Page 17 of Tangled Vows

“Look, I know the thought of touching me disgusts you, but if you could just hold onto me long enough for me to get back to the barrier, I might be able to avoid getting a concussion today.”

He drew back as though I’d slapped him, his eyes widening in shock.That’s right, fucker, I heard what you said about me. His expression quickly morphed into confusion, and his brows knit together.

“That’s not—” he began then shook his head, rethinking his response. “I didn’t want to make you uncomf—” he started again but was interrupted when a childlike voice called to him from behind the boards.

“Uncle E, is the pretty girl okay?”

15

EASTON

The pretty girl was, in fact, not okay. She was swaying on her feet and most likely had a goose egg on the back of her head. But worse than that, she had some wild notion in her head that the thought of touching her disgusted me.I was so confused by her reaction that I didn’t notice Lydia had returned until she announced her arrival.

“I’m back!” she sing-songed, lifting the first aid kit in her hand and waving it around. “Easton,” she said, her tone scolding, “bring her over here. She needs to sit down.” She was right, of course. But I couldn't seem to get my feet to move as the shock of what Shayla said rooted me to the spot. Finally, I shook out of my stupor and guided Shayla to the bench. Lydia flitted around her like an anxious mother hen, and Max watched on with a worried expression. Shayla offered him a soft smile, and some of the tension eased from his features.

“I’ll be alright,” she assured him, “just a little bump to the head.” She glanced back at me before sliding her gaze to him once more as if searching for a resemblance. Max had my mop of dark hair and my nose, but that was it. He had his mom’s eyes,but the rest of his features belonged to the mystery man who sired him.

Lydia gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes widening as she took in the back of Shayla’s head.

“Here,” she said, thrusting the first aid kit at me. “I don’t do blood,” she admitted with an apologetic smile.

“No problem,” I said, taking the box from her. She retreated a few steps and anxiously chewed on the side of her thumb. I dropped onto the bench, straddling it so I could face Shayla, and placed the first aid kit between us. Flipping open the lid, I grabbed a few packs of gauze.

“You should probably see a doctor. It’s possible you have a concussion,” I proclaimed.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Shayla insisted

“You could barely skate straight after hitting your head and were really unsteady. You need to get it checked out.” I slipped on a glove and tore open the package of gauze. “This may sting a little,” I warned as I prepped my supplies.

She snorted out a laugh as Lydia stifled a giggle.

“She was like thatbeforeshe hit her head,” Lydia announced. I glanced between them, confounded by their amusement.

“It was my first time on the ice,” Shayla explained, then sucked in a sharp breath when I pressed the gauze to the back of her head. I winced as her face contorted in pain.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” she gritted out before continuing. “Lydia graciously offered to teach me how to skate, something I’m sure she’s regretting right about now.”

“Nonsense,” Lydia replied, waving her off. “Had I known that Easton was gonna show up and scare the tar outta you, I wouldn’t have asked him to help with the camp.”

Shayla peered at me from the corner of her eye.

“You’re helping with the camp?” There was skepticism and maybe a little surprise in her tone. I dropped my gaze to my lap, suddenly feeling abashed.

“Yeah,” I confirmed. “I brought my nephew with me so he could participate. He and my sister are visiting from out of town this weekend.” I nodded toward where they sat several feet away while Roni helped Max lace up his skates.

Shayla’s gaze followed mine, her eyes widening before settling on my face. She schooled her features before replying.

“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a family man.” There was no malice behind her words, but they stung nonetheless. Family was the most important thing in my life, especially my nephew. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted kids of my own, butthatkid was my world.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” I said, pulling the gauze from Shayla’s head and inspecting it. It was a little bloody, but not as bad as I expected.

“Okay,” Lydia said, breaking the tension. I looked up and saw that all the color had drained from her face, and she was visibly shivering as though she was about to be ill. “I gotta go, uh, make sure everything is ready for the camp.” Without waiting for a reply, she bolted, promising to text Shayla later. She wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t do blood.

“I think it’s stopped bleeding,” I announced, grabbing an antiseptic wipe. The cut didn’t look too bad now, but I wanted to make sure it was clean. Silence fell between us, and I mulled over our conversation on the ice while I gently dabbed at her wound. I wanted to ask her about it, but there were too many prying eyes and ears. I glanced up and found Max watching me intently.Just as I suspected.

So I continued to patch up Shayla’s cut in silence. When I was finally satisfied her wound was clean and wouldn’t start bleeding again, I snapped off my glove and tossed it in the garbage bin.

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