The One That I Want (Scorned Women Society Book 3) by Piper Sheldon (e book reader android txt) 📕

I realized this wasn’t the first time Skip had experienced this level of fear for his best friend.

Skip and I followed the stretcher as the EMTs carried it back to the Lodge.

Sanders was fully conscious and already charming the pretty EMT with thin braids that stretched down to her lower back. “Just felt like going for a quick dip,” he said.

Skip and I exchanged a look.

“Yeah, I think he’s gonna be just fine,” I said.

I’d been pushing him away since the movie night because of the fear of losing the life I’d built for myself. Within a few horrible minutes, I understood there was way more at stake than my career.

Chapter 12

Roxy

A few hours later, Skip and I sat under separate plaid blankets, sipping tea, and chatting by the great fire in the main lodge. Or what would be the great fireplace. Right now it was still a regular fireplace that matched the rest of the art deco vibe of the Lodge. If Diane Donner had her way, the whole place would soon resemble a modern-style cabin. The Lodge kept the fire going year-round because it added to the aesthetic. It made for a cozy setting, set off from the main lobby.

We were waiting for Sanders to come back down after he showered. He had a goose egg on his head and a nasty bruise forming on his ankle, but all things considered, he was fine. Surprisingly fine for how terrifying the whole experience had been. On my end, incident reports had been filed and the EMTs sent on their way. I’d cleaned off in the staff shower and changed into backup clothes I kept in my locker. My body felt warm and borderline high with a post-adrenaline buzz.

Skip was good company. Just like in Denver, we chatted like old friends catching up. He didn’t drain me of energy like some people. His beardy ruggedness should make him so much more my type than Sanders. And yet any feelings I had for Skip weren’t even comparable to the buzz I felt around Sanders. Skip was like slipping into your favorite sweatshirt. Sanders was like … Sanders was like nothing I’d ever felt. How I imagined it felt to have a couture silk gown slide off my body until I stood naked in nothing but Louboutin heels and a wicked grin.

“I’m good on excitement for a while,” I said to Skip taking a sip of the steaming tea before setting it on the coffee table.

He chuckled from the other end of the brown leather couch and I glimpsed his bashful smile before he ducked his head. He was the definition of Colorado beautiful. He wore flannel authentically, his beard was full and brown, and he was built like someone who could actually chop wood and rescue five children under each arm. A grizzly bear with a marshmallow soul.

“You’re probably used to this though with the corporate adventuring,” I said. “Saving lives, no biggie.”

“Not as much as you might think for what we do. Most people are pretty respectful of the rules. And because of the liability, Outside the Box has a lot of safety measures in place, more than if it were just a group of guys going camping with a few kegs and a shotgun,” he explained.

“Is Sanders always this …” I trailed off wanting to say “stupid” but knew I was just cranky because he’d scared me so bad.

“Reckless?” he finished for me, then said, “Yes.”

I remember the way he looked at his friend earlier. Concerned but also tired.

“He definitely strikes me as the leap-before-you-look type,” I said.

This added to my overall anxiety regarding Sanders. He was just too big. He overflowed with too much life. He didn’t fit in this life here. Not that it mattered. Not that I worried about how we would fit …

“He’s always been like that. It’s great in some ways. He’s always so inherently sure of OTB’s success that it’s impossible not to feel some level of that confidence.”

I chewed on my cheek. “But sometimes?”

“Well, then sometimes he jumps on a plane without telling me to go after …” I didn’t mean to react but I must have tensed slightly because he trailed off, finishing lamely with, “… a possible business venture.”

I nodded feeling slightly disappointed. “You’re so close.”

“As close as two friends can be.” Skip studied his mug of tea.

I had just been about to dig for more information when Sanders popped up. He was always popping up. He was like a little bubble rising to the surface, nothing could keep him down. Carbonation must have been contagious because it felt like I was filled with bubbles too as soon as I saw him.

“We’re closer than that, hey?” Sanders said. “We’re brothers.” He sat directly between Skip and me, forcing us to scoot over to make room.

Skip carefully lifted his tea to the side table to avoid spilling it. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Great. That shower did me wonders.” Sanders stretched out so his legs were propped up on the table and his arms stretched behind Skip and me respectively. The smell of fresh laundry and the hotel bar soap shook up the bubbles inside me, sending tiny bumps down my neck and arms.

How was this the same man that was unresponsive not that long ago? The tension I’d been holding on to started to relax seeing he was back to his old self. Or at least pretending to be.

“And your ankle?” I asked cautiously.

“It smarts a bit, but it’ll be okay.” Sanders’ head twisted from me to Skip and back again. “So what’re we talking about? Me? Go on. Pretend like I’m not here.”

“We’re talking about how you continue to put yourself in stupid situations with no concern for your own safety,” Skip said in his normal even-keeled tone but there was just the slightest edge to his voice.

“What? I did no such thing. I had you with me. You’re first aid trained,” Sanders said to Skip.