Page 102 of Break My Fall

“Come on. It wouldn’t hurt you to get some practice in.”

Landry placed a hand on Cal’s forearm. He looked at her, and even from where Gray was, he could tell she was saying “Shut up” without uttering a single word.

Mo, oblivious to the tiny drama happening on the other side of him, nodded enthusiastically. “Maybe some hand-to-hand? Or grappling?”

Meredith was coiled so tight beside him, Gray imagined that if Cal or Mo said one more word, she was going to start pinging around the room like she was in a pinball machine.

“Will y’all excuse us? I’m going to have to go back to work soon, and I need to talk to Meredith.”

“Talk?” Cal and Mo said the word, with the same incredulous inflection, at the same time.

Meredith stood, slid her chair in, grabbed her plate, and hightailed it away from the table without a backward glance.

Gray leaned across and spoke to Mo and Cal. “Back off.”

Both men’s expressions hardened, but Gray didn’t stay to chat. He followed Meredith outside. Once they were away from the house, he took her hand. She rested her head on his arm, and he happily followed her lead.

When the well-worn path they were on led them to the river, then to a bench that overlooked it, he took a seat beside her. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to talk, so he put his arm around her shoulders and held her until she rested against him.

“I don’t want to die, Gray.” Her broken words sent a shaft of terror into his heart.

“I can’t promise you complete safety, but between me, Mo, Cal, your dad, and pretty much your entire family, we’re going to do all we can to be sure that won’t happen. I just got you, Meredith. There’s no way I’m going to lose you now.”

He got another ten minutes to cuddle her, to whisper things like “I’ve got you” and “We’ll be okay” in between pressing kisses to her hair, twisting his fingers with hers, and doing everything he could to comfort her.

Then his phone rang. He answered.

“Sorry, boss,” Brick said. “I’m okay to man the fort, but I can’t go out on any calls. The stomach bug that’s been going around got me.”

“I’ll be there in twenty.”

He put his phone back in his pocket.

“I’m sorry I dumped this on you. You have so much on yourplate. But if I tell my parents or Mo that I’m scared, they’ll freak out.” She dropped her head against his chest and took a few deep breaths.

“It’s probably too soon for this, but I’m going to put this out there.”

She looked up at him.

“I want to be the one you run to. The one you call when you’re overwhelmed. The first person you want to see when you’re scared. I don’t want to replace your family or your friends. I don’t want to take their place in your life. But I want to have my own place. And I want it to be the safest place you’ve ever known.”

He’d told Brick it would be twenty. It was more like forty.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Meredith led their caravan to the church at seven Saturday morning. There were so many plants in her 4Runner, it was like driving a mobile greenhouse up the mountain.

Gray followed her in his Explorer. He had all the bridal party flowers. Lydia’s bouquet was much like the young woman herself. Classic and mostly traditional, but with unique touches that set them apart. Her flowers were white, nestled in lush greenery, with one rose so red it leaned toward black. The bridesmaids’ bouquets were similar to the bride’s but on a smaller scale. The boutonnieres were all the deepest red, and they were going to pop against the gray tuxes.

Everything was tucked into boxes designed to protect it from being squished in transit, but today, the need for the boxes was even more crucial.

Meredith’s windshield wipers whipped back and forth. The rain hadn’t stopped for four days. Papa said if it didn’t quit soon, the Appalachians might float off somewhere new.

Lydia had made the tough call to cancel her river reception. The wedding guests would be invited to the church’s fellowshiphall for a smaller gathering, and then the bride and groom would hit the road.

Meredith had worked nonstop to make a few arrangements that would spruce up the fellowship hall. Thankfully, she’d been inside it enough that she didn’t need to make a trip to Neeson.

A landslide had blocked a road in Gossamer County last night. Gray should have been handling the scene, but when she hesitantly suggested that Mo come with her instead of him, he refused to consider it. “I have faith in my men, Meredith. They can handle the town for a few hours.”

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