The whirr and hum of the 3D printer was loud enough that I could hear it as I crossed the lawn after my trail run. It ran all night as I laid awake, thinking about Aria and her red-faced fury up at the falls. Between the noise and my own frustrated thoughts, I got almost no sleep and for one fleeting second, I considered heading down to town to the twenty-four-hour convenience store to grab a case of beer.
But instead, I got up and put on my running shoes and headed out for a pre-dawn run.
The lights were on in the great house by the time I got back. I stood on the lawn for a moment, hoping to catch a glimpse of Aria’s silhouette. It had been almost a week since our disaster of a hike, but I could still feel the shape of her under my hands and the gasp she’d let out when I kissed her echoed in my brain. I had been half a second away from throwing her down on the ground just taking her right there beside the falls. Until I remembered why she was there.
Me.
She was furious and rightly so. I was furious with myself. I'd never hit her, but I'd hurt her all the same. I’d forced her to flee before she was ready, handing her a grenade with the pin pulled out.
Who knows, maybe that morning was the day she’d decided she had enough. Maybe she would have gone to the police, pressed charges, worked with her band on a new project. She was tough enough to survive one more day of what she knew, and smart enough to put things to right so she could nail him to the wall.
But I’d assumed I knew better, and I’d interfered. And I’d taken away her ability to choose.
I’d be spending the rest of my life trying to make up for what I’d done to Jesse.
I wondered how long it would take for me to make amends to Aria.
All at once there was silence, and I turned and sprinted back to the house. The printing was done. Six new models ready for delivery. And just in the nick of time too.
I’d just finished packing the last elbow joint in foam when I heard the sound of car wheels on the driveway.
I went out to meet my contact.
“Morning!” Sy Tarrington yawned before taking another gulp of coffee from his travel mug. “You sure you want to keep doing these early morning deliveries?”
I pressed my lips together and tried for a smile, but failed. “You know my terms, Sy.”
“Yeah, yeah. Secret. Anonymous. I get it. You know my thoughts on that, Wreck.”
I winced a little at hearing my old nickname. It had taken on a new significance since the accident. “Yeah, you’ve made it clear you think I’m an idiot. But your opinion never much mattered to me.” This time I was able to smile.
Sy raised his mug in a salute at the insult, then leveled me with his gaze. “It should. There are a bunch of people up at the hospital who would love a chance to thank you personally.”
I winced. “Not going to happen.”
“Suit yourself,” Sy muttered, then went around to the back of his car. “How many?”
“Six,” I replied. “Five custom and the sixth is a prototype. I was hoping you could find a volunteer to try it out.”
“No shortage of those, especially with the VA up north.” Sy pulled out his clipboard from under his lab coat and flipped through the pages. “Yep, I’ve got a guy who just signed up for the program.”
I nodded. “Great.”
Sy looked up. He was getting on in years, but his sharp eyes - the ones that had looked down at me when I woke up in the hospital bed after having my stomach pumped, the ones that winced with sadness when he told me about Jesse’s leg - they were the same. “You’re doing amazing things here, Derek. You should get some credit.”
I shook my head. “Don’t want it. Not doing it for the credit.”
“I know you aren’t. You’re doing it out of guilt.”
I lifted the carefully packed box. “We good here?”
Dr. Silas Tarrington, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at the County Hospital, lifted the box from my arms. “We’re good.” He carefully belted it into the backseat of his sedan and then turned back. “Hey, have you seen the weather report?”
I shook my head. “Been kind of busy.”
Sy shut the door. “Storm on its way already, can you believe it? This early in the season?”
“Yeah, I can believe it.”
“Supposed to be a doozy too.”
“They always make a big deal out of these storms and they’re never that bad.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Sy mumbled, sliding back into the driver’s seat. “But my wife has me heading out for eggs, milk, and bread anyway. Any time there’s snow, she does that. Like we need to be sure we can make French Toast.”
I laughed at the old, tired joke. Locals made it every winter. I looked up at the still unfallen leaves. “Roads are gonna be a mess with leaves on top of the snow.”
“Yeah, well, we know how to handle it, right?” Sy said, starting up his engine. “I have to get going, my rotation starts in a half hour and I’m dropping these off at the lab beforehand.”
“Sure thing,” I said, stepping back. “Make sure they get me the next orders soon.”
“There’s no shortage of need, don’t you worry.”
“Good.” I nodded and lifted my hand in farewell as he pulled out of my drive. He backed out at an angle, nearly ending up in the ditch, before reversing into the parking circle in front of the great house. I saw a light switch on over the porch and sighed as the door opened. Sy’s BMW was just rounding the curve of the drive when Aria stepped out.
She was well over a hundred feet away from me, but the sight of her there in the early morning light was enough to make my heart stop. Her wildfire hair was piled on top of her head, tumbling down in a half-undone coil that my fingers itched to sink into. She wore yoga pants that cupped her ass like a hug, and her feet were bare against the wood of the porch. And, thank god and all the angels in heaven, she appeared to not be wearing a bra.
And yeah, I felt like shit as soon as I had that thought.
“Morning!” I called as I walked towards the great house. It had been days since she’d spoken to me and I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to make amends.
She crossed her arms over her chest as I got closer, but all that did was squeeze her breasts deliciously together. “Who was that?” she asked.
I stopped. “Who was who?”
“The guy in the Beemer. Don’t play coy.”
“I’m not.”
“Mr. Mysterious Hacker, huh? What other shady shit are you up to?”
I sighed and stopped walking. “Okay, I get it.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What was in the box?”
“You’re spying on me now?”
She cocked her head. “Tit for tat.”
That was fair. “It was a delivery.”
“Of what?”
“Of…my work.”
“What is your work?”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Computer stuff.”
She blew out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever, I don’t give a shit. I’ve got plans today anyway.”
“Is that why you’re up early and spying on me?”
“Yes, and as my caretaker, I don’t see how that’s any of your business, really.”
“Where are you going?”
“Why don’t you just hack into my email and find out yourself?”
That hurt. Even though I asked for it, it hurt. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, you’ve said that. Save it, I have to get moving here.”
She turned to leave but I wasn’t ready to let her go yet. “Wait?”
“What?”
I scrambled to think of something that would keep her here. “You should be careful. I hear snow is on the way.”
“Seriously? This early?”
“Supposed to be a bad storm. You shouldn’t be going out, your car doesn’t have snow tires.”
“Would you stop spying on me?”
“How is it spying on you to say you don’t have snow tires? It’s obvious.”
“Whatever, leave me alone. Go back to my house.”
She slammed the door behind her. I rocked back on my heels and looked to the heavens for some kind of guidance but all I saw were the dark clouds gathering in the west.