Page 85 of When Sparks Fly

“Maci!” A male’s voice yells behind me. I whip around.

“Jesus!” Nick stops short, hands up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. What the fuck happened?”

Before I can respond, Sutton shoves between Nick and I, gripping my face with both hands. He looks between my eyes for a moment before holding me at arm’s length and looking me over. “Are you ok?”

Heaving breaths cause my chest to rise and fall. I close my eyes and tilt my head to the sky, sucking in air and willing my heartbeat to slow. My chest burns. The pounding is painful and my eardrums throb.

Izzy’s and Leah’s voices infiltrate the other sounds. Everything is starting to meld together into noise.

I suck in a breath and hold it for a four count before blowing it out.

Nick’s low voice breaks through the flurry. “I’m gonna go move your truck.” A soft thudding on the grass follows and I finally open my eyes to see him jogging to the truck.

“Oh my God!” My hands fly up to my face. “Izzy, I’m so sorry!” I still can’t see between the cars to the other side and now the space around me is mostly filled with bodies anyway.

“Shh, Maci, it’s fine.” Izzy’s brows furrow. “Most everyone had moved on and your safety is more important.”

“Maci, what the hell happened?” I face forward to Sutton again. His warm hands still hold my shoulders, steadying me. A tornado is building beneath his surface. The energy contained is practically vibrating out of him.

My brain chooses now to catalog his attire. His usual look is replaced by an all-white uniform with pinstripes and a dark ball cap. “What are you wearing?”

He’s stunned. “My old baseball uniform.”

I can’t stop my grin.

“Not the time,” he says sternly.

The past few minutes wash over me again. Tears threaten, a combination of coming down from my adrenaline high and knowing that he made a point to dress up for this event.

I slip my arms around his waist and lean into his chest, seeking his comfort, but inadvertently popping another yellow balloon and causing yelps to sound from Izzy, Leah, and I. We break into laughter, an accidental comedic relief in this moment of tension, but my face is pressed against Sutton’s firm chest and I can’t bring myself to let go as I bounce softly with laughter. His strong arms encircle me, squeezing me against his body.

Peace washes over me.

I’ve missed him. I want him. I never want him to let me go.

Chapter 37

Sutton

I’ve never been more prepared to end someone’s life than I was tonight.

The dentist’s office is visible at the turn onto Main Street from the county road. Even in the dark, Maci’s yellow ballooned costume caught my attention.

The night Sammi was admitted to the hospital was the hardest night of my life. My baby sister was in danger and there wasn’t a single thing I could do to help her or my sweet niece. I had to standby and trust the doctors and team assembled to help them. I had to lie to Mama, telling her everything was going to be okay, even though I had no idea if that was true. I saw Dad cry for the first time in my life. It gutted me.

Following that, I assumed I could handle anything. Losing a parent is expected. It’s going to hurt like hell when it happens. But the fear of losing my baby sister unlocked a different set of emotions in me, and once all was well, I was convinced they were locked right back up again.

Pulling up on Maci fighting with Colt tonight exposed an entirely different set of emotions.

After seeing her at lunch, helping with the Jeep, everything that could have gone wrong this afternoon did. The culmination of which was two springing heifers calving today. Unfortunately, this resulted in having to helpdeliver one after the heifer became stressed. So heading into town, I was already on edge with the events of the afternoon coupled with running late.

I’m pissed I let Maci down. In multiple ways. I’m livid Colt had his hands on her. And I’m worried.

Colt approached Maci with a group around. He’s clearly off his rocker. That fucker is lucky he got away before I got my hands on him.

Despite the short time we’ve known each other, Maci is incredibly important to me. I can’t imagine life without her in it. The idea of some scumbag doing something to jeopardize that causes too many things to swirl around inside me.

So I don’t loosen my grip on her as her body shakes with laughter pressed against my chest. The balloons of her costume squeak in protest between us, but her grip on me is snug and I’m not budging.

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