Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Cole
That meeting could have gone better, but it could have been worse, too.
I hate to admit it, but if we want to keep expanding our business, we need to hire some other people. The three of us can’t keep doing everything.
It’s something we’ve been putting off for years. I think we all got used to the peace of working only with each other. It gave us a lot of control over a company we were building from the ground up.
As the years tick by, it’s made less sense to keep it that way. I’m not naive enough to not see that I’m the main reason we never hired anyone else.
The fear of letting someone else into our world, even in a purely business sense, is terrifying.
I climb from my truck and lumber into the house. Theo and Finn stopped to get some pizza, so they should be home soon. I wanted to get back so I could relieve Riley of her babysitting duties.
I felt bad asking her to watch him, but I knew he would rather work on his science fair project at the house than anywhere else. This meant Riley was the only option.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that she agreed to do it so easily. She obviously cares about Mav.
The house is quiet when I step inside. Mav’s finished board is standing on the counter. Pride swells in my chest as I gaze over it.
He’s so fucking smart. I don’t know what he’s going to do in this world, but I have a feeling it’s going to be important.
My eyes catch on a piece of paper on the side of the island. I walk over, picking up the note. The words have barely processed through my brain when a scream comes from outside.
I would know that scream anywhere. Even coming from outside, I know it’s Mav. When he was a baby, I could always pinpoint his cry, even if there were other little ones around.
The paper flutters to the ground. The back door is flung open as I sprint into the backyard.
I come to a halt because I don’t see them. Aside from the one scream, I can’t hear anything else. I spin in a circle, trying to see where they are.
My eyes catch on the fresh footprints in the snow that head toward the river. Fuck. Following them, I run as fast as I can along the packed snow.
Muffled noises get clearer as I get closer.
Panic like I’ve never felt before seizes me when I see a soaking wet Mav leaning dangerously over the ledge of the ice. He has one of Riley’s hands gripped tightly in both of his.
Blood trickles down her face from a gash on her forehead. She looks so weak, like the river could sweep her away at any second.
“Mav, please go,” she pleads with my son. “Please.” The last words come out on a sob that shatters my heart. Mav doesn’t move an inch.
“Mav,” I shout, sliding in next to him. His wide eyes swivel to me.
There are a million emotions present in his gaze, but mainly fear. Relief seems to settle over him as he registers that I’m actually here.
I wrap my hands over his that are holding Riley. “I’ve got her. I need you to go stand by that tree.” I point with my free hand to the closest tree that’s far enough away from the river.
He hesitates, eyes darting between Riley and me.
“I promise. I’ll take care of her, but I need to know you are safe.”
He lets out a heavy breath, then slides his hands out from under mine. He jogs over to the tree. I see him sag against the tree trunk from the corner of my eye as I turn my attention to Riley.
Her eyes keep fluttering open and closed. When they’re open, I don’t think she’s actually focusing on anything.
Keeping my grip on her arm, I reach into the icy water—my arm snakes around her chest. I’ve never been more aware of my size than I am right now.
I gently pull her from the water. With both of our weights on the remaining ice chunk, I don’t want it to crack and send us both crashing into the water.
There’s no way she’ll be able to walk right now, so I swing her into my arms. A relieved breath stutters from my lungs when my feet land on solid ground. I make a beeline for Mav.
“Is she okay?” he asks when I get close.
I hope so. “She’s okay. We need to get back to the house so that I can take care of both of you.”
For once, he doesn’t object. He just gives me a nod, staring worriedly at Riley. I crouch down in front of him with Riley still in my arms.
“I need to carry her. Can you hop on my back and hold on tight?”
He nods again and moves to my back. He wiggles his small limbs around me.
“I can’t hold you, so you have to squeeze me super tight,” I tell him as I stand.
“Okay, Dad,” he says, his teeth chattering.
With both of their dripping bodies pressed against mine, I’m freezing. I can only imagine how they both feel.
Riley’s eyes blink open, locking on me. “Cole?” she mumbles.
“Yeah, sweetheart. It’s me. You’re going to be okay.” I don’t know if what I just said is true, but I have to hope with everything in me that it is.
When we get to the house, the door is still open from when I sprinted outside. I carry them both upstairs where I can get them warmed up.
In the hallway, I help both of them get off the bulkiest parts of their clothes. Mav is able to do most of it on his own.
I leave Riley leaning against the wall while I help Mav get into the shower in his bathroom.
It guts me to leave him, but I can tell he’s already perking up under the warm water. Riley needs my help, and she needs it now.
I run into his room, grabbing his warmest pajamas and a pair of fuzzy socks. I put them on the toilet seat.
I leave the door to his bathroom open, so I can hear him if he needs me. Riley barely protests when I pick her up again, carrying her into the ensuite bathroom in my room.
I could have taken her into the bathroom she’s been sharing with Finn and Theo, but my feet carried us in here. I’m not going to analyze why that is.
I set her on the closed toilet, helping her get the clothes off until she’s just in her bra and panties. I would have let her do it on her own, but that’s not happening.
I peek at the cut on her head. It looks like the bleeding has mostly stopped. I’ll bandage it after I bring her body temperature up.
Holding her hands, I help her stand. She wraps her arms around me and won’t let go when I try to move her into the shower.
I lean around her, turning on the water. I kick off my boots and step into the spray with her still clinging to me.
She buries her face against my chest as the warm water cascades over us. Neither of us says a word, but our arms remain firmly wrapped around one another.
The chill from her body starts to ease slowly. Her breaths come more evenly.
When I’m confident she’s as warm as she’s going to get in here, I turn off the water. Trusting her a little more to stand on her own, I peel off my jeans and long-sleeved shirt.
With us both in our soaked underwear, I help her out of the shower. Grabbing a fresh towel from the cabinet, I wrap it around her shoulders.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her, helping her to sit on the toilet.
She gives me a slight nod, holding the towel tight around her.
I dart out into my room, switching my dripping boxers for new ones along with sweatpants and a hoodie. I stick my head in the hallway and hear Mav’s shower still running.
I could get some clothes for Riley from her room, but I chose to grab a bunch of my clothes for her instead.
Maybe it’s because, for some reason, my clothes might be warmer for her. It might also be because I want to see her in them again.
While I was changing, she must have slid out of her remaining clothes because they’re on top of the pile of wet clothes. She’s sitting there in only her towel.
“Here,” I say, setting the stack of clothes on the counter. “Do you need my help?”
I don’t know if helping her get dressed when she’s naked is the best idea, but I’ll figure it out if she needs me. I can look at Riley and think she isn’t the most beautiful woman on the planet.
Yeah, right…
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to go check on Mav, then I’ll come back and check the cut on your head.”
Her hand flies up to her forehead. She hisses when her fingers make contact with the cut.
Now that it’s clean from the shower, I can tell it isn’t that bad. Like most head wounds, it just bled a lot.
“Just get dressed. I’ll take care of it. Okay?”
Her hand falls back to her side. “Okay.” I turn for the door, but her voice stops me. “Is he okay?”
I assume she’s talking about Mav. “He’s fine. I think he was just really cold and shaken up.”
Her eyes shine with unshed tears. I can tell she wants to say something, but she just nods.
As I’m easing the bathroom door closed, I see her chin fall against her chest, and my heart cracks.