Free No Reason to Run by Michelle Howard Page A

turned
to Chloe to make sure she wasn’t listening.
    Chloe licked a grape
lollipop and talked a mile a minute with Brody. She wasn’t listening to their
conversation at all. Brody had two nieces and the girls loved him. It didn’t
surprise Shane that Olivia’s daughter would gravitate to the calm firefighter.
    He moved his hand
from her thigh to her waist and caressed her hip. “Try not to think about that
part.” Doctors had told him that often enough during his recovery when he came
home in pain from his injury. Didn’t matter though. At night in the dark all
those thoughts you tried not to think about during the day would rear their
ugly heads.
    Olivia leaned
forward slightly, pressing into his touch. Her vanilla scent teased his
nostrils. “What else do you remember?” He kept massaging her with the firm
touch of his hand. Grounding her with sensations.
    Another deep breath.
The rise of her chest in the tee shirt brought his attention back to her
breasts. The pink tee strap top from earlier now sported a small tear visible
above where his hand rested. She faced him and her mouth wobbled. “The coffee
attendant chased the guy in the suit. Everyone watched because he ran with the
briefcase. He just wanted to do a good thing and give back the briefcase.”
    Her tone trailed off
on a soft hiccup. Shane looked up at Brody who watched Olivia closely. Brody
removed the cuff from her arm and slid a plastic mask over her face, the strap
catching on her hair. She winced and tugged on her hand in his grip. Shane let
her go but instead of adjusting the strap like he expected, she grabbed his
shoulder.
    “It’s just oxygen,
miss.” Brody paused and glanced between the two of them a question in his eyes.
    “Her name’s Olivia
and the kid’s her daughter, Chloe. Olivia, this is Brody.”
    “I wanted a coffee.”
The mask muffled her voice but he figured out the words.
    “Shhh. We’ll talk
later.”
    No longer distracted
by her candy, Chloe jumped from the truck and came towards him. “Mr. Snuffles
in your truck.” Her hands gestured wildly. “Man go boom.”
    Shane held still
aware of how closely everyone waited but Chloe crept closer and leaned her
weight against his side. Her head brushed her mother’s hand on his shoulder.
“Go back your house?”

Chapter 12
     
    Olivia couldn’t
believe it. Someone used a bomb at the bus station. One minute she’d been
watching the cart attendant chase the guy and the next. God, she breathed
deeply. The poor man was dead now. Both of them, she assumed, since they’d been
standing so close together. There could be others dead. The bus parked in the
spot had been full. Those passengers waiting to go wherever they planned.
    “Olivia.”
    Shane’s voice pulled
her from the fog of memories. She glanced at him, reassured by his presence.
Chloe leaned on him, her head nestled on his shoulder. He seemed to take it all
in stride. Muscles poised for action while he maintained his awkward stance
practically kneeling between her legs. The heat of his body warmed her chilled
limbs through the denim. Even in this position, his height put them eye to eye.
    His eyes weren’t
cold now. Glowing with concern, the gray color lightened like the sky after a
mid-day storm. Olivia pretended she belonged to him. Pretended it was alright
that she and Chloe absorbed the strength his presence emanated. It was the only
way to contain her rising fear. She’d once wanted to belong to Brian in that
way. Enough. She had to quit fantasizing.
    She pushed the mask
up from her face though she’d enjoyed the burst of air pouring into her starved
lungs. “Your wife is lucky.”
    The fireman standing
over them snorted while pushing the mask back in place. Olivia peeked at him
from the corner of her eye. He wore a smile that revealed a dimple in one lean
cheek. His green eyes flashed with humor.
    “What?” Shane
appeared aghast.
    Chloe jerked but
Shane reached up and rubbed her daughter’s back until she