Page 12 of Protection for Rowan

Shine closed his eyes and let his head drop back as he groaned. He had to tell his buddies everything. He trusted them with his life. Surely, he could trust them with this.

"Fine." Shine grabbed the towel he'd brought out and wiped his face. He knew his story would get a reaction. Hejust hoped they could understand why he hadn't told them before.

"Spill it!" Apple called out, laughter filling his voice.

This wasn't a laughing matter, but Apple didn't know. Of course, none of them knew because he hadn't told anyone. "We were at camp together. We met during the last week and hung out some. We found out that we were on the same flight. Well, the first leg of my flight home was the same as hers. We got our seats moved and sat together."

Apple waggled his eyebrows. "Nice. Did you join the mile-high club?"

Shine rolled his eyes and shook his head. He should have told them earlier about the crash, but it hadn’t come up.

Griz tossed his towel at Apple. “Jesus, man, don’t be a dick. Spill the beans, Shine. We need to hear what happened.”

"No, man, we didn't get into the mile-high club because we didn't make it up that far. Birds disabled the engine, and we went down. It took me about a year to recover. That's why I got an avionics degree. I was bored but couldn't go into the military because I didn't have the strength to keep up."

The guys stared at him open-mouthed, shock evident in their gaze. Squat narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Disabled the engine. You mean you were in a plane crash, right?”

Shine shrugged. “Yeah. The pilot landed in the river.”

Griz was the first to speak up. “Damn, man. That really stinks.”

“Yeah, it does. I lost her number and contact information because my phone was lost. She was sent to a different hospital, and I never saw her again.”

“Fuck, that’s wild,” Jay said.

Squat pulled him into a side hug. "I had no idea. You survived a plane crash. That's amazing."

“You are a total badass,” Apple said as he gave him a quick hug.

He shrugged. “I don’t know about that.”

Sharp snorted. “None of us have survived a commercial plane crash.”

He laughed. “Maybe I’m a bit of a badass.”

Griz slapped him on the back. “You’re a total badass. And this woman, you said you got in contact with her again. When do we get to meet her?”

“I don’t know. You all overwhelm most people. I don’t want her getting skittish and running.”

Squat shot him puppy dog eyes. “Aw, but we’re nice.”

Sharp rolled his eyes. “Behave, Squat. He’ll bring her around when he wants to.”

He nodded. “Maybe soon.”

“I know Danika would love to meet her.”

Jay flashed a wide grin. “I’m sure Nichole would be happy to meet her.”

Apple snorted and laughed. “Damn, you all are pairing off. You can count on me to remain single forever.”

Sharp rolled his eyes. “That’s what they all say.”

Apple shook his head. “No way will I ever be tied down.”

Griz threw back his head and laughed. “You keep professing that, you’re going to be the next to fall.”

“Never!”

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