“You fucking hurt him, Creek. Deeply.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Could this day possibly get any worse? “I know, and I’m sorry. But I can’t apologize to him if he won’t talk to me, and I don’t have his number or address.”
Kent was quiet for a long time. “I’m not giving you his number, not without his permission. That would be highly unethical. But if you’re serious about making things right, you may wanna visit Marshall’s Beach this afternoon. Odds are, you’ll find him there.”
“Thank you. I’ll beg him for forgiveness, I swear.”
“Jesus, now I have to live with the knowledge that two of my clients will be navigating that beach today. The two of you areboth crazy…or maybe I am for sending you to him. If either of you breaks something or does something stupid to set back your recovery process, I’ll kick your ass myself. You got that?”
“Yes, sir.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
HEATH
The walk down to Marshall’s Beach had been a piece of cake once upon a time. Now, it felt like trying to scale down Mount Everest as I leaned heavily on my hiking crutches. They were one of the few things I’d indulged in after the accident when my prosthetist told me it would likely take years before I’d be steady enough to do steep hills and stairs without some sort of aid.
What was left of the bone beneath my knee was still weak, and there was always a chance I’d end up losing more if I wasn’t careful. But the call of the ocean—and the need to be somewhere that the general public wasn’t—was too strong to ignore. I had my board strapped to my back, though I didn’t think I’d be getting in the water, and it felt like a huge triumph once I finally made it down the long, sandy steps.
The tide was low, so a lot of the beach was visible, and it was nice to sink down into the sand and let my knee and hip rest from the hike. Lying back on my board, I gazed across the small strip of water to the bridge in the distance, and I basked in the fact that there wasn’t a soul around.
There were birds crying out over the water and the gentle crash of waves a few hundred yards from me. For the first time all day, I felt at peace.
Normally, I hated being alone. Since the accident, my thoughts had gotten louder. They were dark and full of constant reminders of what I could no longer do—and mockery about how long it was taking me to reach my new goals. It was easy to smile when people were around. It was easy to be a cheerleader for people like me.
But when I was on my own?
That quiet criticism sounded a lot like my dad and brothers. I hadn’t spoken to them much since my accident, but I knew what they’d say if they were brave enough to say the quiet parts aloud.
“If you’d just listened to us, this never would have happened.”
And hell, maybe they were right. If I’d gone to medical school and joined the ranks—bought some crappy-ass hipster high-rise penthouse and drove a Bentley like my brothers did, instead of buying a bike and living the life that felt right for me—I’d be standing on two feet.
But at what cost?
Even with the ache left behind from Creek’s kiss, I didn’t regret what happened.
Pressing my hands over my eyes again, I watched colors burst behind my closed lids. It was almost meditative, and I felt myself losing time, which was exactly what I wanted. I had no idea how long I lay there, and I only came to when I felt something cold hit my foot.
I bolted upright and realized the water was closer.
“Fuck!”
“Tell me you don’t hang out at this beach all the time,” came a too-familiar voice to my left.
My heart threatened to beat out of my chest as I scrambled to my hands and knees, turning to look at the path where Creek stood. He wasn’t wearing his leg—leaning heavily on his forearm crutches, his face red with exertion.
It had taken me three months of trying to hike this trail before I could do it on my own, and his progress was far behind mine. What the fuck was he thinking?
“Are you nuts?” I demanded, climbing to a slow stand.
He shrugged, then started forward in the sand, and I couldn’t do anything but watch as he made his way over. “People seem to ask me that a lot.”
“Do you have any idea what it’s going to be like climbing back up that path?”
Creek let out a low chuckle as he glanced behind him. “Yeah. I might just move down here.”
I was helpless against the warm affection rising in my chest, even if I wanted to hate him. “You’re literally a dipshit.”
