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Bam! They slammed into the turf, skidding, his body half under hers as the wind knocked out of him.
They skidded to a stop, and he just lay there, gasping, his mouth opening like a fish, no air.
She’d grunted with the landing, then lay there too a long second.
He fought for breath.
She pushed herself up, looked at him. “Hud?”
There—a long, wheezy gasp, and suddenly his lungs ballooned. He let out the breath, gulped in another.
“Hud, are you okay—what’s going on?” She’d dropped the water bottle, and now Arne and a couple other officials came over to them.
Zach had run up, breathing hard. “What, you guys playing your own game here on the sidelines?”
Hud swallowed, found another breath, then sat up, breathing hard. “She—the…” He took another breath. “The water is poisoned.”
She blinked at him. Arne looked at his water, then threw his bottle away. Yannick too held a bottle but now closed it.
“What are you talking about?”
“You said that Abe was poisoned, right?” He directed the question at Yannick.
Yannick nodded. “That was what the coroner said—but it wasn’t confirmed until a couple days ago. Thallium.”
Iris’s mouth opened, then she turned to Hud. “How did you—”
“It’s a long story. But don’t drink the water.” He got up, pulled her up to himself. Meant to let her go, but she held on to his shirt.
“You…are…over-the-top, Hudson Bly.”
“I promised your brothers I would keep you safe,” he said, smiling.
“For how long?”
“Does until death do us part sound okay?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Aw, just kiss the man already,” Zach said.
“Hud?” She put her hand on his chest. “Wait. What about…the future?”
“God has the future in His hands. Right here, right now, my future is you.”
She smiled. “I really feel we’re heading toward a penalty.”
“Absolutely.” He lowered his head.
“I’m thinking a neutral zone infraction.”
“Yep.”
“Illegal hands to the face,” she said softly, her eyes shiny.
“I was thinking offensive holding.”
“I might have to throw you out of the game.” She wove her hands around his neck. “So make it worth it.”
