Page 35 of Sutton's Shadow

“In his defense, I wasn’t very sick when they left. My fever spiked later.”

“Still, I can’t believe he’d leave you there like that. Wasn’t he your security protection?”

“Well, yeah, but I was safe enough where I was. I assured him I wasn’t going anywhere alone. Besides, I was way too sick to even move.”

He shook his head, too disgusted with his old friend’s actions to think of anything nice to say.

“After a few days with the temperature spike I was suffering, a girl I’d befriended came by to check on me. She was so concerned about my condition she ran and got her grandmother. The two of them nursed me back to health.”

“Fuck, Sutton. You spent days suffering alone? Was there no cell service or something? Could you not get a hold of Liam?”

She stared down at her lap. “Um...”

“You didn’t tell him,” he perceived.

“He’d been looking forward to the trip. We’d been traveling non-stop for months. By that time, we both needed a break. I couldn’t ruin that for him with what I thought was just a cold. I didn’t know I’d get worse.”

“Still, he was an asshole for even leaving you with just a cold. He should have taken better care of you. Let alone the fact that he abandoned his job and left his client unprotected. Jesus, what was he thinking?”

“It’s okay, Wyatt. It’s all in the past.”

He placed his hand over hers in her lap, happy they were warmer than they had been. “For what it’s worth, I would have never left you.”

Suttoninhaledsharply,theintensity in his gaze making her breath catch. Her cheeks heated, and it wasn’t because of a fever. “That’s sweet of you to say.”

“Shall we continue watching?”

She smiled, glad to change the subject. As the show played, she lay her head against the arm of the couch and curled her legs up between them. Wyatt reached over and grabbed her feet, stretching her legs out across his lap. He absently rubbed her feet as he watched the TV. She took advantage of his distraction to study him.

Liam had been a handsome man, but there was something very pleasing about Wyatt. The physical package was undeniably appealing as his job kept him fit and trim. His jaw was firm and covered with a light peppering of scruff. A patrician nose and thick lashes framed his midnight blue eyes. Dark hair fell in waves her fingers were itching to delve into. And when he smiled and the crinkles in the corners of his eyes appeared, not to mention that stupidly attractive dimple, she felt it all the way to her toes.

“Tell me about Bethany,” she said, needing something to distract herself from the feel of his hands on her.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything. What does she like to do? What’s her favorite subject? Anything.”

He snorted a laugh. “Her favorite subject is an easy one, history. She’s relentless in her love of all things historical. A few years ago, she started listening to the soundtrack from Hamilton and that was it,” he responded fondly.

“I can understand why.”

“I surprised her with tickets to see the traveling show soon after her obsession started.”

“Oh my God, what a good brother you are. She must have been so excited.”

“That’s an understatement. She was worried I’d get called out with the Nighthawks and be unable to take her. She was an anxious mess, but I was determined to take her. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

“And how did she like it?”

“She loved it. She loved it so much she became voracious. She wanted to learn everything about the Revolutionary War era.”

“Too bad Michigan doesn’t have any Revolutionary War sites you could visit.”

“Well...” He paused dramatically, a slight red hue coloring his cheeks.

“What? What did you do?”

“That summer, I took her on vacation. We visited some of the biggest sites from Massachusetts to Yorktown. We even stopped in New York City to visit Hamilton’s home.”

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