Page 56 of I'll Be There
Micah folded his arms over his chest. “That’s tough. But, you had to know it was a very real possibility. Still, she knew who you were when you met.”
“And then she got mauled, and her life changed.”
“So...can you give up being and doing what you love for the woman you love?”
Conner blew out a breath, looked back outside, into the vault of heaven, the spill of stars. “I want to.” The words sunk in, found flesh and bone, hung on. Yeah, he wanted to.
His phone vibrated on the table, and he went over, picked it up.What—?“Liza’s in thehospital.”
Micah turned, wearing the appropriate expression.
“It’s from Grace—said she had some sort of allergy attack. They’re admitting her.” Conner scooped up his keys off the counter.
Micah followed him.
“You don’t need to go—”
Micah held out his hand, palm open. “I’ll drive. You breathe.”
Conner paused, then slapped the keys into Micah’s hand. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Me too.”
They headed out the door.
Really.
But he climbed in, glanced at Micah in the driver’s seat. “You can go fast.”
Micah apparently took him at his word. The headlights strafed the forest as they cut down the dirt road to the main highway, Micah jerking the wheel hard as they rounded turns. Conner shoved his hand onto the ceiling, his feet to the floorboards. “I’d like to keep my axles.”
“You said go fast.”
They hit the highway and Micah put the pedal down. Conner didn’t stop him, and they rode in silence, the big lake in front of them dark and silver as they descended upon Deep Haven. A small town, it sat in a bowl surrounded by birch and pine, the harbor a cup into which the mighty Lake Superior poured, spilling out onto the pebbled shores. Tonight, a generous moon dolloped the lake with a bold stripe of icing, light rimming the waves as they tipped, then fell.
He could live here, maybe. He already liked the coffee place—the Java Cup—and had eaten his fair share of donuts at World’s Best Donuts. He knew people besides Mona, like Darek Christiansen and last summer’s rookie smoke jumper, Tucker Newman. The forest service had an office here—he’d met theguys, worked alongside them during the fire three years ago. Good, hardworking Minnesotans.
Perhaps he could hang out a shingle—Computer Repairs.
The thought settled a ball of darkness in his gut. Shoot. He didn’t want to be the guy who couldn’t settle down, who let adventure lure him away from the life, the family he wanted.
Except...he’d been alone, charting his own course, living with a backpack and a sleeping bag for nearly two decades. Even in the military, he rarely lived in one place for longer than six months. Thrived on change, challenge, and frankly, camaraderie.
He glanced at Micah. They might have fought side by side, but they were cut from different cloth. Micah grew up in a small town in Tennessee, falling for his wife, Lacey, when they were in high school. And sure, Lacey had loved—and married—Micah’s best friend, but she’d always loved Micah more. When Micah found Lacey after she was widowed, he found home.
Conner had never needed a home. And that thought sat him up straight.
He didn’t need a home. He needed people. His people.
They came around the final curve, the streetlights of Deep Haven glaring into view, hard on the pavement. They were just at the start of the summer, one that would be filled with festivals and campfires and families...with life.
Hecouldfind that life here, with Liza.
Micah slowed as they came flying into the city limits. “Almost there—”
“Cherries,” Conner said as lights flickered on from a cruiser hiding in a pullout just off the highway.
“Shoot,” Micah said. “Listen, the hospital isn’t far. I’ll get you there, then deal with this cop.” He shot a look in the rearview mirror.
