Page 59
I glanced at Kit, waiting for his answer. He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“Hmm. That’s a good question.” She glanced at me. “All good, Joey?”
I nodded. “Yeah, sure. Damon’s been great to work with.”
Kit glowered. “Damon’s too nice.”
Damon’s eyebrow went up. “No one’s ever accused me of that before.”
“Well, I just came to suggest we take a lunch break,” Dakota said. “Progress is coming along nicely. Thank you, Damon.”
He tipped his head. “Sounds good.”
He hurried out of the kitchen. I turned. “I’ll just go with—”
“Why don’t you eat with us?” Dakota offered. “Kit, you brought sandwiches, right?”
“I can’t stay,” he said. “I’ve got an errand to run. But I’ll bring in the cooler for you before I go.”
Dakota’s brow furrowed. “Okay, sure.”
He turned away. There was no sign of that gorgeous smile he’d laid on Damon, but he still looked damn good as he went through the doorway. Broad shoulders topping a toned runner’s build, slim but athletic. His track pants and athletic shirt clung to his shape, making it almost impossible to tear my gaze away.
When I turned to Dakota, she was smirking at me.
“What?” I asked.
She nodded toward the doorway. “He’s not bad, huh? My brother. Easy on the eyes.”
I winced. “Oh no, I wasn’t— I was just watching him go, but— I mean…”
She laughed at my flustered fumbling. “I get it. You’re into guys. He’s a hot guy.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t dredge up any words in my defense. I couldn’t lie to Dakota.
She patted my arm. “It’s okay. Just be careful with him.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh, he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Hm. Well, I’m not sure about that,” she mused. “But either way, he’s a little off-balance lately. This whole thing”—she waved between us—“messed with his head a bit. Kit’s a good guy. He really, really is. The best. But right now, I don’t think he’s in a place to be his best self. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, that’s okay.” I smiled tentatively. “I’m not here for him.”
She squeezed my forearm. “No, you’re not. You’re here for Ruth Mendez. And you being here will make her homecoming a lot easier.”
“Will you tell me about her?” I asked. “Is that okay?”
“Sure. Ruth suffered a spinal stroke,” she said. “It came out of nowhere. Shocked everyone. She woke up with a sore back. It progressed to tingling limbs. By the time they got her to the hospital, she couldn’t feel her legs. She’s effectively a paraplegic.”
“Oh god. That’s awful.”
Kit returned, setting a cooler on the table and flipping open the lid.
Dakota eyed her brother. “It’s tragic, yes. Sometimes fate is cruel. I knew a guy who got slammed into the rocks by a wave in the ocean. Paralyzed. I’ve met a skier who took a header off the side of a mountain. Life is unpredictable. Sometimes, things just happen, terrible things out of our control, and we do our best to get through them.”
“And sometimes people cause them to happen,” Kit said. “I see it all the time at the rehab clinic. Carelessness. Recklessness.” His gaze met mine. “It doesn’t have to be malicious to ruin someone’s life.”
“My brother, the downer,” Dakota said.
