Fractured by Erin Hayes Read Free Book Online Page A

Scott said from across the driveway. He sounded defensive.
    “Might be cramped though,” Darius added, bemusedly. He waggled his eyebrows and then ducked, piling more stuff into the SUV.
    Maria crinkled her nose in distaste. It wasn’t the first time that Seth wondered if it was a good idea to have her along.
    “Babe, there’ll be plenty of room,” Rick said gently. “We might just have to leave behind one or two of your suitcases.”
    “Ri-iiick,” she whined. “Maybe we should have flown there.”
    Seth secretly agreed. Rick certainly had the money, so he had no idea why they were coming along on the car ride. And that would have gotten Maria out of his hair. It was lucky she was as good looking as she was—otherwise no one would put up with her.
    “I can squeeze into a tight spot, if need be,” Bash called out. She was sitting off to one side on the curb with her white cane folded across her lap. “I wouldn’t notice the difference.”
    Maria just frowned at her.
    Seth sighed and sat down next to Bash.
    “Is the car all packed? Or are you just taking a break?” she asked.
    “Scott and Darius have it under control,” Seth told her. “Besides, if I’m driving first, I should relax.”
    He wrapped an arm about her slim shoulders and she leaned against him. He kissed the top of her head and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent. He was going to miss her terribly when he was deployed again. He hated the thought of it, but it was one of those inevitabilities that hovered in the back of his mind with everything he did.
    “You okay?” Bash asked. She had a penchant for picking up his emotions.
    “Just thinking about how much I’m going to miss you,” he said.
    She squeezed his hand. “Promise me one thing,” she said.
    “What?”
    “That during this trip, you won’t think about it. Any of it,” she insisted.
    He wondered if that was going to be possible, but he said, “I’ll try.”
    Bash considered his response, then sighed. “I guess I’ll have to take that then, won’t I?”
    He rubbed her upper arm. “And what about you, are you going to be okay?”
    “About what?”
    “Skiing. Is that going to be a good idea with your...condition?” He refused to say she was blind. With Bash’s impairment, Seth would have never suggested skiing as his last trip before being deployed again. This whole thing was Bash’s idea, and she had been so excited by it, Seth couldn’t say no. He had invited his group of friends to enjoy this last holiday before he was deployed again. Bash had invited Lily, possibly as an olive branch to her estranged sister. Lily had even picked out the hotel, which Bash had agreed to, even though it was on the steep side.
    She chuckled. “I have been skiing before, you know,” she said. Before their father died, they’d gone a few times a year. “That’s also why we’re hiring a guide.”
    “You broke your arm the last time,” he reminded her. The very idea of her getting hurt was enough for him to feel worry welling up inside. “Maybe it would be best if I just hang with you at the lodge.”
    “No.” She sounded appalled. “Of course we’re skiing. Besides, I’d be stuck with Lily the entire time if we don’t.” She laughed bitterly.
    “Why is she coming?” Seth tried to keep his dislike for her sister from seeping into his voice, although it was hard because Bash could pick up on it easily.
    Which, she did, unfortunately. Even she couldn’t keep the melancholy out of her own voice. “Because she’s my sister,” she insisted. “She’s really all I have left. And...I hope...we can be friends again...”
    “She’s not all that you have left.” He kissed her again, but she had gone stiff under his arm, not returning his affections. He sighed and held her to him, wanting to make her life as easy as possible. She had already been through so much. He mused how it would be much easier if she didn’t have to deal with Lily.
    “It’s just for a few days,