Page 31 of Hero's Prize

And neither led to anything good.

“Is that okay, Colton?” Tony asked.

Shit. How many times in one day could Colton have no fucking idea what was happening in a conversation he was a part of without everyone figuring out he wasnotokay?

His phone buzzing on the table in front of him saved him. It was Bear. His friend had always had great timing.

“I’ve got to take this,” he told the PR team. It didn’t matter that he probably would’ve said the same thing even if it had been a telemarketer.

Colton pressed the button to receive the video call as he stood and walked toward the conference room door.

“Bear. What’s going on? How are you?”

“I had a quiet minute here, so I thought I’d give you a shout. How’s everything going?”

Colton could tell Bear was inside the Eagle’s Nest, the bar where everyone hung out in Oak Creek. Bear was a damn good mechanic by trade, but he liked picking up a bartending shift here and there, mostly just to interact with everyone.

He had been calling Colton at least once a week since the accident. He knew Colton wasn’t at one hundred percent, but Colton hadn’t shared how bad things really were. Not even with his closest friend. Not with this family. Not with anyone.

“Just going through some fan mail.” Colton ignored both Tony’s and Rick’s huffs of air. “Everything’s good.”

He glanced over to find Tony watching him with one eyebrow raised, so Colton turned and walked the rest of the way out the door.

“Really?” Bear asked.

“Hey, fan mail is one of the perks of the trade.” Hopefully he could keep Bear focused on that rather than wanting details about reality.

“Since when do you care about fan mail?”

He didn’t normally, but he did now. “This one is a whole long brouhaha. I’ll have to tell you about it.”

Bear narrowed his eyes as he studied Colton but didn’t press. Time to change the subject.

“Your camp’s coming up in a couple weeks, right? Everything ready for that?”

Bear took the bait. “Mostly. Always more to be done, but the whole town is rallying around this, so I can’t complain. Good kids. Good cause. Good activities planned.”

His friend was so earnestly invested that it was hard not to be a little jealous. Damned if Colton didn’t want something he could be that passionate about.

Although, hell, right now, he would take just not being batshit crazy.

“It’s going to be amazing. I know it.” That was nothing short of the truth.

“I think so too. I can’t wait to get this first group of kids in and then hopefully make this an annual thing.”

“I’m sure it will be.”

“It’s a lot of work, but…” Bear swung his head around. “Shit, we’ve got a DJ tonight, and he’s starting the music back up.”

A second later, music was almost all Colton could hear, along with a group of women laughing and talking as they headed out to the dance floor. Over Bear’s shoulder, they came into view.

It took less than a second for Colton’s focus to zero in on Ella.

She wasn’t looking at Bear or his phone; she was talking to her friends and smiling.

That smile. He hadn’t seen it since that night in his hotel room two months ago, but he’d definitely thought about it. Thought about her.

Moreover, the only good dreams he could remember since the accident had involved Ella O’Conner. He might’ve been irritated that she had snuck out after their night together, but his subconscious had been clinging to her like some kind of lifeline.

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