Page 25 of Shielding Aubree

"Is there a nice flat walk we can take?"

"Absolutely."

He felt her release his hand and he did everything he could to keep his expression neutral.

"I can point the way so we can walk together."

"That sounds like a plan."

Her smile was easy, and he mirrored her expression. "Okay."

When they stepped out into the sun, they both tipped their faces up into the sun.

"It's something to be grateful for."

He turned to look at her and saw the way her face seemed to look years younger.

"Sunlight." She drew in a breath, filling her lungs. "Feeling it on your face when you thought that you'd never see it again."

He watched her, his gaze moving over her face as if he was touching it with his hand.

When her eyes opened, she turned to look at him and he saw the difference in her eyes.

As the touch of the sun helped her face to relax, it was the depth of pain in her eyes that made him want to gather her close and hold her until she could forget how to hurt.

If only it was that simple.

"The accident." Her lips pressed thin again, but he didn't know what it was about her words that brought him so close to tears.

"I fell asleep, exhausted, unable to move, unable to see. I fell asleep fairly sure that I wouldn't wake up.

"I had no idea about how I'd gotten there. I didn't remember getting into my car after my shift. All of my memories about the crash started when I woke up, upside down, strapped into my seat. Exhaustion put me under. I don't even remember feeling tired.

"I was just out and then I woke up with the heat of the sun reaching into the car, touching my skin."

"Did that feel good? The heat?"

She lifted her face back into the sun. "It did at first. But that elation wore off quickly as I realized that I was still trapped. My head ached as if it was about to explode from pressure, and Icould barely breathe, worried that the windshield wouldn't hold and then we'd be at the mercy of the elements."

"We?"

She turned back to him, a look of confusion on her face. "I'm... I'm sorry?"

"You... You said thatwewould be at the mercy of the elements. Who was there with you?"

"Hmm?"

He reached out and touched her chin, gently grasping it between his fingers so he could look into her eyes. "Who was there with you, Aubree? In the car. After your accident?"

She tried to turn away and he loosened his hold instead of tightening it.

He wasn't going to force her to look at him or do anything he wanted her to do. He just wanted to be there to help.

Given freedom from the hold of his hand, she turned to look back at him.

"You're going to think I'm crazy."

"Aubree," he felt the ache in his chest tighten. "I won't. I know what it's like to have my mind play tricks on me, but I also know that sometimes your mind will see things because it needs to process what you're going through, and images pop up in your thoughts. It doesn't mean that you're crazy. It's your mind protecting you."

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