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He stepped close enough to swing his jacket around her shoulders, then stepped back. The lining was still warm from his body. She clutched at the material, pulling it close.
“Put your arms through the sleeves,” he said, his voice low. “You’ll be warmer.”
She nodded and threaded her arms through the holes. The sleeves were long, leaving her hands covered. She felt like a little girl wearing Daddy’s clothes.
The thought was so incongruous with what she’d just gone through she started crying.
“Becca.” She heard the anguish in Chris’s voice. He’d stepped closer, but he didn’t touch her. “Becca, I’m so sorry.”
She flung her arms around his neck, then pressed her face into his shoulder. It was probably wholly inappropriate, but she couldn’t stand here and carry all this weight by herself.
He stiffened, and for a fraction of a second, she thought he might reject her.
But then his arms came around her back, and his head dropped until she could feel his breath against her hair.
She held him tight, so tight, but he didn’t pull away.
CHAPTER 32
Chris stood in the rain and held her until she stopped shaking. Even then, she didn’t let go, so he didn’t, either.
Probably a good thing, since Drew and his friends wouldn’t have made it back to the school if he’d been able to go after them.
“Did you make the rain warm?” she asked, her voice thick.
“Yeah.” But he couldn’t make the air warm, so he probably wasn’t helping much.
A moment passed. “Thank you.”
He nodded.
She drew back and looked up at him. “No—I mean thank you. For—for—”
“It’s all right,” he said. “Shh, Becca. It’s all right.”
Lightning flashed. Thunder growled in the sky, closer now.
It sounded like a warning. He was alone in this field, a sitting duck at a time he should be with his brothers. The rain was still singing along his skin, looking for adventure.
Danger, danger, danger.
Becca pressed her face against his shoulder again, and he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.
“You keep saving me,” she said.
“Yeah, well.” He stroked the hair down her back. “I think we might be close to breaking even on that.”
She laughed, just a little.
A siren sliced the night air, not too distant. Becca sobered. “What do you think happened to them?”
Chris had heard Drew’s scream, had seen him writhing on the ground, clutching at his chest. Seth hadn’t looked much better. Drugs? Too much beer? The cold? Chris had no idea, but maybe someone with some medical training had called an ambulance.
He hoped the medics took their time.
“Who cares?” he said. He should have kicked that stupid prick in the head while he was lying there. “We should walk back so we can tell someone—”
“No.” Her fingers clutched at his shirt.
