Page 19 of Absolution

My heart pounds in my ears, the closer I am to her. I swallow past the knot forming in my throat to utter the simple sentence. "Can we help?"

"Of course," she picks up a stack of plates, holding them out in front of her. "these go outside, Craw can show you."

I pause, wanting to ask but not sure I should. I do, anyway. "Craw?"

"Everyone calls him Crawford, I wanted something for me, so I started calling him that while we were dating in college." Her face softens with the memory, and then I realize I have her eyes.

"Maybe I should start calling him Craw-daddy." I side-eye her, grinning. We both begin to laugh as she grabs the glasses. "Or I can stick with Crawford."

She nods as we walk out to the deck. "I think that's best."

"What's best?" Crawford's brow quirks when he glances at us.

"This one, wanting to call you Craw-daddy." She begins to giggle before long she's full-on belly laughing.

"I was just throwing it out there."

"Throw that shit back, it was well underweight." Crawford cracks on me, making us all burst with laughter.

"Whatever old man." I slide up to his side. "Let me see what you've got going on over here."

He spins the fork between his fingers. "You don't have a thing on me, kid. I'm the grill master around these parts."

"Are you challenging me to a grill off? You're on ole man." I hold up my hands, stepping back.

He motions to the refrigerator at the end of the bar. "Grab us a beer."

"Alright." I lean down, pulling two cold ones out and turn to Kathryn. "How about you?"

"I have wine chilling, but thank you." She continues to set the table while we wait. "By the way, I set Doc's bowls out for her by the kitchen counter. I hope it's okay?"

They're both trying so hard right now, I wish I could unplug and let my guard down, but even now, my body tingles with tension. I'm working hard on not showing my jitters, but I'm sure they can tell.

The sun disappears as we sit down to dinner, talking late into the night as the stars hang overhead. They tiptoe around me, dodging subjects and purposely avoiding the biggest questions of all.

Does he remember anything?

Why now?

Chapter Six

Creed

The day dawns, rousing me as the soft light breaks through the window. Doc is stretched out beside me, snoring her ass off. As I run my hand over my face, it hits me I didn't have a dream last night.

"Dang, I slept like a baby." I sit up, slowly dragging my ass from the bed. Since my injuries, early mornings tend to cause a few more aches and pains, simple reminders of the last two years. I nudge Doc, prompting her to climb onto my lap.

"I'm feeling the need to hit the beach for a run this morning." She perks up, jumping off the bed and runs to the door. "I'll take that as a yes."

Doc sits, waiting on me as I stretch and loosen my stiff limbs. I stumble to the closet and pull out some shorts. Then I turn my attention to finding a toothbrush, which I find in the bathroom cabinet.

After I've washed my face, I head out, grabbing my shoes before we hit the shore. At the bottom of the stairs, I take a quick look around. The house is quiet, allowing me to have a look around.

"I suppose they're still in bed." I murmur to Doc, as we peek into a room on the right at the bottom of the stairs. "I mean, this is my childhood home."

They have a piano in the far corner next to a wall of glass, allowing the light from outside to showcase it. The back wall is laden with bookshelves, filled from side to side. I ease over, checking out the selection.

"I mean, I'm more of a puzzle guy, but I suppose I could've been a book nerd." I shrug, tapping my leg for Doc to nuzzle my hand. The entire house has such a great laid-back vibe, definitely the beach style I like.