Page 38 of Silver Secrets

“Really good. Thank you for this.”

“You have to stop apologizing and thanking me. You being here is purely selfish. I know this is going to sound weird, but I was planning on spending the night in my truck outside your house if you hadn’t agreed to come here. I’m worried about you.”

“God, I’m glad I came here. I can’t imagine your old bones sitting in a truck all night.”

Gage’s mouth dropped open, and he watched Sloane’s face light up with laughter.

“It probably would have hurt more than when I was in my twenties, but you’re worth it, Red.”

She winced again, and Gage got to his feet.

“Is there anything I can get you? Are you in pain? We should have gotten that prescription filled at the hospital. I think the only thing I have is some over the counter shit that probably won’t even touch it at this point.”

“I promise, I’m fine. My wrist is just sore. It’s not even as bad as when I landed on it in the woods. Come sit back down.”

“No. I’m going to get you something. And you’ll need to eat. Is your stomach still feeling queasy?”

“I’m okay for now.”

The sound of her scream from earlier in the night filled his mind. It was all he could hear. She was sitting there in front of him, sipping on her tea, but it just repeated on a sick loop, over and over and over. A switch flipped inside of him, and he was flooded with worry.

“You’re not okay.” The tension in his body roared back to life. Anger bubbled under the surface as he thought about how horribly wrong the night could have gone. “None of this is okay, Red. Christ, what the fuck were you thinking, driving alone at night?”

Her brown eyes went wide at his harsh tone. And that fucking gutted him.

“I was thinking I’m a grown woman who has been driving for nearly twenty years. That my client needed me, and I was going to do everything in my power to be there for them. I wasn’t thinking someone would decide to take their road rage out on me, but that’s life, Gage. Sometimes, bad things just happen. And they’re scary because they are completely out of our control.”

“I think I know that better than anyone else, don’t you?”

Ten

“Ishouldn’t have said it like that.” Sloane took a deep breath, willing the ache in her head to go away. “Look, this obviously wasn’t a good idea. I’ll just ask Mae if she can give me a lift home. I don’t need?—”

“Red. I swear, if you try to tell me one more time that you don’t need someone to look after you tonight, I might actually lose it.”

Gage sat down in the chair next to her, his emotions rolling off of him in waves so big Sloane knew he had to feel like he was drowning.

“Are you ready to talk to me about it?” she asked as calmly as she could manage. Her head and wrist were growing more painful, the effects of the medication they gave her at the hospital clearly wearing off. But seeing so much hurt bubbling up to the surface with Gage was more painful than any injury she had, and she was determined to get him to talk to her about it.

Gage held his hand out, his palm towards her, silently waiting for her to accept. Sloane slid the fingers of her uninjured hand through his and immediately felt his relief.

“No.”

“Gage.”

“Red. Please.” His voice broke as his head crashed down to where their hands were joined. He pressed his forehead against her hand, most likely thinking that was all the touch she’d be able to give him. But Sloane wanted to give him so much more. That’s why she didn’t hesitate to bring her other hand, brace and all, up off her lap to stroke his hair.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Gage taking in long, slow breaths as Sloane continued to run her fingers through his hair. As time went on, her hand moved farther down, until she was touching the skin on the back of his neck. If Gage had any thoughts about what she was doing, he didn’t voice them.

“I know you’re a therapist and listening to people talk is your job, and that you love it, but I can’t even begin to explain what it was like to drive up on that scene tonight.”

She nodded, squeezing her hand gently against his. Mentally, she was kicking herself. His upset was her fault. She’d called someone who had been touched so tragically by a vehicle accident before. Why hadn’t she thought to call emergency services?

Sloane pushed down all the anxiety, and focused her attention on Gage’s eyes. There was a storm brewing inside of them. He was lost at sea, and she needed to be the one to get him back to shore safely.

“I know it had to bring up things… from their accident.”

He groaned. “Of course it fucking did. When I got there, I didn’t even see your car. That’s how bad it fucked me up. I know this sounds crazy, but it was our old van that I saw first. Same sticker Mel made me put on the bumper when Mikey was born. Same car seat we strapped him into on the back seat. It was like a fog filled my mind and I was there, at their accident. I never even saw pictures of it when I came back stateside, but my brain forced me to face it tonight. And then I heard your voice calling to me, Sloane. If you’d been…” His eyes closed as he slowly shook his head back and forth.

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