The little girl was trying to be so strong, a big girl as she said, throwing away her own trash. The mom wasn’t that far away. Honestly, she could have taken two steps and grabbed her kid.
But when the bicyclist went off the trail, Imoved. I didn’t even realize I was moving away from my friends as somebody shouted behind me, and I took two large steps toward the little girl. At first, I hadn’t wanted her to hit her head or scrape her knee, and then the horn honking from beside me filled my gut with dread.
As the little girl tripped over the curb and toward a car ready to parallel park, I gripped the back of her overalls and tugged her toward me. The shift of momentum and gravity had me falling backward myself, and I hit the ground, the little girl clutched to my chest.
I held back the curse that echoed in my mind as I tried to keep my heart rate calm. In that moment, the little girl froze in my hold. She held her breath, looking down at me with wide, slightly panicked eyes. Then everything moved back to real time.
“Amelia!”
“Oh my God, Ewan!”
Other people screamed as the driver of the car got out, her hands over her mouth. “I didn’t see her. She just fell into the street. Is she okay?”
“Amelia,” the blonde woman shouted.
I sat up, the kid wrapped in my arms, then the little girl was plucked from my hold, and the blonde woman held her child to her chest, rocking her back and forth.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m okay, Mommy. I’m okay.”
I found myself still sitting, arms resting on my knees as I looked up at the little girl who was patting the tears off her mother’s cheeks. I didn’t realize I was surrounded by others, heat crawling up my neck, until a familiar voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Ewan?”
I looked up into that familiar face as Crew held at his hand. “How the hell did you move so fast?”
I put my hand in his as he helped me to my feet, and I tried to ignore the group of people surrounding us. I really didn’t like crowds. “She’s smaller than a calf, so I’ve had practice.”
The other man looked like he wanted to laugh, but I still saw the gray pallor beneath his skin. I didn’t know how Crew knew the little girl, but he seemed to have been as scared as the mom.
“Ewan, so glad that you were there,” Jackson said from my side, and I looked over at my friend who ran his hand through his beard. “I knew you were fast, but damn.” My friend, and the reason I was down in Colorado Springs, winced. “Sorry ma’am.”
The little girl’s mom let out a shaky breath. “We curse a lot in this family. It’s fine. Seriously, thank you so much,” she directed at me.
I finally forced myself to look at the blonde woman with pixie-like features and blue eyes that were even more startling close up.
The girl in her arms was like a little clone of her mother. Adorable cheeks, same eyes, and straight blonde hair—though her mother’s seemed to have a bit of a curl. Her pigtails had come out when I had pulled her back, so she looked a little bedraggled, but not too badly.
“I’m just glad I saw her in time. Did that cyclist really leave?” I looked over my shoulder, scowling when I didn’t see a single biker in sight.
“Yes, he just left.” Her jaw tightened before it looked as if she forced herself to relax marginally. “And I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” She continued to press kisses all over her daughter’s face, who just giggled and looked none-worse-for-wear. If anything, all the adults looked like they had lost ten years off their life, while she seemed perfectly content.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another familiar face go over to the woman who had stopped parking halfway and led her into her spot. It wasn’t her fault; she was following all the rules of the road, but accidents happened. She came over quickly and said she was sorry, and then ran off to her appointment in the business center across the park.
Everyone talked very quickly, and I just stood there, hands in my pockets beside Jackson.
“So Ewan, what are you doing down in Colorado Springs?” Crew asked, and I realized the man who had gone over to the driver had to be Lexington Montgomery. It had been a while since I had seen these two guys, but they hadn’t changed in the past year or so since they had come up for the rodeo.
“Jackson’s wedding prep,” I said, pointing my thumb at the other man. “I don’t know if you guys have met.”
“Can’t say that I have,” Jackson said as he held out his hand. “It’s good to meet you two. Maybe after better circumstances. You guys are the Montgomerys right? The ones that came up to help Crew’s family?”
“I’m the Montgomery. He’s just the add-on.” Lexington grinned as Crew rolled his eyes.
“So you three know each other?” the mother said as she stared at me, confusion in her gaze.
“A little bit. Good timing, it seems.” I looked down at the little girl in her arms and tried to smile. I wasn’t great with kids, as they tended to be afraid of the big beard and tall stature. But she just grinned up at me, those blue eyes wide. “You doing okay?” I asked, trying to keep the gruffness out of my voice. The whole incident had scared the shit out of me even though I hadn’t let myself think too hard about that.
