Second Chance Summer(89)

She turned and looked into his eyes, dark with determination. Then she looked at Gray. Matching.

“He’s out there because of me,” she whispered, letting out her biggest fear. “He thought it was me.” Which made her responsible. Again.

“It doesn’t matter who he thought it was,” Gray said. “He’d have gone up there for anyone and you know it. Don’t put this on yourself.”

And then he slid his arm around her and squeezed.

Because they were Aidan’s family and they took care of their own. She’d almost forgotten what that felt like until this very moment, surrounded by two of Aidan’s brothers who’d clearly dropped everything to be here for him. It nearly brought her to tears. It’d been a long time since she’d been part of a family unit. And yeah, she and Ashley had fought like cats and had competed in every little aspect of their lives, but they’d had each other’s backs, always. She missed that. God, she missed that. She purposely hadn’t allowed herself to think about it, but she’d missed this. Belonging to someone. Having someone at her back, unconditionally, no matter what.

And yes, she still had her mom, but that was more peripherally. She had Jonathan, too, and now her clients, all of whom meant something to her, but this … this right here, she’d forgotten how good it felt to be a part of a family.

She might have even gotten all mushy on both Gray and Hudson if she weren’t still so terrified for Aidan.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Hudson reminded her. “You’ve got to believe that. If nothing else, believe in the fact that he’s the most stubborn bastard I know. He isn’t going anywhere. Because I’ll kill him myself if he does. Got it?”

“Got it,” she whispered.

Gray spared his brother a look over his shoulder. “What the hell is wrong with you, dumbass? You don’t tell a woman that you’re going to kill the guy she’s in love with.”

Wait, what? In love with … The fuzziness returned and, from what felt like a long distance, Lily heard Hudson laugh.

“You’re the dumbass,” Hud told Gray. “Telling her she loves him before she even knows she loves him. Good going, man. You’re going to f*ck it all up for him before he even knows what’s happening.”

Lily decided one emergency at a time and shoved Gray’s arm away, swiveling in the seat to stare at Hud. “What’s going on out there?”

“Some kid was trying to impress a girl. The idiot got stuck on the ledge—couldn’t go up or down. At least they cited him. Not for climbing while stupid, which should be an actual citation, but for climbing in a no-climbing zone. Aidan and Mitch got him up to the top just as the storm moved in, but before they could do the same, Incident Command ordered the crew on the top to pull back. The threat of getting hit by lightning with all the equipment was just too big.”

“You said he was hurt, what’s his injury?”

“He slipped and swung into the rock face-first.”

“Oh, my God.” She closed her eyes. I love you, Lily … She’d let him tell her his feelings, she’d let them wash over her and heal her and make her happy. And what had she done in return? She’d held back, hoarded her feelings, keeping them to herself.

She’d always thought of herself as so brave. She’d gone out on her own at age eighteen, dependent on no one but herself, and she’d survived.

But it turned out she wasn’t brave at all. She’d locked her heart up tight when it had gotten hurt, and she’d kept it isolated and alone ever since.

Which made her the opposite of brave.

But not Aidan. He didn’t have any walls. Everything he felt or thought was all over him for the world to see.

This made him the bravest person she’d ever known.

And he loved her.

You love him too … She closed her eyes. “I need him,” she whispered.

“We all do,” Hudson said.

Gray grabbed the radio. “Aidan, you copy? It’s Gray. Need verification that you’re breathing. Over.”

The radio crackled and then Aidan’s voice filled the cab. “Last I checked,” he said. “Does someone have eyes on Lily? Is she safe? Over.”

As his unbearably familiar voice washed over her, Lily slapped a hand over her mouth to keep in the relieved sob. He was on the edge, literally a tiny, narrow edge, hanging by nothing but a rope in a thunderstorm that had been deemed so dangerous the other rescuers had retreated, and he wanted to know if she was okay. “I need to talk to him.”

Gray shook his head no.

But she was a woman on a mission and she snatched the radio from his hand. “Aidan,” she said into it, her voice not nearly as calm as his or his brothers’. She blamed the estrogen. “I’m here, I’m fine.” She paused. “Over,” she said awkwardly.

Gray smiled at her like she was cute.

“Define here,” Aidan said, not sounding like he found her cute at all, his voice tight now. “On the mountain? Over.”

“I’m safe. I’m in Gray’s truck.” Needing to get it all out before she choked on it, she sucked in some air. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I’ve been too scared to do this right. I was afraid of what might happen, how I could get hurt, how you could get hurt. But that’s not the way to live. Things happen. I can’t control everything and I can’t live a half life.”