Page 32 of Worth the Wait
The engine turned over, purring now. Smooth, easy,fixed.
Nathan stayed crouched by the bike, pretending to study the bolts as the Peugeot rolled back, turned onto the road, and disappeared.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Beside him, Reece shifted, one glove tucked under his arm, darting his gaze from the disappearing Peugeot to Nathan.
“So… you know our resident PC Webb, then?”
Nathan focused on the gear linkage, tightening a bolt that didn’t need tightening. “Yeah. Used to. Went to school together.”
Reece hummed, as if he already knew there was more to that story. “Ron said you were army?”
Nathan gave a curt nod. “S’right.”
“What regiment?”
“1st Battalion, Royal Anglian.”
“Infantry, then.”
“Yeah.”
“Where were you stationed?”
Nathan kept his eyes on the bike. “Started in Cyprus. Then Afghanistan. Iraq. Back to Afghan. Finished in Kenya for training rotations. After that, was posted closer to home. Colchester. Before I left for good.”
There was silence for a beat too long, filled only by the tick of cooling engines and the far-off cry of gulls overhead. Reece said nothing. Just nodded, as if he’d only asked out of habit and now wished he hadn’t.
Nathan wiped his hands on the cloth again, the smell of oil and metal thick in his nose, but it was the echo of Freddie’s gaze that lingered.
No combat zone had ever knocked the wind out of him like that look from Freddie had.
“You play footie?” Reece asked, breaking the silence.
“What?”
“We’re a man down for the Emergency Services five-a-side on Wednesday. Worthbridge Fire lost our striker to paternity leave. Lucky sod. You fancy stepping in? Figure ex-infantry counts as an honorary emergency lad.”
Nathan stood, stretching out his back. “I was more defence than anything.”
Reece looked him up and down. “Yeah, bet you were. We can shuffle things around. Could use someone with a bit of grit at the back. You up for it?”
“I got a gammy leg.”
“Yeah? What’s up with it?
“Shrapnel tore through the knee on my last tour. Missed the bone, but the tendon damage was a bitch. Couple surgeries. Still stiff in the cold.”
“Means you gotta keep moving it, right?”
Nathan couldn’t argue with that. Man had a point.
Reece slapped a hand on Nathan’s shoulder. Could’ve been friendly, but there was also something else behind it. Something bigger. Weightier. Like who’s got a bigger dick contest. “Wednesday. Six o’clock. Harrow Lodge Park. You know it?”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. I know it.”
“Greenies’ll be on standby if your leg gives out. But I’ve got a feeling you want to prove something. Maybe to yourself.” Reece shrugged. “Maybe to someone else.”
