Cody's Come Home. Mary Sullivan

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СКАЧАТЬ everything in his life these days. Except for the grief. That was real. “Besides, if it hadn’t been me who found you, it would’ve been someone else.”

      “Don’t do that,” she said sharply.

      He startled. “Do what?”

      “Put down what you’re doing here.” Her tone was harsh. The woman had claws.

      He had to put himself down. She didn’t know his history, all of the things he’d done. Taking her right hand in his, he helped her sit up.

      She still looked stern and ordered, “Just say ‘thank you, Aiyana.’”

      He smiled, impressed by how bravely she was dealing with this adversity. She had to be in agony from her injuries.

      “Thank you, Aiyana,” he said gently, and her pique eased. She smiled.

      He used her damp sweater to wipe his dirty feet.

      He packed everything back into the knapsack, putting her wet clothes into plastic bags.

      Last, he put on his socks and shoes.

      “We need to move on.”

      Cody glanced at her face, alerted by a new determination in her voice.

      He picked up her backpack. “Do you think your shoulder can bear this?”

      “Yes.”

      Carefully, he threaded her arms through the straps and settled it onto her shoulders.

      “Why is it so light?” She watched him over her shoulder with a puzzled frown.

      “All of your clothes and camera are in my pack. There isn’t anything left in yours. It’s empty.”

      He put his knapsack on across his front and turned so she could climb onto his back. Once she was settled he took the two tarps and crammed them into a plastic shopping bag. “Can you take this with your good hand?”

      “Yes.”

      He hoped she was telling the truth. He wondered if she would say yes to everything he asked just to prove she could handle it.

      “Okay, let’s go.”

      He started off quickly but soon realized he would have to pace himself on the rough, slippery terrain. The last thing they needed was for him to get injured, too.

      Aiyana felt unnatural on his back. “Don’t hold yourself so stiffly, Ai.”

      Ai. He’d forgotten that old nickname. He shouldn’t use it. It felt too intimate.

      “I don’t want to be a burden,” she said.

      “You aren’t. You’re a friend in need.” When she still didn’t relax, he told her the truth. “Holding yourself stiffly makes it harder for me.”

      She relaxed against him and he felt her chest against his back.

      “Better?” she asked.

      “Yes.” No. Having her body so close to his was a lot of hell, but even more of heaven.

      He walked on, closing off his mind to Aiyana’s femininity on his back—as he did most days, shutting himself off from everything around him.

      He plodded, one foot in front of the other. Left, right. Left, right.

      While Aiyana might not be a big woman—he would guesstimate her weight at one twenty-five—he felt the effects of not being on top of his game. He was tired. He’d gotten maybe three hours’ sleep, and it had been a troubled sleep.

      But that was the norm. He didn’t know how it felt to wake up refreshed anymore.

      He grasped Aiyana’s thighs and trudged forward until he nearly reached his limit. He didn’t know how far they’d come, but figured he’d been carrying her for about an hour.

      He was so tired he started thinking crazy thoughts, like maybe this was a metaphor for his life, that from now on he would always carry this heavy burden of unrealized potential, of memories, grief and the stress of a damaged life.

      Was it damaged beyond repair? Damned if he knew.

      “I have to stop,” he told Aiyana. He meant more than putting her down for a few minutes. He wanted it all to stop, every single part of his life.

       CHAPTER THREE

      CODY JORDAN.

      Where on earth had he come from when Aiyana needed him most? Cody, an astounding, delicious...sad-looking blast from the past.

      Ai hadn’t seen him in years, yet here he was, deep in the forest helping her out of the worst bind she’d ever been in.

      And let’s not forget, Aiyana, seeing you in next to nothing.

      Tomorrow she would be embarrassed. At the moment, all that mattered was getting warm and finding a way out of this ravine.

      He warmed you a bit, though.

      Oh, yikes, did he ever. Sweetly. When he’d taken her onto his lap, he’d handled her with a tenderness at odds with his honed-to-bare-bones face and body.

      She couldn’t let it go to her head.

      She’d been infatuated with Cody once. She couldn’t be so again.

      She had often wondered if all of her romantic relationships had gone wrong because Cody had set the standard too high. Maybe things would have been better with her ex-husband if she hadn’t wanted him to be the great guy Cody had been.

      On second thought, her problems with Trevor had nothing to do with Cody.

      Even so, Cody had rescued her once in adolescence and was rescuing her again. All these years later, Cody was about to become her hero again...and she didn’t want that. She needed to take control.

      She couldn’t become swamped, overtaken and overshadowed by another man.

      But, God, it was good to have Cody here. Those overwhelming feelings of despair that had haunted her all night had abated the second she’d recognized his voice.

      When it became time to assert herself, she’d said, “We need to move on,” taking back the control she needed, or as much as she could get at the moment.

      He’d glanced up at her, those blue eyes as startling now as they had been twelve years ago, especially in contrast to his dark hair. It was too long and curling at the edge. Clearly he wasn’t taking care of himself.

      Lurking in the depths of his eyes was a new darkness he hid with his phony smile and fake grins.

      But was there any wonder? She’d heard about his son. Just the thought of losing Annie caused unimaginable pain. Cody had actually СКАЧАТЬ