“I take it you didn’t tell him who I am?”
I feel the heat of embarrassment creep up my neck.
“You know I can’t.”
Sam laughs again. “You’re such a rule follower, Lang.” Before I can be offended, he adds, “It’s part of your charm. That heart of gold of yours is hard to resist.”
To my left, Vox shifts on the couch.
“I figuredI’mnot allowed to tell anyone the story, but maybe you could? Like if you and I talk and Vox happens to overhear it, then…well…somehow that’s different?
Sam shakes his head. “I’m certainly not going to rat you out for telling, and I don’t get the feeling Vox here would either, am I right?”
“Yes, sir. I won’t say anything. I just want to know what’s going on.”
“Well, settle in and let me tell you a story,” Sam starts as Vox shifts once more. I bring my hot mug to my lips just for something to do, and Louisa squeezes my shoulder, sensing my discomfort. “Five years ago, my wife and I were skiing our last run of the day. We were making our way back down the mountain over at Sapphire Butte. You ever snowboard over there?” Sam interrupts the story to ask Vox.
“Oh, uh, no, sir.” Laughing, Vox adds, “I have to pay to use their lifts. It’s free at Ricochet, so I mostly stay there.”
“Smart kid. Anyway,” Sam continues, “Louisa and I were coming down the mountain in the late afternoon, along with the other all-day skiers, when out of nowhere a man who was clearly three sheets to the wind came flying past me. I barely got out of his way in time.”
Vox’s eyes dart to me in horror and disgust.
Louisa sees his look at the same time and corrects his line of thinking. “No, Vox, Connor wasn’t the drunk man.”
Sam resumes quickly. “When he cut me off at that speed, the drunk man put himself directly in Connor’s path.Came up on him from behind, but suddenly passed in front of him. Connor had less than a second to react to avoid colliding with him…so he went airborne, whipping his board to the side to initiate an immediate change in direction, trying to buy the man time to get out of the way.”
I release a shaky exhale, and Louisa grabs my hand from her spot on the loveseat next to me. “I know it’s hard to hear,” she whispers. “Butyouknow how the story ends, Connor. Sam and I are doing just fine.”
I simply nod and squeeze her hand, too choked up to speak.
This is actually way harder than I’d anticipated.
“What happened?” Vox asks impatiently.
“Connor processed everything so fast. He missed the drunk man, who he would have undoubtedly killed if they’d hit. And when Connor saw that he was headed right for me, he had so much control he was able to angle his board at the last second to avoid clipping my neck.” Vox stays silent as Sam pauses for a brief second. “His board edge did, however, come down on my spine, snapping it and paralyzing me instantly.”
“Ohmygod,” Vox says, his hand flying to his mouth as he stares at Sam.
We all give him a moment to process our trauma from that night. But a second later, Vox’s attention is on me. “Christ, Connor! I’m so fu—” His eyes dart to Louisa, and he censors his statement. “I’m so sorry! I had no idea you went through that! It wasn’t on the news, or I would’ve heard about it. Nowonderyou couldn’t get on a board for so long.” I can tell when he connects the rest of the dots because his eyes grow wider. “That’s why you make me board in front of you, isn’t it?”
Swallowing hard, I nod.
“Despite our many protestations, Connor still thinks this is all his fault. He spends too much time thinking about the wrong outcome. Yes, his board struck me, but had he notreacted as quickly as he had, someone would’ve died that night. And it could’ve been him as easily as me.”
Vox lets out a tiny gasp, and his eyes pinch in…pain?
Something in me is healing in this room where my darkest sins are being exposed, in front of the man I committed them against, as well as the man I want to let in.
And that’s just it.
I want Vox toknowme, therealme,allof me.
And I’m tired of fighting it. But now my bigger concern is trying to figure out what I’m willing to risk everything for. One night? Vox already said he doesn’t do relationships. Is it worth putting everything on the line for the breadcrumbs he’s offering, knowing we can’t ever be more than a clandestine secret in the dark?
Chapter 21
Vox
