My heart ached with happiness at the idea of him making cute little baby blankets.
“I wish I could do something like this,” I said. “It’s always so baffling to me.”
“You know, I could teach you. It’s really just a lot of numbers and counting.”
I cocked my head to the side. “That does sound like something I would enjoy.”
“It’s a date.” He smiled.
“It’s a date,” I confirmed, snuggling into his side.
He picked the project up and went back to working on it as I stayed snuggled into his side. His hands moved with incredible dexterity.
“Does it help?” I asked.
“I think so. It’s been a few years, so I’m not sure if it’s just time that’s made everything better or the physical therapy.”
“If you don’t mind me asking… How did it happen?” I asked quietly. “You don’t have to answer if you’re not comfortable,” I rushed to add.
Bear shook his head. “I don’t mind at all. Most people are just morbidly curious, but I know you’re different. Seven years ago, we had only been working in security and military operations for a few years. We were tasked with helping local marshals transport a witness across state lines. We thought we had a secure route, but someone must have let the informationslip because halfway to the location, we got into a crash.”
“Oh no,” I whispered.
“I was in the back with the witness. We were T-boned on the side where I happened to be sitting. I managed to lift an arm, but that did nothing. The shattered glass from the windshield did a number on my face and hands. My leg was crushed and broken in two places.” He took a deep breath, putting down his project and absentmindedly touching his leg, no doubt remembering.
“It hurt more than anything I had felt before. I was crushed, and there was nothing I could do about it. Spencer was in the driver’s seat, and Chase was following in another car. They had to secure the witness and neutralize the threat before they could see to me.”
“Neutralize?” I asked softly.
“Let’s just say, the people who ran their car into us weren’t exactly friendly.” Bear smiled gently.
My hand reached out to take his, clutching desperately as I tried to avoid tearing up from how he was hurt.
“I was there for about thirty minutes, and I couldn’t see shit because of the blood in my eyes. I could hear shouting and gunshots, but I was unable to help myself, let alone my pack mates. Spencer took a bullet that day.”
“Spencer got shot?!” I squeaked, sitting straighter.
Bear nodded. “His shoulder. Next time he’s prancing around here shirtless, you’ll notice it.”
“How the hell did you get out of there?”
“Backup arrived.”
“I never really considered how dangerous your job can be.”
“It’s not right now. Protecting the Garnetts is simple. It’s kind of nice. We were out of work for a few months. I neededsurgery. The glass scraped my eye and caused a few issues, and one of the tendons in my hand was nicked. It wasn’t the end of the world, but I have to keep on top of it. The docs prioritized fixing my leg and hand—my face wound was ugly, not dangerous.”
“It’s not ugly!”
He looked down at me, his gaze soft. “You’re one of the only people to think that.”
I snuggled deeper into his side. “Well, everyone else is stupid. Come on, show me how you’re making this seventies monstrosity.”
Chapter 29
Flora
Isnuck into Bear's bedroom again.
