Nineteen

NINETEEN

Josie

I stepped outside into the warm summer sun and inhaled deeply, my eyes landing on Huck.

A smile spread across my face at the sight of him standing outside, leaning against his truck with his feet crossed at the ankles and his arms crossed over his broad chest. He spotted me, saw the look on my face, and smiled back.

Even from the distance, I couldn't miss the pride etched into every one of his features. If he were standing closer to me, Huck likely would have seen the flush creep over my skin. It was the first time I could recall having anyone look at me like they were proud of me. It felt good.

Of course, I was in a place where I was going to gobble up any good vibes I could get, because what I'd just done hadn't been easy. I'd just left my first therapy session. After I'd made the decision to get professional help, Huck provided me with great resources he had access to from the work he did at Harper Security Ops in the self-defense and tactical training unit. I did some research, found a therapist I thought would work well for me, and got on her schedule for my first session.

Now that I'd had it, it was safe to say I felt like I was finally on the road to physical and emotional recovery. Yes, both.

Not only had I taken the time over the last week to choose a therapist, but I also visited with my doctor regarding the physical injuries I was healing from. The best part of that appointment was finally being able to take the sling off permanently and being told I could start rehab for it. Since then, I'd gone to my first two rehab appointments and had another scheduled for tomorrow.

So, even though there was still an uphill battle before me, I was trying to look on the bright side. Things were heading in the right direction.

And I had Huck to thank for it.

As I moved away from the door and toward his truck, I couldn't help but allow the feeling of gratitude to seep in and warm me even more than the heat of the sun.

Huck had been such a pillar of strength for me. He hadn't once faltered, doing everything he could to support me. There wasn't a chance I would have been doing this well without having someone in my corner, without having him.

I didn't know if I'd ever be able to repay him, to let him know just how much it meant to me that he cared to be by my side as I tried to put myself back together and get on the right track.

I came to a stop in front of him, still smiling.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

Offering a slight nod, I was honest. "It wasn't easy, but I'm actually excited about this. It already feels good to have an impartial third party to talk to about it. On the bright side, she'll be able to offer advice to help me get past the things that are troubling me. So, I think it's precisely what I need, even if I suspect it's going to get more challenging as I come to more sessions."

"I'm proud of you."

Unable to stop myself—partly because I had the use of both arms now, but mostly because I just loved doing it—I lifted my arms over Huck's shoulders and hugged him. As he wrapped his arms around me, keeping me pressed tight to his solid body, I said, "I couldn't have done any of this without you. I hope you know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me."

His fingers pressed in on the sides of my waist. "I'm always going to be here for you, honey. And you know what? I think, after all that you've done and how far you've come over this last week or so, that we need to celebrate."

My brows pulled together as I continued to hold on to him. "Celebrate? How?"

He grinned, lifted his hands from my waist to my arms, and rubbed his palms against them. The tender touches from him always made me feel like I had butterflies in my belly. "Let me take you to lunch this afternoon."

"Really?"

Nodding, he shrugged. "We've got to eat, don't we? And you do deserve a reward for all the hard work you've been putting in, wouldn't you agree?"

I couldn't quite figure out if he was being nonchalant because he truly felt that way or if he didn't want me to read too much into what he was asking me to do with him. Was he worried I'd look at this lunch out as something more than just him being a good guy who wanted to celebrate my progress?

Recognizing it wouldn't do me any good to speculate on it, I ignored those thoughts and shared, "I feel like you're the one who deserves the celebration. You've been working way harder than I've been."

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one."

Fair enough.

I let out a sigh. "Okay. Where are we going to go?"

Huck's satisfaction and triumph were written all over his face. "Do you have a preference? Is there anything special you'd like to eat today?"

"Oh, man, I don't know. You know what I haven't had in a very long time?"

"Tell me, and it's yours."

"Pizza. I haven't had pizza in ages, and I'd love nothing more than to sink my teeth into a cheesy slice right now," I told him, my mouth watering.

Without another word, Huck took me by the hand, led me around to the other side of the truck, and helped me in. And before I knew it, we'd arrived at the restaurant.

I'd been so excited about this lunch date with Huck, about getting something that I couldn't even remember the last time I had, that I hadn't prepared myself for what happened when our server walked up to the table.

"Hello. My name's Erica, and I'll be your server today. Can I get you started with something to drink?"

My breath caught in my throat as Huck returned, "We're actually ready to order, if that's okay."

"Sure. What can I get for you?" she asked.

"We're going to have a large cheese pizza."

"Large?" I questioned him.

He shrugged. "We'll take the leftovers home."

I gave him a nod of understanding in return.

"Perfect. And anything to drink?"

