Page 45 of Knot Your Sugar Rush (Starling Grove #2)
Chapter forty-five
Jamie
I hate sitting still. Hate it even more when it’s because my leg’s wrapped in half a roll of bandage and throbbing like a bad drumbeat.
From where I’m wedged in the armchair—smallest, most awkward seat in the safe house—I can still see Dane out on the porch, a solid shape in the moonlight, standing guard.
Past him, I catch glimpses of Cam on the far edge of the porch light, her shoulders drawn in, knees pulled up under her hoodie.
She’s folded in on herself like she’s trying to make less surface area for the world to touch. Even from here, I can tell she’s burning up. And I can’t do a damn thing about it.
Theo shifts his weight on the couch and follows my gaze. “She’s still out there,” he says quietly, leaning forward on his knees. “Hasn’t moved much.”
“Yeah.” My fingers tighten on the armrest. “She shouldn’t be out there. It’s cold.”
Theo tilts his head. “That’s not why she’s out there.” His voice has that calm, clinical edge he gets when he’s already figured out what’s going on. “Wind’s cooler than in here. She’s trying to keep herself together.”
My gut twists. “So we just… sit here?”
Theo looks at me like I’ve just suggested licking a live wire. “You want to go out there? She’ll bolt.”
“Maybe she won’t—”
“She will,” he says flatly, and then he glances back toward Dane. “Even he’s hanging back. Smart move, staying downwind.”
I hate that he’s right. I hate even more that every bone in my body is screaming to get up and do something, and my damn leg has other plans.
Theo sighs, then gets to his feet. “We can’t drag her in, but we can make sure when she’s ready, she’s got somewhere to land.”
I blink at him. “You’re going to make her a nest?”
His eyes narrow just enough to tell me I’ve hit a nerve. “What, you think I can’t?”
“I think you’ve got the nurturing instincts of a cactus.”
Theo snorts, moving toward the storage cupboard. “Fine. You supervise.”
I lift my hands in mock surrender. “I’d help, but, you know…” I gesture at my leg.
He shoots me a look over his shoulder. “Slacker.”
I grin despite the tension eating at me. “Slacker? I almost got buried alive earlier, thank you very much. And I’m still here, contributing valuable moral support.”
Theo mutters something about “useless brothers” as he starts pulling out blankets, shaking off dust, and piling them on the bed in the single room.
If I lean just so, I can just see his handiwork through the open door.
He’s methodical about it, layering the thickest ones on the bottom, softer ones on top, muttering under his breath about drafts from the windows.
I watch him work, my knee bouncing with restless energy. “You’re actually not bad at this,” I admit.
“Shut up,” he says automatically, but there’s a flicker of a smile as he tucks the last blanket into place.
The whole time, I keep flicking my eyes toward the porch. Dane hasn’t moved, but I can see the subtle way his head turns when Cam shifts, like he’s tracking every breath she takes. She’s still small out there in the dark, but I swear I can feel the heat rolling off her from here.
I lean forward, catching Theo’s eye. “When she comes in, we have to make sure she knows she’s safe. No crowding her, no big moves.”
Theo nods. “Already on it.” He glances at the nest he’s made, then toward the door. “She’ll need to rest soon. This’ll be ready.”
I try to settle back, but it’s useless. The part of me that almost died earlier is tired as hell. The part of me that’s watching Cam out there in the dark? Wide awake.