Page 5 of Crossroads

I frowned and looked down at my thigh, my mouth parting. I hadn’t realized that the bruise had spread as much as it had. It was larger than a handprint, and it was already turning a mottled blue and purple. And that wasn’t even one of my worst.

“I’ll be fine. I’m sorry for taking your time.” The woodenness in my tone wasn’t lost on either of us. Bodhi just shook his head, seeming at war with himself in a case I couldn’t understand.

“How hurt are you, Kiera?” he asked. He stepped forward then, hand outstretched. I flinched, but he didn’t stop moving. And when he cupped the side of my face that wasn’t bruised, and tilted my chin up, I met his gaze, my breath quickening. Panic seized me, but I kept still, afraid. Always so afraid.

I hadn’t let anyone touch me like this in over a year. Not since I had broken it off completely with Jeremiah. It had been a year since I had walked away and thought I had found peace.

But he had found me anyway.

“When did this happen?” Bodhi asked, his voice low, dangerous.

“Two days ago,” I whispered, startled that I’d even spoken a word.

Bodhi cursed again. “With the way that your eyes are tracking, Kiera, I think you need to see a doctor.”

I closed my mouth, my heart racing. No. Someone would find out. They always found out.

His hold tightened a fraction before relaxing. Why did that calm me? “You don’t have to leave. You can stay. Okay? I’m not going to make you leave. I think you have a concussion. Which is why you’re tracking so slowly.”

“I’m fine.”

“Just don’t lie to me. Okay? You can say what you need to, you can yell at me, curse at me, but don’t lie.”

Tears threatened, and I had no idea why. I didn’t know this man. All I wanted to do was hide underneath that blanket, and yet I knew it wasn’t going to help. “I think it’s a mild concussion. I still drove here.”

“And that was stupid.” The words sounded as if they had been wrenched from his throat.

Anger that I hadn’t felt in far too long surged forth, and I pulled my chin back from his hold. “It was what I needed to do. Teagan said I could stay here for a week, but I’m sorry for stepping onto your property. I didn’t know that you didn’t know.”

“Teagan left me a voicemail, and I should have listened to it. I don’t care that you’re here. Now that I know. I’m going to get Kellan to come up here, though. Okay? I know he’s not working, and probably with the kids, but you need to see someone.”

With the way that he choked on the word kids, I had to wonder if maybe Bodhi didn’t even like them. But then again, it wasn’t my place to ask. Or deal with.

I just wanted to go home.

And I kept telling myself that, even though I knew I didn’t have one. This was a mess of my own making, and I needed to figure out how to fix it. Yet, in that moment, not having to do it alone felt like a miracle.

That’s how I knew I needed to take a step back.

“Don’t go.”

“I don’t want to take your time. Or your friend’s time.”

“You asked Teagan to stay…that means you reached out for help. So just stay. I don’t use this cabin anyway. Rest, breathe, and maybe tell me what the fuck happened.”

I once again flinched at his tone, but it didn’t scare me this time. It was just a little shocking. I cursed more than anyone that I knew, and yet hearing Bodhi continually doing so while so close to my face felt almost protective. That concussion must have hit harder than I thought.

“Okay. I just…don’t know what needs to happen next. And I hate not knowing what to do.”

“In that part we’re alike. I’ll get Kellan up here to check you out. He’s a friend. And our town doctor. Meaning anything you say will stay with him.” He paused. “Just tell me what happened.”

“I just made a mistake.”

“Don’t. You don’t get to put this on you. Because I’m pretty sure you didn’t beat the shit out of yourself.”

My mouth dropped, eyes widened. “Seriously? Who taught you bedside manners?”

Bodhi looked at me then, before he laughed, though there wasn’t much humor in it.