Cade gave a slight shake of his head, took a swig from his water bottle, and moved to the opposite side of the trail.
Reece’s phone chimed, and he slid it from his cargo-pants pocket and silently groaned. This was text number eleven—and that was only today. She was stepping up the pressure. He slipped the device back into place and returned to taking out his frustrations with his pickax. Other than the pile of texts and unanswered voicemails, which were a recent constant in his life, he wasn’t exactly surewherehis aggravation stemmed from.
It had started back at Neve’s clinic, when he’d been trying to be cagey and instead had come off like a complete idiot. Not that Neve hadn’t seen him act like a doofus before. She’d witnessed it plenty of times, especially when they were growing up. Outside of his brothers, she knew him better than anyone. The good, the bad, and the cringeworthy. She’d seen it all. But where he hadn’t given it a thought before, it had started to bother him lately.
Maybe that was why his recent discoveries about her had poked at him and made him rush inside her place without a believable excusetorush in. He’d been lying about seeing Shane’s patrol car, which had actually been parked around back. Thank God neither Neve nor Shane had questioned him about his supposed X-ray vision. If he had seen the vehicle, Reece would have come back when Neve was alone.
Shane had let slip a few details about controlled substances disappearing from Neve’s pharmacy, and it had raised Reece’s hackles. He had wanted to make sure for himself that her clinic was okay—thatshewas okay—except he wasn’t supposed to know about the theft, and he didn’t want to betray Shane’s confidence, so he’d been at a loss for words when he’d seen his buddy standing beside her. Which had led toanotherlie.
His knee was fine. But when Shane had shot him a skeptical look, Reece had amped up the deceit by telling the deputy that it needed time to heal. Yeah, he had been told to stay off it all right—by an imaginary orthopedist. Hopefully, Shane wouldn’t go doing Shane things and snoop into Reece’s untruth. Or Cade didn’t out him. Reece wouldn’t have volunteered his time and energy to work on the trail today if he had truly been hurt. It needed it, though. Turned outheneeded the trail too.
And that other thing he’d overheard Hailey talking about: Neve going out with Leo Cantrell. That guy wasallwrong for Neve. Reece wasn’t sure who was right for her, but it sure as hell wasn’tthattool. Yeah, that big-brother dynamic had come into play there too. He hadn’t been kiddingwhen he’d told her she was like a little sister to him—littlebeing a relative term. She was small in stature, not age and certainly not in fierceness.
Well,sortof like a little sister. Maybe.
A knot that had been forming in the pit of his stomach all day locked down tighter, tighter.
Fuck.
Telling himself to stop thinking, he wielded his pickax to claw at his confused thoughts. By the time he broke for water, sweat matted his hair and rolled down his back, making his undershirt stick to his skin. Yet his churning mind had quieted, and a familiar harmony had settled over him. Physical labor always did that for him, which was one of the reasons he missed search and rescue. Sure, he absolutely loved helping people out of tough spots—he was almost addicted to the rush it brought—but the job also required him to be in tip-top shape. Most of his workout came naturally from traversing mountains in thin air and lugging weight for extended periods.
Finding a way to replace the physicality and maintain his stamina hadn’t been easy. His choices ranged from trail work like today, skating during their rec league’s few practices and games, and running up and down trails. Combining those with swimming and pumping iron at the rec center didn’t tune up his body the same way; besides, it was boring as hell.
He had to get back to the work he was passionate about. “That Others May Live” wasn’t simply a motto on a wall; it resonated deep inside his bones. But how could he return to his calling? San Juan Search and Rescue was the only outfit Reece had ever been part of. At times, it felt as though his heart had cables attached to his home county, and that they in turn were pinioned to Fall River. Those ties didn’t bind, though—not in a negative way. Helikedbeing part of his hometown. While he’d served San Juan, he had loved being close to home and helping people in his backyard.
But as long as Chelsea was there, that option was off the table.
An incoming call rang shrill, shattering the peace in the pines, and pulled him from his wandering thoughts. Unsurprisingly, the same number as the texts glowed on his screen.
He got a visual on Cade a fair distance up the trail before steeling his spine with resolve and tapping the green icon. “Hey.”
“Why didn’t you answer my texts?” Chelsea Selkirk’s demand bordered on hysterical, which was way out of character for her—normally. Thewoman was calm under fire in the most dire situations, and he had admired that quality about her. Lately, though, the panicky tone was the only one she used when she called, and where he used to find her smoky timbre sexy, now it merely grated.
“I’ve been at work. I’ve been busy. Couldn’t pull away.”
“At work,” she deadpanned. “As in slinging beers behind the bar for your brother? You must be raking in the tips.” The contempt lacing her words was so thick he could hear it oozing through the airwaves.
“Yes, slinging beers for my brother, who needs the extra help.” She had no idea Reece didn’t need the pay, and he was relieved he’d never opened up and shared that part of himself with her.
He bit back the question “What can I do for you?”—because she wouldn’t be shy about telling him what she wanted him to do for her, ortoher—before blurting, “Why are you blowing up my phone?”
“Haven’t you read my texts?”
“I have. They’re all one variant or another of ‘Call me right fucking now.’ Where’s the fire?”Holy Christ Almighty.“Bad choice of words. I mean, what’s up?”
“I need to see you.”
“Because?”
“First and foremost, I need you back here, Reece. We’re short-staffed, and you’re the best the county’s got.”
“There are plenty of qualified people trying to get into SAR. I know of at least a half dozen volunteer firemen, and there’s—”
“I miss you, Reece. I want you back.”
“Back at the station or in your bed?”
“Yes.”
