Running Hot by Rachel Hanna

Author:Rachel Hanna [Hanna, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Cody tried to convince me to stay in the truck at the finish line while he went up to explain to the race officials.

"I can take your bib," he said, motioning to the plastic coated number that still graced my t-shirt at the hem. Made of something like Tyvek used under shingles on houses. It was intact, but fairly grubby.

"Doesn't hurt my burns to walk," I said, having not tried it yet. "It's just the tired." Didn't need to try that to know it was true. Maybe I could lean against him, one of those strong, shapely arms around my shoulders.

"Do you know how to take care of yourself at all?" he demanded, sounding so I know everything better than you that I forgot about snuggling against him and swung out of the truck without waiting.

"It's for your own good," I said. "If you just show up with my tag, how will they know you didn't kill me in the woods?"

That seemed to piss him off. "Because I'm a fireman?"

I stared at him. Firemen were capable of nefarious acts.

He tried again. "Because they'll be able to see you through the windshield and if they have questions, they can come ask you?" He stood with his arms folded across his chest, looking more paternal than I cared for and way more demanding than I liked from any guy and way hotter than he had any right to. I've never been into the stern, scolding, do-what-I-say-little-girl sexual scenarios, but there was something impressive and a little arousing about Cody's take-charge attitude. Probably the fact that he was actually worried about me.

For whatever reason. How many hours had I known him at this point?

To which Melody would have thrown up a variety of reasons it didn't matter how long I knew him, only mattered what I felt, nattering on and on at me while I thought that even if she was right? I didn't know how I felt. Half like jumping him, half like slugging him. He was irritating and beautiful, aggravating and – beautiful.

The third half of me, so to speak, was pretty sure that nothing that could be called "jumping" was going to happen with me involved until I'd had several long baths and possibly a massage.

The argument was settled when one of the race officials came over to see what we were doing.

While she talked briefly with Cody just past my earshot, I watched longingly as a clutch of runners made it through the finish line. The time was just coming up on 11. Thirty hours make or break. The runners looked tired, bedraggled and elated.

Next year.

The woman who came to the truck was gray haired and lean as a skeleton. Definitely a distance runner. "I'm going to go get you a t-shirt. Can't give you a buckle, but I wanted to personally congratulate you. You took an already tough race and turned it into something so very much harder!"

I laughed. "Am I all recorded? Checked in an everything? I don't want people wandering around looking for me.

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