‘Oh, Jayden,’ Gabi said, pulling his scrawny shoulders in for a hug. She knew how hard he’d been training for this. She’d brought him here after school every afternoon and he’d been so proud when he got the fastest time in the club that he was going to represent the River Rats in the double scull race against the other local societies as their star rower. That night on the way home he’d told her that he wanted to show that he could do it all, despite being deaf. ‘My arms work, even if my ears don’t,’ he’d written down and laughed.
A loudspeaker told all boats to head to the starting line.
Gabi glanced at the rowing boat. It was pretty tiny, but then, so was she. She lifted Jayden’s chin to get his attention, pretended to row and thumbed her chest. ‘I can row,’ she said. He blinked but didn’t look convinced.
She repeated herself, thinking about how often she rowed in the gym, how she’d set the personal best record in her apartment gym three years in a row. Jayden still looked dubious.
‘Why not?’ she asked and he pointed at her leg. She laughed and played his own words back to him.
‘My arms work, even if my leg doesn’t!’
She threw her crutches to the ground and pointed at the boat. He got in first and held it steady by the side. She lowered herself in and picked up her oars as the loudspeaker made a final call. Jayden stuck a finger in the air and then tapped his life vest. Gabi looked down at her T-shirt and mini-skirt and shrugged.
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said and pushed them off the bank.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Walker
A stomp around the car park had done nothing to improve Walker’s mood. Gabi had fucked up his day. Make that his week. His entire spring.
There was no way he was supposed to be this worked up over a woman. He was supposed to be getting on with his career and having fun. She was the most infuriating person he’d ever met. Somehow, he couldn’t get enough of her physically but that didn’t get him as close to her as he wanted to be. The realisation hit him like a fire truck. Fuck, he had it bad. He wanted more.
And now she was taking his advice about letting people in– with Fox– and wanting him to be happy about it. She obviously didn’t feel the same way about him. In fact, it would seem she felt nothing for him at all.
He found himself back at the riverbank and Rosie waved him over. The whole gang was there, including Fox, and Walker felt a pang of jealousy. He wondered where he and Gabi had been before they arrived at the rowing club. Looked like a nice little family day out, Reggie and George in the back seats. He groaned and tried to push the image from his mind.
‘You okay?’ Rosie asked, nudging him. She could always read his mood.
‘Fine,’ he said and then, softer, ‘I’ll tell you later.’
‘Beer, mate?’ Fox asked, holding out a bottle.
‘I’m working,’ Walker said shortly, and he turned away to watch the river, but not before he glimpsed the flick of hurt on Fox’s face. Serves him right. Now he knew how it felt. He took out his multi-tool knife and flicked it open and shut, open and shut, just for something to do.
The gun went off further upriver, and he heard Amber announce to everyone that it was Jayden’s race. He kept his back to them all, not trusting himself to be nice even though he wanted to be. He felt all over the place, thinking about his best friend with the woman who was driving him crazy.
The gang moved closer to spectate and someone stood beside him, eyes on the river. He knew it was Fox without looking. He snapped the knife shut and pocketed it, keeping his own eyes on the river.
‘You okay, mate?’ Fox asked quietly. ‘You seem a bit upset.’
Walker snorted quietly and shook his head. He didn’t want to get into this right now but, then again, why not?
‘When were you going to tell me about you and Gabi?’
Fox swivelled to face him.
‘What about me and Gabi?’ he said, surprised, looking silver-grey gorgeous in the sunlight. It was obvious what Gabi saw in him.
‘I saw you in the car. . .’ Walker ground out.
‘Oh, that. I gave her a lift to her hospital appointment,’ Fox said. ‘She rang and asked me this morning, told me she was trying to ask for help more, let people in a bit.’
Fox had Walker’s full attention now. He caught his friend’s elbow to hold him still. ‘She said what?’ he stuttered.
‘Said she was taking advice that sometimes being too independent means she might push people away,’ Fox said, peering at Walker, trying to read his face. ‘Walker, you didn’t think. . . there was something between us, did you?’
‘I don’t know what I thought,’ Walker said. ‘But I certainly got it wrong.’
