If I run.
“Well, I’m happy you have warmth again,” I tell her, ignoring what just happened. “Is there anything else that needs fixing? I don’t know if I’m up-to-date on the latest hiccups of Sully-van.”
Maybe I should have asked before I went on my adventure yesterday.
She smirks at the name. “It’s perfect, thank you. Now, I only have to buy some coolant to see if it works. I ran out.”
“I’ve got coolant,” I tell her, getting up and out of the van, opening the passenger door to the truck, and retrieving the bottle. “Here.”
She grins like it’s Christmas morning when taking it from me, getting back under the hood, and emptying the whole damn bottle.
Fuck, I should have gotten more.
She closes the hood with a thud, hops in the driver’s seat, and tries to start the engine, but it just stutters three times, making me anxious.
It’s fine. If she needs more stuff to fix it, I’ll get more.
I’d buy her a whole new van if it comes to it.
Another try and Sully-Van roars back to life with a bang from the engine, making me jump and Sloan laugh, exclaiming, “She’s alive! We have a pulse!”
I grin from ear to ear.Watching her joy is infectious.
She revs the engine several more times and honks the horn, making me jump like a scared little girl once more.
Get your shit together, Hunt.
Turning off the engine, Sloan jumps out of the van, and without warning, she runs over to me and hugs me. It’s a full-body slam hug, something Lio does all the time, but she’s bigger, and I have to grip her to make sure we don’t both fall on our asses. I chuckle, looking down at her and stroking her head. But then I see a tear run down her cheek, and I grip her hair at the base to pull her head softly away from my chest, scanning her face. “I thought we were happy?”
“We are,” she cries, sniffing. “Thank you,” she whispers and tries to lean her head against my chest again, against my heart.
She’s trusting me with her feelings. It’s not like before, not yet, but it’s going in the right direction.
I take what I can get.
“You’re welcome, Shortcake.” Having her let me hold her was wortheverything.
After a few moments of soft crying, she steps back, pushing away the tears with the arms of her sweater. “Thank you for driving out in a rainstorm to get me this. I know what that meant and what it cost you.”
This is why she is the one for me.
No matter what I have to do, no matter who I have to share her with.
She is made for me.
“I would face every storm to get your sunshine.”
TWENTY-FOUR
“Earth to Sloan,”Tally berates as she sits on a table, munching on fries with ketchup. She had a craving and was close to crying about how sheneededthemnow, so Mac hurried to make some fries for her. My portion is still in front of me, but I’m staring into space while polishing some forks, my movement having stopped.
We’ve been here for two hours already, but no customers have come in, so I try to occupy myself, but it’s no use. “Sorry,” I mumble, shaking my head and rubbing the forks again with my cloth.
“You all right, Mouse?” Mac asks from the kitchen.
I need to get my shit back together.
Since Hunter left a little after lunch, I’m in my head, panicking.
