Page 91 of Slash & Burn

“I came here last night when I got back,” he explained, licking his lips and staring at the water with a familiar determination. He was Grady The Unstoppable again. “But after everything, I needed you to see it with your own eyes.”

He gripped the back of my neck and gently tugged me close, kissing my temple before he whispered, “Cause you’re the reason I can do this again.” He smiled down at me, pecking me quickly on the lips before he took off, dashing into the water at a sprint.

When the water hit his waist he dove, disappearing under the surface for a beat before popping up again further out. He swung his head, sending his wet hair back in a wild wave and then turned to the shore. He locked eyes with me, his smile so wide, so beautifully open and joyful, a tiny, shaky sob rose up. I clasped my hand over my mouth, trying to hold back the tears that were rising faster and stronger than me.

Grady saw them and shook his head, waving for me to come to him.

I was slower getting into the water, letting the cool spread over me like a blanket, calming my racing heart. He must have grown impatient, because before I’d made it half way he’d cut the distance and reached around my waist to haul me into his arms.

“Don’t cry, baby,” he whispered, but his own eyes were rimmed with water I knew wasn’t from the lake. “Look,” he swung me around, one arm stretching out into the water as if he was a free man. And I guess that’s exactly what he was. He was free again.

“You did this,” he said, his voice tight as he moved us farther from the shore, away from everyone else still left on the beach as the sun dropped behind the hills.

Shaking my head I wrapped my arms around his neck. “No, you are the only one who gets credit for this, Grady Holloway. You are so strong.”

“But you knew I could do it,” he said, grinning at me with fire in his eyes. “You believed when I didn’t. I could never have done this without you.”

My reasons for why he was wrong would have to wait, as Grady swallowed my rebuttal, his lips pressing to mine, his kiss demanding. His fingers dug into my side, a groan vibrating through his chest as he took more and more. I was lost to the world, floating in his arms, consumed by him.

He pulled back for a breath, nipping at my lip and searching my eyes. “I could never have done it without my girl.”

Something inside me crumbled. He was holding my gaze with a reverence that made it hard to breathe. In that moment, I was so proud of him, so happy for him. But I had to let him go and it was breaking my heart.

I wanted to tell him I’d always be his girl. I wanted him to stay. But there was no way any of that could happen. Grady had worked too hard for his dreams for him to give them up now, and I’d never let him. But I wasn’t going to Boston. I didn’t want that life. Of all the things that might have changed for me this summer, that wasn’t one of them. No matter how deeply I felt for Grady.

“And now you have your life back,” I said, trying so hard to let my happiness for him fill me up so he wouldn’t see the sadness beneath. But Grady was just as good at reading me by now, and his brow scrunched down tight and worried.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me.” He combed my hair back with damp fingers, the cold lingering on my skin.

“I’m just sad the program is over,” I said, desperate to keep from showing how foolishly attached I’d gotten. Grady had agreed to this because I’d sworn I would be okay, I refused to make him feel bad now just because I’d overestimated myself. “We had a good run,” I went on, sighing with a smile as I looked around the lake.

Grady was watching me, his face unreadable. “Jill . . .”

I didn’t want him to try and make me feel better. I didn’t want him to know I wasn’t okay at all. “I’m fine,” I said, swirling my hand in the water to give myself someplace else to look but into his penetrating gaze.

“Do you want to come to Boston for the opening team dinner?” He’d asked it in a rush, as if he was frantic to quell my disappointment. But a team dinner sounded like something spouses and significant others went to, not me. The sooner Grady went back to Boston and I got back into my routine up here, the better. For both of us.

“That sounds like the kind of event that would give me hives,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. But Grady looked away before he nodded.

“Yeah, maybe it would be a little much for you.”

“Sorry.”

He shook his head, his smile a little weaker as he sighed. “No. It’s all good. It’s one hundred percent sports talk the whole time, anyway. And I definitely couldn’t get them to change the topic, so . . .” he trailed off, laughing at himself.

I laughed with him, but nothing about this felt funny. And when he dropped me back at my place and I asked him if he wanted to come inside, he frowned as he shook his head.

“I’ve got to drive back tonight. Morning skate with some of the new guys. We,” he paused, looking over at the garden he’d planted longingly. “We’ve got to make some hard decisions, so I’ll probably be down there full-time until training camp starts now.”

“Oh.” My mouth popped open, hanging there until he looked back at me and I snapped it shut. “They need their captain,” I tried, smiling through the pit opening in my stomach.

He sniffed, his eyes pinched at the corners. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

“Well, don’t be a stranger.”

He looked at me, and for a second it was like he didn’t know what to say. “I won’t. Night, Jilly.”

“Night, Grady.”

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