Huck pointed at me, urging me to answer first.

"I'll have a root beer," I said.

"And just a water for me."

"Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks, and your pizza will be out shortly."

"Thank you," Huck said.

Erica walked off, leaving Huck and I alone with one another, but I was distracted as I looked around the restaurant.

"Josie?" Huck called.

I quickly returned my attention to him. "Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?"

The disappointment moved through me as I dropped my ear to my shoulder and contemplated telling Huck the truth. He was probably going to think I was crazy. "Yeah. Yeah, it's okay. It's just… well, being here reminded me of work."

His expression turned curious. "Work?"

I nodded. "Yes. I really miss being able to go to work. I kind of miss my coworkers, but I also can't deny how much I enjoyed being able to do something with myself. I realize it's not the best job in the world or the one I wanted to do forever, but it's still a job. And if I'd been able to keep all my money from every shift I worked since I started, I would have been happy with how much I made. I could have survived on that, if I was living modestly."

"I can understand that. You'll get back there soon. Unfortunately, you can't really do that until you get the clearance from your doctor, though."

"I know. I'm hoping I can rehab this shoulder quickly," I murmured.

"Don't rush it," he advised. "The last thing you want to do is hurry the recovery and either injure yourself in the process or get back to doing something you're not physically ready to do. It's no different than the self-defense lessons you want to take. We'll do them, but you need to be able to do it safely."

He was right.

I knew he was right.

But understanding logic didn't necessarily help when it came to what I felt in my heart.

"I just want some kind of purpose again," I explained. "I want to feel useful. Plus, let's face it. The money you were able to recover for me when you grabbed my purse from Kurt's house isn't much and won't last forever. I've been in the hospital, Huck. Medical bills are surely on the way."

Huck reached across the table. "One thing at a time, honey. We'll get it figured out."

I liked how Huck always worked hard to make it so I didn't feel so alone. While I believed he was genuine with his words—he'd absolutely be there with me to figure it all out—the reality was that I was going to have a financial mess on my hands. I'd already learned a lot about what I'd done wrong in the situation with Kurt, and this was just one more lesson. I was never going to put myself in a place where I didn't have any money, where I no longer had a way to get out and save myself.

Maybe the better thing to do would be to make sure I didn't put myself in a position where I needed to get out and save myself.

I didn't share any of these thoughts with Huck. Instead, I gave him a nod and confirmed, "I know. It's just that I've made so many mistakes, and I want the chance to do it right. I want to have a real career."

Erica returned at that moment with our drinks, which led to Huck releasing my hand and sitting back in his seat.

"What do you want to do?" Huck asked once Erica walked off.

Did he not remember? "I want to be an obstetric sonographer."

"I remember you telling me it was your dream to do that and help prevent families from losing their loved ones. I guess I was wondering if you had changed your mind," he returned.

I shook my head. "No. No, that's never changed for me. That's another reason why I'm eager to get back to work. I'll be able to start saving more money, get my bills and my life sorted, and finally take those steps to fulfill that dream."

"You're such a strong and determined woman, Josie, I have no doubt you'll be right where you intend to be in no time at all."

"I hope you're right," I murmured.

He smiled at me and promised, "I am."

"There is one more thing I was kind of hoping to talk to you about, but I'm not sure how you'll feel about it," I said.

"You can talk to me about anything," he assured me.

I inhaled a deep breath, watched as Huck braced himself, and exhaled slowly. "I want to sell my ring."

"What?"

"The engagement ring that Kurt gave me," I clarified. "I happened to still have it on me when I was taken to the hospital, so it came back to your house with me. I want to sell it. I mean, today was my first therapy session. I'm taking these steps toward a new future. Even though there are things lingering that I still need to work through, I don't need that ring as a reminder. I feel like it'd be a good way to not only cover some costs associated with my medical bills, but it's sort of my way of solidifying this new path my life is taking."

Huck didn't immediately respond. He took in the words I'd shared and considered them for a bit before he responded. "I will support you in any way that I can throughout this journey, Josie. If selling that ring feels like the right thing for you to do, I'll be right by your side while you let go of it."

"Do you think it's what I should do?"

"I don't think I get a vote in this, if I'm honest. But if you truly want my opinion, I can't imagine why you'd want to hold on to something that would only serve as a reminder of something horrific in your life, something you're never going to go back to."

I was so glad he felt that way because it was precisely how I felt, too. There was a level of confidence I felt about where my life was headed, and Kurt didn't factor into the equation any longer. There was no sentimental value associated with the ring, only heartache and despair. Getting rid of it was the best thing I could do.

"It's settled, then. I want to research where to get rid of the ring and put that bad decision behind me," I declared.

