Page 32 of Wrecked By You

“Hearing you talk makes me feel so young. Because you have this amazing career and those cute boys.”

He seemed to hesitate, and then he said, “You have been through a lot. I think in some ways you’ve gotten a lot of wisdom that most people don’t have.”

I sighed. “I guess that’s true. I have really loved being trained as a dispatcher. We had a couple of calls today that ended up not being a big deal, but it’s giving me experience and making me feel more confident. Plus, everyone is pretty cool. Most people have stopped by to check in on me. McCrae comes in to tell me jokes.”

Damon sighed. “Of course he does. He should be doing his job.”

“Hey, I didn’t tell you that to get him in trouble. I told you that because he’s trying to be sweet to me and I really appreciate it.”

“Okay. He’s not in trouble. He’s actually a good policeman.”

I lay on my back and thought of everything I’d missed. “Catch me up on your siblings. I don’t know that much about them. Ella and Kayla and your mom are so sweet, but I wasn’t in the mood to catch up the other day.”

Damon spent the next fifteen minutes telling me all about what his siblings were doing, including Noah getting married to Ella, their whole story, his father’s heart attack, Kayla’s plan to expand the cabins, and McCrae and his policing. Of course, he told me about Canyon and the search and rescue. He mentioned how Dylan was an attorney in Denver, but he came back pretty regularly.

“That’s awesome,” I said. “I always admired the way your parents tried to keep you guys close as a family. Those Sunday dinners …”

“Right.” Damon snorted. “On that topic, my mom wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come to family dinner after church on Sunday.”

My heart fluttered, and I wondered about being thrown in with all the Armstrongs at once. “Are you sure you want to do that? It just feels a little fast.”

Damon laughed. “Is our relationship fast or far too slow?”

I grunted. “Well, I guess when you say it like that … How about we see how Friday goes? I’m kind of nervous to feed you guys spaghetti. I want your boys to like it.”

“Don’t worry. My boys like spaghetti.”

For a few seconds, both of us were quiet.

“Are you there?” he asked softly.

I kept my eyes closed and smiled. “I was just thinking how great it was to talk to you like this. Just talk.” We used to do that when we were growing up.

“I agree,” Damon said softly.

“But I’d better get to bed. Gotta get up and be there at six. Don’t want to let down the boss.”

Damon chuckled again. “Good night, Isla.”

“Good night, Damon.”

I hung up on the call and turned onto my side. I closed my eyes, but all I could think about was his lips on mine and how good it felt to have him hold me in his arms.

Sixteen

Damon

The next day I went to several meetings, and truthfully, I didn’t absorb a word of them.

At lunch, I sat by Bill Hanes, the police chief from Cheyenne, Wyoming. He engaged me about the near accident we’d almost had several months ago. A member of Ella’s family had been climbing, so I was not only familiar with the accident because I was police chief; I had inside knowledge because she was my sister-in-law. Which Bill knew.

“How are things in Refuge Falls now?”

Instantly, my mind went to Isla and the fact that her psycho ex might be coming after her. But I didn’t want to make that a big deal to someone else. “They are fine. How are things in Cheyenne?”

Bill sighed. “You know that Cheyenne has the interstate running through here. It’s difficult. We get a lot of nonsense because of people trying to run drugs to the other side of the country or up to Canada. It’s been a lot lately.”

Compassion filled me. I knew what it was like to feel responsible for a lot of people and their well-being at all times. “I’m sorry to hear that.”