Page 29 of Game Changer

“I think that’s a great idea. You sure you still want to do the whole biz com bit or?” I let it hang.

“I mean?” She lifts a shoulder.

“Think it through; no hurry.”

“Comm would be the fastest way to earn my undergrad degree. Makes sense.”

“You’re a different person than you were then; what does Lindsey 2.0 want?”

She sighs as she stands up and heads toward the door. “I want to go freeze my ass off at the side of the road and watch you hotshots drive by, then head to the Brewery and be home by eight at the latest to get her bathed and in bed so she can get to school on time.”

“Let me keep her tonight; you sleep, wake up, and do some research.” I push up off the floor. “I’ll pack a bag for her.”

“You sure?” she calls after me.

“As long as it’s okay with Lily, it’s good with me,” I answer.

“If what’s okay with Lily, Daddy?” Lily calls from the bathroom.

“You feel like having a sleepover with me tonight?” I ask, knowing damn well she’s gonna say yes.

“We have sweet toast in the morning?”

“You bet we will.” I chuckle.

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing, startling me out of sleep. I blindly reach for it, hoping not to wake Lily, seeing it’s still dark out, and she’s all cuddled up beside me.

My phone reads two a.m.

I answer the call, trying to be as quiet as I can be, so as not to wake my girl as I whisper into the receiver, “Hello?”

“Beau, it’s Liam,” a familiar voice says with urgency. “I need you to stay calm and listen to me for a minute, okay?”

I slide out of bed and make my way to the hall. “What the hell is going on, man?”

“Logan is on his way to your house. He should be there in just a couple minutes. There’s been an accident.”

“Lindsey?”

“Yeah, Boone, Lindsey. She went off the road and hit a tree. They took her to Upstate and …” I can hear him swallow back emotion before saying, “Just get there.”

I turn around and see Riley with a clean pair of sweats and a hoodie in her hands.

“Go, get changed. Hudson’s going to ride with you and Logan, and I’m gonna stay with Lily.”

I don’t remember much between that conversation and getting into Logan’s SUV. I know it’s bad because he doesn’t waste a second peeling out of the driveway.

“You have any information?” I ask as I roll the window down a little bit to get some fucking air. I feel like I can’t breathe.

“I know that, uh, we’re going to end up passing the scene of the accident on our way to the hospital, and there’s no way to avoid it, so I guess we should all prepare for what that’s going to look like.”

“What do you mean? She came all the way here to Skaneateles? Her place is in the opposite direction.”

Hudson’s hand grips my shoulder from the back seat and gives it a squeeze. “Brother, I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll get the opportunity to ask her soon, yeah?”

I don’t have time to answer, and I’m glad, because I’m not sure what to think right now. And that’s when my phone rings. I answer quickly.

“This is Beau Boone.”

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