Page 24 of An Ex Affair

Tully froze, her gaze trained on my dog. “Hayes?”

I winced. I didn’t need her reading too much into it. We’d talked about baby names back when we first got married. We’d planned to have kids one day, and my pick for a boy had been Hayes. Tully’s pick for a girl had been Millie. Life had gone in a different direction, but I’d never given up my love for that boy name.

“You coming or not?” I snapped.

Tully straightened her spine and walked away from the bed. She winced. “Yes, I’m coming.”

I frowned, watching her limp toward me. “What’s wrong?”

“I must have stepped on a stick or something.”

I stopped her and crouched down, lifting up her foot. She made some noise like she intended to argue with me, so I glared at her until she freely gave me her foot and put her hand on my shoulder to steady herself. I took a peek at the bottom of it, seeing a bloody cut where she probably had stepped on something sharp. I cursed and Sofia chuckled.

“I didn’t stop to get shoes. Sorry,” Tully snapped with attitude.

I stood up and shook my head at her. I hadn’t noticed she was barefoot either. A detail I should have picked up on if I hadn’t let panic cloud my senses. Instead of berating her or myself, I took care of the situation. I stooped over, and for the second time tonight, I carried a woman in my arms.

“Hey! I’m fine!” Tully folded her arms across her chest, trying to hold herself away from me, which just made carrying her harder.

“Quit fighting me, woman.”

Tully huffed, but relaxed a bit. She still refused to put her arm around my shoulders though, the stubborn mule.

Sofia’s giggle got louder. “Bye, you two! Don’t fight all night!”

I got us out the door, closing it behind me and marching right back for the main house. I didn’t trust myself to say a damn wordas we trekked across the rocks and weeds and neither did she. The silence would have been uncomfortable but I was too busy loving the feel of having Tully in my arms again. The rig was gone when we got to the house, but the fire marshal’s truck was still in the drive. I set Tully on a chair in the dining room with a stern warning to stay put. She flipped me off.

I got first aid supplies and wet washcloths out of the guest bathroom and returned to the dining room. The fire marshal joined me there, letting us both know that it did indeed start from the electrical. He agreed I should stay overnight just to be one hundred percent sure everything was out. The guys had gone up on the roof and even into the attic to make sure nothing had caught fire up there, but it didn’t hurt to be overly cautious. He also warned that the smoke alarm in the kitchen was faulty, which made me mad at myself for not regularly testing the units like I knew I should have. Then he headed out and it was just me and Tully alone in the house.

She sagged against the chair backing, her hands in her lap and her eyes fluttering closed. Her hair was a wild mess around her face. The curls were back with a vengeance and I loved to see it. I also didn’t mind the skimpy tank top that showed off her breasts that had gotten fuller since we were kids. Was I an asshole for noticing her boobs when we’d just gone through a crisis?

“I’m so glad you came home when you did,” she breathed, opening her eyes.

I sat on the floor and lifted her injured foot in my lap. Her toes were painted bright red, but her feet were now filthy. I cleaned both of her feet with the washcloths first, then attended to the injury.

“This is going to sting,” I warned, dripping hydrogen peroxide on the cut.

Tully hissed but didn’t jerk her foot away from me. I let it bubble and then dribbled some more on there for good measure. You didn’t want to mess around with cuts on the bottom of the foot. I put antibiotic cream and gauze on the cut, ripping strips of tape off the roll and securing it around her foot. I lowered her foot to my lap once again, unwilling to let go of her just yet.

I looked up, seeing the exhaustion painted across her pretty face. “You don’t have to stay here. I can handle it. Why don’t you get some rest with your mama?”

She took her time answering me. “You’re good at playing the hero, Colson. Always have been. I hope you know I appreciate that.”

My thumb swiped across her instep. “I’ve neverplayedat being your hero. I wanted to be your hero in everything I did.”

Tully nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

“Hey.” I gripped her foot, careful to avoid her bandages. I couldn’t stand to see her cry. Her tears were my kryptonite. “Let’s get you settled so you can sleep. Everything will look better in the morning.”

She shook her head, defiant even in the middle of being exhausted. “I’m staying here with you this time.”

This time.We both knew which time in the past she referred to. The time she did leave me. The time she broke my heart and left my world shattered.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Tully

Colson’s thumbkept up its rhythm, pressure deepening with each sweep across my instep. His left hand, the one with the tattoo on his ring finger, held my leg firmly. A shiver ran up my body and this time it wasn’t trembling due to acute panic. I’d never been so scared in my life.

---