Page 80 of Worth the Fight

Slim.

Christ. I repeat what seems to be my word of the day and sigh.

Then I get out of the truck and head inside. I have every intention of walking in, heading for the shower, and crashing. While we didn’t have any fires last night, we did keep busy with non-stop medical calls, and I’m exhausted.

But when I open the door, Dylan’s standing in the middle of the kitchen, eyes wide, smile soft.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” I take a seat on one of the kitchen chairs and without another word, pull her into me. I rest my forehead against her abdomen and squeeze my hands on her hips.

She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t ask. She just threads her fingers through my hair and rubs my scalp as I take whatever it is I need from her without her needing to know why.

We remain like this for some time, with me breathing her in, and Dylan selflessly giving me the comfort I need.

“It was Brody’s first day of school.”

“Hmm.”

“I played the part of dad.” My voice is barely audible, but the kiss she presses to the top of my head says she heard me.

“I saw you,” she murmurs, and her confession surprises the hell out of me. “I was wandering, wasting time until you texted me back . . . I saw you guys. You broke my heart and made it whole all in one fell swoop. I owe you an apology. You’re nothing like my dad. You’re a good man, Grady Malone. A damn good man.”

“Not hardly.”

“Maybe if I say it enough times, you’ll start to believe it.”

That means you’ll have to stick around.

The thought ghosts through my mind, and I realize I want her to stay. For so many reasons.

But all of those reasons are overshadowed by what I had to do today.

By the constant reminder of why I can’t have more.

Why I can’t want more.

Why she can’t stay.

Why she needs to forget everything and run.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

DYLAN

“I know that look.”

I glance over to Emerson. “What look?”

Desi laughs that cackle of hers. “The I’ve fallen for a Malone man and I can’t get back up look . . . although, I’m not sure why you’d want to if one of them have fallen on top of you.”

“I have not fallen for a Malone man. I’m with Jett⁠—”

“Such bullshit.” Desi laughs. “You so have and your secret is safe with me.”

“You two have had too much to drink and are now hallucinating.” I laugh and try to play off the raised eyebrows she’s giving me—the ones that are saying she knows the truth but won’t tell—as another round slides in front of us.

“Pregnant woman here,” Emerson says and points to herself. “Not drinking.”