Grey’s stony silence provoked Matt, just as his grandfather had promised.
“Then again, her folks are here, right?” Matt lifted off the back bar and leaned closer to Grey. “Guess you’re not high on the list of people they want to see.”
“Maybe not, but I’m probably not as low on their list as you.” Grey shoved the empty bottle toward Matt.
“Don’t count on it. Unlike you, I’m trying to help that family avoid financial disaster. We’ll see where things stand once all the dust settles.” Matt’s smirk hinted at some kind of inside information he was dying to share, but Grey wasn’t about to let the guy best him. At least he’d learned what he needed to know: Matt was, in fact, going after Avery and planning to use Grey’s potential lawsuit as a wedge to split them apart.
“You know, the minute I heard about how you cheated on Avery, I suspected you must be the world’s biggest dumbass. Damn if you didn’t just go and prove me right.” Grey stood up. “I wouldn’t spend much more time trying to win her back. You may have shaken her faith in men, but now she’s moved on.”
“A temporary setback, Mister Rebound. I’ve got time. She’s got her rules, after all. And she’s even slower to give her heart.” Matt turned his back to tend to another customer, leaving Grey fuming and his fist itching to punch Matt in the face.
Although some smug part of Grey wanted to see Matt react to the news that she’d broken her rules about sex for him, he’d never betray her trust. He wanted to dismiss Matt’s dig, but like a splinter beneath his skin, the harder he tried to get it out, the deeper it burrowed.
“Grey!” Trip called out, waving him to the corner of the room. “We’re up!”
The next morning, Grey squinted in the sunlight as he biked toward Donner’s office. A few months ago, he’d been traveling the same road on a different bike. Now planters spilling over with flowers replaced the mounds of snow on the sidewalks. Gravel—not ice—littered the edges of the road. The air, devoid of the crispness of winter, carried a woodsy scent laced with wild herbs.
Grey arrived at Donner’s, stopping two doors down to lock his bike to the public rack on that block. As he strolled toward the clinic, his phone vibrated against his thigh. Adler.
“This is Grey.”
“Grey, it’s Warren. Do you have a minute? I’ve gotten a response from the Outback’s insurance company.”
Grey stopped. This could be it. The answer that would eliminate a significant roadblock between him and a future with Avery. He sat on the bench in front of the bakery next door to the clinic. “I hope you’ve got good news.”
“They’ve offered you ninety thousand dollars to settle your claim against the bar.” Warren fell silent while Grey’s stomach dropped.
“I thought you said something about one fifty.” Grey scrubbed his free hand through his hair, as if he could rub away the oncoming headache.
“One fifty’s the maximum anyone can collect on this claim in Colorado. But I also told you Dram shop cases are tough to win. This is a good offer.”
Grey’s lawyer would take a third of the payout, leaving him with sixty grand. Sixty instead of the one hundred he’d planned to clear. Sixty, which made it harder—plain stupid, according to Trip—to settle for Andy’s insurance offer of only twenty-five thousand.
He glared at his knee, which ached from yesterday’s climb and this morning’s cycling. Dammit. “So I guess I should take the money.”
“We’re not going to get a better offer, and I can’t guarantee we’d get more if we filed a lawsuit. In all likelihood, we’d wait forever for a costly trial and you’d end up with less.”
He heaved a sigh. A bird in the hand. “Take it, then.”
“Good decision. Don’t forget, you still have a claim against the driver. Once your doctor signs off on your MMI, we’ll be able to determine the full extent to which this injury has an impact on your future. After we estimate your damages, we’ll file your suit. In the meantime, this settlement with the Outpost will give you some cash in your pocket and help you offset the medical expenses.”
“Listen, I’m late for my therapy appointment. Do you need me to come in and sign anything?”
“Yes, you’ll need to sign a release. I’ll call you once I’ve had time to review it.”
“Thanks, Warren.”
Grey shoved his phone back inside his pocket, rested his elbows on his thighs, and hung his head in his hands. When would he catch a damned break?
He sat up, twisting his neck side to side, recalling Matt’s sneering face. Inhaling slowly, he gave himself a mental kick in the ass. There’d be no ifs when it came to his skiing again . . . only a when. No way would he let his knee and stupid money stuff be what kept him and Avery apart.
He marched into Donner’s clinic, more determined than ever to overcome his injury.
Avery snatched the take-out bag of chicken enchiladas from her passenger seat, and strolled through Backtrax’s front door. “Grey? You back there?”
When she got to the back office, she found it locked. Spinning on her heel, she called out again. “Grey?”
She wandered up the interior stairwell and knocked on the back door of his apartment. Shaman’s muffled bark greeted her, and then she heard Grey’s voice through the door. “Get back, boy.”
The lock clicked and the door swung wide open. “Hey.” He smiled and held up a finger while speaking to someone on the phone. “Ma, I’ll call you back. Avery’s here now.” After a brief silence, he said, “You will when you come visit.” He grinned and nodded. “Okay, love you, too. Bye.”
Setting the bag down, she clasped her hands in front of her body. Knowing him, his easy declaration of love for his mom didn’t shock her. “Is your mom coming to visit?”
“No immediate plans.” He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her.
“How often do you two talk?”
“Almost daily.”
“Really?”
“I’m her only child. She misses me. It makes her happy when I call and tell her about my life, my work, you.” He nuzzled her neck. “Why are we talking about my mom?”
“I can’t believe she already knows about me.”
“I told her about you a while ago, before things got personal.” Grey eased away and tilted his head. “I take it from your expression you still haven’t told your family a thing about us.”
“Not yet.” She avoided his gaze and removed lunch from the bag. “Chicken enchiladas, Christmas-style,” she said, waving her hand over the tin loaded with green and red sauce.
“Smells good.” He glanced at the tins, then narrowed his gaze on her. “Can I ask why you’re still hiding our relationship?”
“Andy knows. But there’s nothing to gain from adding to my parents’ tension right now.”
“Is that the truth, or do you still have doubts about me—about us?” Grey sighed. “I need to know if we’re in this together before I get in any deeper.”
Could she trust him?
“A hearing date has been set in Andy’s criminal case. Early July.” As usual, thinking about her brother going to jail triggered some sort of speaking disorder—one that fired sentences out in rapid succession without any breath in between. “We can’t believe his lawyers haven’t been able to negotiate a plea. No reduction in the charges, no elimination of jail time. Honestly, Grey, aren’t there worse criminals out there that the prosecutors should be putting in jail? And the bills from the law firm are putting a strain on all of us.” Grey wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, effectively stopping her rant. “Sorry. I know you’ve got your own set of problems related to this situation.”