Page 39 of Falling for the Forbidden Fighter

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But I’ll never go toe to toe again.

It took months for my face to heal up after the fight. Catherine got me through the pain.

We drive the truck off the lot so people will stop banging on the window to ask if we’re open. There’s a spot we love just over the highway, overlooking the distant hills. The stars are out, sprinkled endlessly over the desert.

The heat doesn’t feel so bad. I’ve got used to it. I even got myself a nice tan these days.

Catherine and I finish cleaning the truck, throw out our lawn chairs, and share a soda. We crack jokes about customers. She tells me all about her patients, the people she helps.

I could listen to her talk until I drift off to sleep.

I sit back, head resting on my shoulder, eyes memorizing every inch of her as she tells me about elder mobility and trip hazards.

She pauses, blushing. “What are you staring at?”

I shrug. “Everything.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“Get over here.”

Even as the desert’s heat holds out against the night, I’m grateful for Catherine’s warmth. She slides into my lap, still in her scrubs.

“Do you know how much I love you?” I ask, kissing her neck.

“Show me…”

Here in the desert, blanketed by stars, we make risky love hidden behind our truck.

Maybe some night hiker will see, but I don’t care.

We have nothing to hide, no secrets to keep.

In the vastness of the desert, I know I’m not alone anymore.

The end…

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