Page 33 of Knight's Fall

He took a deep breath and released it as if gathering his courage to speak. Courtlyn braced herself, fearing what was to come.

“Listen, about the kiss, I—”

“No,” she interrupted, shaking her head. “If you’re going to apologize for the kiss, don’t. If you’re worried I’m going to read too much into it and you’ll have to start avoiding your neighbor-turned-stalker, don’t be. I’m not. I enjoyed the kiss, and I had fun hanging out with you and Mo this afternoon. That’s it. That’s all that needs to be said.”

“Courtlyn—"

“Really, it’s okay. I should go so you can take care of Mo and get some rest. If you want some more help with the painting or whatever, you know where to find me.”

She turned before he could stop her and walked out of his house.

Chapter Sixteen

Any other night, if Wings had been outside, he would have been on his back deck, and anyone coming to the front door would have knocked in vain. He was in no mood for company, so he wouldn’t have answered.

But he was currently acting like a chicken shit. Not wanting to risk seeing Courtlyn or even watching her move about her house, he and Mo were on the front porch, facing the quiet street and absently watching the lightning bugs flickering in the distance. When Jay pulled his SUV into the driveway, Wings had no choice but to greet him and invite him to sit down.

“Why aren’t you at home with your wife and daughters?” Wings hadn’t meant his tone to sound gruff, but he didn’t apologize for it either.

“Davi and Stephanie are at a pool party. Payton had to work late at the hospital. A patient died today, and she wanted to be there to counsel the family.”

Jay may not have meant to, but his words made Wings feel guilty for his sour mood. “That’s rough. I don’t know how she deals with that as much as she does.”

Jay shrugged. “I’ve asked her the same thing, and she said the circumstances aren’t what’s important. She just wants to help people with whatever they’re dealing with, and with this job, she’s able to do that. She said it’s like us when we risk our lives on a mission. We’re doing it to help someone who can’t help themselves in a particular situation.”

Wings didn’t know what to say to that, so he just sipped his beer and waited for his friend to reveal his true motive for stopping by.

“Where’s your cane?”

“Inside. I only need it if I’m moving around a lot.”

“How long before the doc releases you to come to work?”

There it was. The real reason Jay came by was to check his progress. He was here as Wings’ boss, not his friend. Wings swiveled his head around to glare at Jay.

“Wondering if you need to hire my replacement? Well, don’t let my rehab stop you. If you have doubts that I can keep doing my job, you do whatever you need to, boss man.”

Jay held his gaze until Wings felt some of his anger being replaced by uncertainty. First with Courtlyn and now with Jay, he experienced uncertainty more today than he had since he was a kid. He was screwed up, and he wasn’t sure he could blame his injury for it anymore.

“I’m not the one with doubt. I’m only wondering when you’re going to get your head out of your ass and come back to the team. We need you, man. It’s too quiet around the office without you.”

Wings rolled his eyes. The jokes about his naturally loud voice never seemed to stop, but he would never admit how much he missed them. He missed being around his team, but the last thing he wanted was to hold any of them back. His rehab was going well, but he wasn’t at one hundred percent. He wasn’t sure if he could ever get back to that.

“Stop it,” Jay snapped as if he read Wings’ thoughts. “Your injury is hardly a career ender. What’s the matter with you? Since when do you spend so much time feeling sorry for yourself?”

Wings looked away and flipped Jay off in response.

Jay threw his head back and laughed. “There he is. The Wings we know and make fun of. I half expected to find you in the house sipping beer and watching TV with the lights off. Or sitting on your back deck chucking empty beer bottles into a pile in the yard. What are you doing out here?”

“Really, man? I’m not depressed or some shit. I just want to be able to come back to work and finish my house. I’m ready to move on to the next one.”

“Damn. I owe BB a steak dinner.”

That had Wings staring incredulously at his friend. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Jay grinned. “BB told me you had a cute neighbor behind you who was interested. We had a bet going on whether you already banged her while you were home and were going stir-crazy to get out of here so you wouldn’t have to deal with her. He said she didn’t seem the clingy type, but he said it was the quiet, shy ones who turned out crazy.”

“Keep talking about her like that, and I won’t be the only one needing physical therapy.” His voice dipped low and menacing. Jay blinked in surprise, and Wings had to admit he surprised himself with his reaction.

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