Page 37 of Cold Foot Croc

“Before the bear? Yeah. I guess I was.”

Raynah rested her cheek against his ribs. “I think we grew up very differently.”

“I want to know about it.” His stomach growled again, and she leaned her cheek the other way and pressed a kiss to his wrist.

“Someday I’ll tell you about it.”

The smile faded from his lips as he looked down at her, and she knew he could hear the lie in her tone.

“Why not tell me about it now?” he asked. “Was it bad?”

She inhaled deeply and wished none of this had been brought up. She didn’t like the memories. “No, it was the opposite. It was very, very good, but I can’t go back, and I can’t fix it, and I’ll never see my old life again. It’s not fun to talk about it. I just want to laugh, you know? After everything, I just want to laugh.”

“Laugh until you almost pee your pants?” he asked, and bless that man, he’d allowed his smile to return.

“I don’t even remember the last time I laughed like that.”

“Best laugh in the world. I wish I had that on video so I can go back and listen on a bad day.”

“Really?” she asked, absolutely touched to her heart. She’d never given a thought to the way she laughed, but he was giving her this unexpected compliment that warmed her from the inside out.

“Really.”

“I like your laugh too.”

He stopped them at the edge of the campsite and faced her, then took his clothes from her arms. “I think sometime you should tell me about the good parts you miss. It would be a tragedy to keep those to yourself.”

“Maybe I’m protective of those memories.”

“And maybe you will love them even more if you see someone else care for those memories.”

She smiled sadly at him. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

His brows drew down in a slight frown, as if he didn’t understand, but that was okay.

“You have high walls,” he said as he moved toward the fire, which had gone low and was more smoke than flame.

Raynah pulled her jacket tighter around herself. “What do you mean?”

“I bet you built those walls in Cold Foot, where you had to always be tough, and it’s scary to let someone see behind them.”

“I’m not scared of anything,” she said defensively.

“Oh, you’re a badass, Raynah,” he said seriously, meeting her eyes over the fire. “No one can question that. I can feel your toughness. I bet humans, with their dulled senses, could tell you’re tough without even talking to you. But from one wall-builder to another, it’s scary as hell giving someone else power over the things you’re protective of, and that’s what it is, right? Talking about it and letting someone in is giving them power.” He gestured to her belly. “You already had to give power up to someone who didn’t deserve it, I bet.” He got up and dug through a big red cooler. “I’m not him though. You’ll learn that over time, and then I will scare you less, just like you aren’t Farrah, and over time you will scare me less.”

“I’m…” Raynah frowned, baffled by just how deep Garret could be. “I’m not scared of you.” But even she could hear theuncertainty in her voice. Was she? Not physically, no, but was she scared of growing close to him?

That felt right. It felt accurate.

“You can tell me when you’re ready,” he said, gathering ingredients for a sandwich.

Consumed with her thoughts, she sank into the camp chair and watched him prepare food, half in this world, and half in a maze of memories of her old life before Cold Foot.

He handed her a plate with a sandwich and a bag of chips, and then went to making his own. She sat there frozen, holding the food. He had to be starving after all those rapid-fire Changes, but he’d taken care of her first.

Her gaze drifted up to him. He had gooseflesh across his skin as he worked on the meal for himself.

Raynah stood and set her plate down in her seat, then grabbed his sweater and pulled it over his head. He knew immediately what she was doing and helped, pushing his arms through the sleeves and standing to his full height to pull the hem down over his abs. He pulled on his jeans next, and gave her the softest smile as she held his jacket open for him.

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