Then he holds me. No questions. Just his arms and us together and his warmth and his cheek resting on the top of my head. He smells faintly of smoke, and he carries that smell because he saved my grandma. “Sorry,” he whispers.
“Who called it in?” I sob.
“A neighbor saw it when they got up to use the bathroom.”
That should be a consolation, but instead it’s a reminder of how bad it almost was.
“I don’t know where to take her,” I sniff. “Where is home now?”
“We can figure all that out,” he assures me. “I know all kinds of people around here.”
“What do you mean ‘we’? You have to get back to the station, don’t you? I was just coming out here to tell you to go.”
Brodie stiffens, and I pull away enough to look up at his face.
His cheeks are so red they accentuate his red hair even more. “I’ll actually need a ride back to the ‘Boro. I rode in the ambulance with her.”
“What? You’re not . . . working?”
He gives the slightest shake of his head. “I heard the address on our radio and got there as fast as I could.”
I stare at him, probably looking like a fish with how my mouth hangs open. “You . . .”
I lunge at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as tight as I can get them. And he holds me just as forcefully, almost lifting me off the ground with how his arms circle my waist. Maybe he would do that for anyone in town. Maybe it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Granny. Or just him being a good guy.
But none of the whys matter. He did it because that’s who he is. Because even with his mistakes and fumbles, Brodie Campbell is a good person. One of the best, even. Not for show. Not to brag or get some weird high off giving.
He’s just that wonderful.
Right now, I don’t care so much about how he’s hurt me and how little he’s apologized. I nestle my nose against his shoulder and take a deep inhale.
“You smell like Outside Brodie,” I whisper. “And a little smoke.”
He chuckles and murmurs in my ear. “What’s Outside Brodie?”
“How you smell in the woods.”
Brodie whines, like it’s the sweetest thing I could say. He plants a tiny kiss on my neck before hugging me even tighter. This massive hunk of a man saved my grandma and went out of his way to be here for us.
If I didn’t think he was hot from his thirst traps, I sure do now. I’m starting to think how great it might be to kiss him again when a voice cuts into my thoughts.
“Miss Johnson?”
We break our hug to find Granny’s nurse.
“Sorry to interrupt. We’re taking Mrs. Johnson up to her room if you want to follow.”
FOURTEEN
ARIA
Brodie drivesmy car back to Foxboro. I’m curled up in the passenger seat with my knees pulled up under my chin.
At a stoplight, he reaches over and pats my back. I rest an ear on top of my knees and hum, his touch exactly what I need right now.
Years have passed. Things have changed for both of us. The man Brodie has been tonight doesn’t seem to be the same boy who hurt me, but how many times have I gotten my hopes up for him in my life? Still, he’s being sweet right now, and maybe that’s all I need.
As he turns onto Main Street to drop himself at his apartment, he surprises me by parking and turning off the car, resting his hands on his thighs. It’s almost 2 a.m.
