“No,” I interrupt quickly. “No, I’m not. I won’t. That’s not what I meant.” I suck in a breath to tell Easton that I think North is brave and that the world has failed him, only my feet begin to throb, and I drop my head back to breathe through thepain. The blood is starting to pool in my toes, and I feel sick. “I need to get inside.”
“Shit,” Easton says and scrambles for the door. “Hang on. Don’t puke in my car.”
“I’m not going to puke in your car, asshole,” I try to tell him, but he either can’t hear me or he doesn’t care. He’s around the other side in seconds, ripping the wheelchair pieces from the back seat, and he struggles to put them together.
“Oh my god, how does he even do this?” Easton murmurs before finally getting the wheels on.
It’s a very nice chair with a low seat and handles that pop on and off so it can prevent people from pushing without permission. I have no idea who loaned it, but I’m grateful for something nicer than what the hospital gave me.
“Alright,” my brother says when he’s done. “Brace yourself.” He leans over and tucks his arm under my legs and lifts me in a bridal carry to set me on the seat. The pain is still present, but I feel better now that I’m not in the car.
“Thank you.”
He squeezes my shoulder, then turns and scowls at the porch. There’s obviously no ramp, and I frown. I didn’t think that one through, and neither did Easton.
“I’m going to grab North,” he says quickly.
I don’t have a chance to protest. I watch helplessly from my spot as Easton bounds up to the front door and lets himself in with a bang. I hear him bellow North’s name, and then his voice gets quieter.
My stomach starts to twist because although North’s truck is here, what if he isn’t? What if he freaked out at the idea of me staying with him—of me sharing a damn bed with him—and fled the country or something?
“CAW CAW!”
The sound of the crow is so startling I almost topple over the side of the chair when huge black wings flap in my face. And a second later, several tiny claws dig into my thigh as the bird lands on me.
Beady eyes stare into mine as I freeze, and then I realize the crow only has one leg.
This is North’s crow. The one that visited me the day of the fire. The one who’d been hiding on my porch from the storm.
“Hey. You made it,” I murmur.
“CAW!”
The sound is a lot. But I lift a finger, and the crow begins to nibble with the side of its beak before going still. I stroke over the top of its head for a second, and then he ruffles his feathers and fluffs up.
“Are you flirting with me?” I ask softly.
“He’d better not be. Russell, go find something else to do,” comes a familiar voice.
My heart skips a beat, and my entire body goes warm as North shuffles down his steps. He’s got his hands on his hips, shirt off, and his jeans hang so low I can see a trail of hair going toward his pelvis.
My mouth goes dry.
The crow ruffles his feathers, then suddenly takes off without warning as North finishes crossing the distance between us, and he offers me a sleepy smile that makes my entire insides go soft.
“Hey.”
I swallow heavily as I stare up at him. From where I’m seated in the chair, he seems so…tall. So big. So…
Much.
“You okay?” he asks when I meet him with silence.
Licking my lips, I nod. “Um. Just tired, I think.”
North blows out a puff of air, then turns to look at his house before his gaze catches on Easton’s. “I guess I didn’t think the chair and ramp thing through.”
Easton shrugs. “I can lift him?—”
