Clara should be happy. She hadn’t wanted him here anyway. So why was that violent urgency just intensifying at the woman’s hand on him?
“And she just complained forher entire stay. You’d think she was dying, but no, just a burst appendix.”
Briar hadn’t stopped talking the entire run. Actually, it was less talking and more complaining. Mostly about her patients at work, but also about every single person she came into contact with in Amber Ridge. Her ex-husband had received a few special mentions.
Deb had run with them for a bit. He liked her. She was funny. Good at countering Briar’s negativity. But the woman had obviously grown sick of Briar’s moaning and was now running with someone else.
His gaze shifted to Clara. She was running with Malcolm and Scarlett a few feet ahead. He was intentionally jogging slowly to remain behind her so he could keep his eyes on her. So far, she looked to be doing okay. Although, the farther they got, the more sluggish her movements became.
Suddenly, Clara glanced over her shoulder and looked at him. Her eyes flared when she saw him staring back. Then she quickly looked forward again. She’d done that a few times. And every time, Malcolm glanced back too, looking at him and Briar, before focusing on the road in front of him.
It had hit Holden two seconds into the run who Malcolm was…the jerk from the street party three years ago who’d pawed Clara’s chest after spilling beer on her.
A tightness clutched at his lungs at the memory of that night. Of the words she’d spoken to him. And the words he’d said back.
Fuck, he wanted to kick his own ass at how he’d handled that.
You’d be so easy to love.
He’d been drinking, and the sight of Clara in his sweatshirt had made something deep and primal spring to life inside him. But even if he hadn’t been drinking and the sun had been up and emotions weren’t heightened, he wasn’t sure what the hell he would have said. That fear of loving someone completely, of needing and relying on them, still lived inside him, and shit, it was burrowed deep.
“Don’t you think?”
He looked down at Briar. Dammit. What had she said? “Yeah, I agree.”
“Thank you,” she huffed.
Surely, they were almost done. “How long is this run?”
“Five miles. So we’re about halfway.”
“That’s more of an intermediate run. Wasn’t this designed so anyone in the community could join?”
“It was designed to help people get and remain fit. That won’t happen if we only run a mile or two.”
Suddenly, Clara stumbled, her knees hitting the ground hard.
Shit.
Holden sped up, but Malcolm was already crouched beside her, setting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Holden lowered on her other side and scanned her body, his gaze stopping on her knees. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine. They’re just grazes.”
She was breathing quickly. Too quickly.
Scarlett huffed. “I’m going to jog with Helen and Deb.” She started moving again.
Briar continued to jog in place. “Come on, we’re going to be left behind. She said she’s fine.”
“I’ll stay with her.”
Holden’s eyes narrowed on Malcolm at his words. “No,I’llstay with her.”
Malcolm frowned. “I’m a doctor—”
“I don’t think it takes a doctor to clean a scraped knee.”
