Page 20 of When the Smoke Clears

When the sun is fully up, I slide off the tailgate slowly and make my way inside. The painkiller has kicked in and my side is only a little sore for the time being. It makes getting out of pajamas and into clothes for the day easier. I know I’m supposed to be taking it easy, so I assume healing is going to take a bit longer than they suggested because I can’t possibly sit still.

Someone knocks on the door. Anticipation floods my system. No one has ever come around when Sutton isn’t here. Not that I’ve spent much time alone here. I enter the hallway to open the door.

“Jesus, it took you long enough, gimpy,” Leah says, grinning wildly, and Izzy shoves her with a shoulder. “Too soon?”

“It’s barely seven thirty; I didn’t expect you so early!”

“Well, you’d have known we were coming if you’d bothered to check your messages.” Leah pushes her way through the door.

Izzy holds up a take-out bag. “We brought tacos!”

“Come on, we can eat in the office,” I say, leading the way to Sammie’s old room. I’ve yet to meet Sutton’s sister, but with any luck we’ll make the trip soon.

Izzy points to the couch. Because of course, she’s forcing me to sit. I do, with an added look of annoyance. “I already know you haven’t been resting,” she says.

My jaw drops. “Excuse me, I am—”

She pins me with the face of a teacher instead of her true dental hygienist nature. “Don’t even try it. We saw Sutton on the way in.”

“Traitor,” I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Even if we hadn’t, you never listen to anyone.”

They both ignore my half-hearted glare. Leah finds everything she’s looking for and falls onto the couch next to me with a stack of tacos. “Ow. This thing hasn’t been used much.”

I snicker. “I don’t think it’s a common office. It’s just Sutton’s.”

She looks around the rustic space. “You guys break in that desk yet? Eh?” Her elbow makes contact with my ribs, and I’m thankful she’s seated on my right.

“How are you?” Izzy leans against the desk, ignoring the tinfoil-wrapped goodness behind her and Leah’s joke.

I unwrap the first taco Leah sets on my leg. “I’m fine.”

“Liar.” Leah takes a huge bite of taco to hide her quip.

“Just sore and a little tired. I didn’t sleep great.”

“Why?” Izzy asks. “Is the pain waking you?”

This time, I take a bite to buy me time. She continues to stare at me, waiting. A habit that she and Sutton share.

“No. Waking up a lot, but it’s not pain.”

Her face softens. “Nightmares?”

I fold the aluminum foil back over the taco and pinch it closed without responding.

“You didn’t tell the cowboy, did you?”

It’s not lost on any of us that he’s actually a rancher, but he never corrected me, and the name just stuck. I shake my head.

“Why?” Leah’s mouth is full of egg and tortilla.

“He’s so busy trying to take care of me, he’s not focused on the ranch. And I think something is bothering him.”

My friends exchange a look.

Izzy drops down from the desk. “He’s probably freaking out a bit.”

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