Page 4 of Love Me Fearless

Outside the cabin, Kirilee, Hutch, Sawyer, Zach, and Sofie have all gathered. “Is she okay?” Sofie asks, her face tense with worry.

“Yeah, she’s all right.”

Sofie presses a hand to her heart. “Thank goodness you were here.”

Moments later, the medics wheel Marin, upright on the gurney and wearing an oxygen mask, across the meadow to the back of the waiting ambulance, trailed by Ashley and the boy.

Hutch puts his arm across my shoulder. I lean into him and exhale a full breath.

“You did good, doc,” he says.

From the other side of the reception building comes the throaty hum of the ambulance engine, then the rig lumbers down the driveway.

I glance up at Hutch. “I’m not a pediatrician yet.”

He gives a little shrug. “You’re well on your way, though. Proud of you, Greely.”

Hutch’s praise turns my insides to jelly, but I’m quick to brush it off. I’m proud of him, too. That’s how close friends feel about each other. It doesn’t mean anything special.

That afternoon, after several run-throughs of Sofie and Zach’s ceremony in the pretty meadow while the sun turns everything golden, we gather in the resort’s small restaurant for a hearty dinner filled with laughter and lively conversation. It’s lovely to have this time together before the wedding to catch up and relax. Though I have made a few friends in the city, I miss my friends and family, and home.

After dinner, our group stops in the meadow to watch for shooting stars, the mountain air cooling quickly.

“There’s Cassiopeia,” Kirilee says, pointing up. “And look! You can see Pegasus!”

Hutch comes in next to me. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore,” he says in a low tone, his eyes apprehensive in the darkness. “I don’t like it when you’re mad.”

“I don’t like it either.” Last fall, someone broke into my apartment that I share with two fellow med students. Hutch insisted I get an alarm system, even offered to fly out to San Francisco to install it. I pushed back—the guy who broke in didn’t take anything, and my scream had forced him to flee. There was no reason to believe that he’d be back.

But instead of backing down, without my knowing, Hutch had asked one of our mutual friends, Jeremy, a security officer stationed at nearby Travis Air Force Base, to secretly keep tabs on me. Hutch has a protective streak a mile wide, but this crossed a line for me.

We were at odds about it for months. I didn’t want to admit that maybe I’m not so safe in the city because then what? It’s not like Hutch is going to somehow protect me from thousands of miles away. So we compromised. I got an alarm system, and he told Jeremy to stand down.

“Too bad you only have forty-eight hours of leave,” I say. “You’ll miss the barbecue Sunday night at the Hutton’s.”

His eyes stay focused on the dark sky above us. “We’re about to deploy. You know how it is.”

I back off. Hutch loves his job. Even though it wrecks those of us who care about him.

“How long this time?” I ask.

“I’m going to miss Thea’s graduation.”

I wince. Thea is his middle sister, a gifted musician, likely headed to Cornish on a full scholarship. “That’s too bad.”

Hutch sighs. “I might miss…a lot of things.”

I give him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh! Shooting star!” Sofie calls out.

“Wow,” Hutch says as the comet winks out above us.

I’m still waiting for a reply, but Hutch yawns loudly. Did he mean to say that out loud?

A chill drops through me, settling hard in my gut. I don’t ever let myself think about the possibility of Hutch not making it home. Instead, I focus on the positive. Hutch is highly trained in all kinds oftactics to keep him alive and is an integral part of a specialized unit. Yes, their missions are dangerous, but I rest my faith in Hutch and his crew to survive. If I didn’t, I’d never sleep at night.

“Wanna run in the morning?” he asks, like he didn’t hear my question. “I was thinking of the lake trail, then maybe a swim if there’s time.”

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