold of her either, he gave up playing phone tag. He’d wasted enough time with his head up his ass when all he wanted was his girl back.

There was only one thing left to do. “Come on, Peanut. We need to get dressed. We’re going to Uncle Oz’s house.”

Pulling up in front of a red, brick split-level with manicured lawns, colorful flower beds, and a young yet thriving tree which sometime in the future would shade the house, the first thing Linc noticed was the absence of Nora’s car behind the gates. But that it wasn’t in the driveway didn’t mean it wasn’t in the garage if she took Oz’s spot when he left. He wasn’t crazy about the odds, but he was trying to be optimistic because if she wasn’t here, he wasn’t sure where to look next.

Pulling up to the gate, Linc punched in the code that his friend had given him when it had first been installed. He knew he was presuming a lot given what Nora had probably told Oz but desperate times and all that. As soon as the gates shut behind him, he circled to the rear passenger side and collected Sophie from her booster seat. They walked hand-in-hand up the walkway.

“Sophie! Come give me a big hug.” Emerson squatted to Sophie’s level after opening the door to Linc’s impatient knocking. “I bet you’re happy to be home.”

“I was scared, but I’m all better now.”

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