Huck smiled proudly at me.

And a few beats later, whether he realized I needed it or not, Huck shifted the conversation. "So, I've got a question."

"What's that?"

He took a sip of his water, placed the cup back down on the table, and asked, "Do you think it's strange that we've both been in Steel Ridge all these years, and we never ran into each other until recently?"

If that wasn't the million-dollar question. "I don't know if I'd call it strange. Honestly, I think it makes sense."

He raised a curious brow. "It makes sense?"

"I didn't get out much, Huck," I explained. "I really don't want to spend my entire lunch here with you talking about Kurt, but after I got together with him, I slowly changed things about myself and accepted things I wouldn't have. He was smart in how he did it—being wonderful to me in the beginning and making me feel like I'd finally found something special—and before I even realized what was happening, I had no job, no friends, and no car."

"How did you end up at the diner, then?"

Ugh, more conversation about Kurt. "I convinced him I could help. He wound up having several unexpected things happen to him at once, so he was seriously short on cash. I had been wanting to figure a way out for a long time, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I pretended to be all in with helping him out of the rough spot he was in financially, but I was saving a small portion of my tips every shift."

Huck's frustration was clear as day. "I guess it makes sense, then. You weren't going out anywhere unless you were going to the diner."

"Exactly. And since the day you stopped into the diner was the first day you'd ever been there, that's why we never saw each other," I reasoned. "Though, I guess I have to admit that had I known you were back home, I might have tried looking you up."

My intention with sharing that hadn't been to upset Huck, but it was obvious I'd done just that. "I'm sorry, Josie. There are so many things I wish I'd done differently."

I shook my head and waved my hand in the air, as though dismissing the thought. "We're here now. If what I think is true is the case, neither one of us is going to allow us to be separated from one another like that again. We can't change what's already happened, Huck, but we can make it better in the future, right?"

The disappointment he'd been feeling seemed to have vanished as he smiled at me. "Yeah, honey, we can definitely do that."

His voice was so soft and sweet, it was a wonder I didn't melt on the spot.

Erica walked up to our table with our pizza, so it gave me the time I needed to pull myself together.

When she walked away, I said, "Speaking of better futures, will you tell me about more of your buddies from work? I love hearing all of those stories with happy endings."

"I can do that," Huck confirmed as we each took a piece of pizza and set it on our plates. "But first, I need to watch you take your first bite in years. I want to know what you think."

Never wanting to do anything to disappoint him, and being eager to taste some fresh pizza, I lifted the slice to my mouth, took a bite, and dropped my head back with a moan. "Oh my God, it's so delicious."

I chewed with my eyes closed for several seconds before I brought my attention to Huck. His eyes were dancing, and I was convinced it was the happiest I'd ever seen him. "You like it?"

"I love it."

He laughed and took his own bite. After he swallowed, he said, "Let me tell you about Kit and Maxie."

For the next little while, I listened intently while Huck told me about three more of his coworkers, Kit, Jax, and Jake. I still couldn't believe there were so many people who worked at Harper Security Ops. But that didn't matter so much. I loved hearing about how they'd all found their happy endings despite facing some kind of adversity.

It gave me so much hope about where my future would take me. I could only hope that wherever I wound up, Huck wouldn't be too far away.

Before I knew it, Erica had returned with a box for the pizza we were going to take back to Huck's place, along with the bill. As he handed her his debit card, I said, "Thank you for bringing me out for lunch today. I enjoyed having the extra time out of the house, and of course, the company was wonderful."

Huck smiled at me and returned, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. And if you truly do want to have more time out of the house, I've got something in mind."

My brows shot up. "Oh?"

"Jesse and Sawyer are getting married in a couple weeks," he shared. "I would love to take you to the wedding with me."

Warmth hit the center of my chest and spread out as those butterflies returned to my belly. "You want me to join you at your friends' wedding?"

He nodded. "I do. You'll have quite a few more rehab appointments before then, so I'm hoping you feel stronger by that time. And I think we already have such a great time together. I just figure it'll be a lot of fun."

I didn't need to think twice about it.

Sure, I could have sat here and made assumptions about why Huck invited me to go with him and questioned what it all meant.

But the reality was that I was trying to get my life back on track and do things that made me happy. I didn't doubt I would have the time of my life if I went with Huck to the wedding.

So, I didn't hesitate.

I sat up taller in the seat, beamed at him, and declared, "I'd love to go to the wedding with you."

His grin grew as he reached across the table and gave my hand a squeeze. "We're going to have the best time."

"I can't wait."

And I couldn't.

There had never been an instance when I was with Huck when I didn't thoroughly enjoy myself and make some kind of lasting memories.

I knew this wedding would be no different.