Page 44 of Hit the Ground
“Never,” I whispered.
“Then give yourself that same grace.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“Good.” She cupped the back of my head again. “Lean on Cay. He can take it.”
That was harder to agree to. “He doesn’t want—”
She shifted back to meet my gaze. “He does. My son doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do. He’s stubborn like that. He gets it from his mom.”
I let out a wet laugh. “I can try.”
“That’s all you can do.”
She held me for as long as I needed. Letting go was difficult, but I forced myself to pull back, and she squeezed my shoulders, smiling gently.
“You’re going to be okay,” she said. “Promise.”
“Thank you. For everything.” I yawned. “I might need another nap.”
That made her laugh. “That sounds like a good idea. You need to rest so you can heal.”
I turned to head toward the guest room, stopping short when I spotted Caleb in the doorway, his brow dipped low, his eyes pinned on me. A deep frown tugged at the corners of his mouth, and I imagined he’d been standing there a while. Maybe the whole time.
“I’m going to take another nap.”
“Rest easy,” he uttered, thick and raspy. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
When I passed him, I looked up into his haunted eyes, and my stomach clenched. “Thank you for everything.”
The lines on the side of his mouth were carved granite. “Don’t need your thanks. Just need you safe and well.”
“I am.” I allowed myself one fleeting graze along his arm, and I didn't say it—he didn’t want to hear it—but in my head, I added, “Thanks to you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Caleb
“There’ssomethingyou’renottelling me.”
With Alice sleeping, the kitchen cleaned, and nothing left to do, my mother was on her way home to my dad. I thought I’d gotten off light—no major inquisition—but I should have known better. She stopped on my front porch, pinning me with a prodding stare.
“There’s a lot I don’t tell you,” I said.
That earned me an eye roll. “Sure. About cattle and fences. You don’t hold secrets. You’ve never been good at that.” Resting her shoulder against a support beam, she regarded me with the kind of suspicion that had always made me crumble. “What’s your connection with Alice?”
I pressed my lips together, considering how much I should say—how much Alice would want me to divulge.
Something told me she wouldn’t mind if I told my mom—not after today and the way Alice had taken the comfort she’d offered.
I would never forget Alice’s painful screams at the hospital, and now, the picture of her sinking into my mother’s arms wouldbe forever burned into my brain. I’d never witnessed anyone so in need of a hug. The things they’d said to one another had twisted in my gut, making me feel both violent and grateful for my mother.
“Alice expressed interest in me, and I—” I looked away, moving my jaw back and forth as I gazed out over my family’s land. “I agreed to take her out, then thought better of it and turned her down gently.”
“Why did you turn her down, Cay?”
Resting my hands on the railing, I exhaled slowly. “I’m good where I am, and I’m not looking to add any kind of relationship to the mix. I thought it was better to end things before they started. And at the time, I barely knew her. She’d been my server at Joy’s, but I wasn’t even aware she was Jesse’s favorite librarian.”
