SWNOVELS In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes: Chapter 58
GRAVEL CRUNCHED beneath my truck tires as I pulled up to the construction site for the first phase of the apartment buildings project. The site was bustling as they prepared the foundation. Before I climbed out of my truck, I checked my phone for messages.
Sadie had been acting weird since last night. Quiet and closed off, like she was worried.
I rubbed my chest, frowning. It was nothing. She was probably worried about how to break the news to Willa and Claire. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, thinking about her distant smile as I kissed her goodbye this morning.
Things were so solid with us. Almost too good. I thought back to what she once said to her aunt about me. Was she having second thoughts?
A shout on the construction site snagged my attention and I watched as several people sprinted to the base of the crane. My gut clenched hard and I climbed out of my truck. Someone shouted call an ambulance and my heart began pounding as I ran over.
Robert, one of the construction leads, lay on the ground, as the first aid person hovered over him, asking him questions. His arm was slung across his chest and his face was pale.
My blood pressure sky rocketed.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
Aiden appeared at my side, looking stricken. I’d never seen him not smiling. “The ambulance is on their way,” he told the first aider before turning to me. “They were lifting rebar for the foundation when one of the straps broke. The rebar slid out and hit Rob. We think his arm is broken and he might have a concussion.”
Terror boiled up my esophagus and I scrubbed a hand down my face. Fuck. Concussions were serious. In my mind, I saw Finn’s sheet-white face as he lay on the ground beneath the tree.
I glanced at the rebar, scattered across the ground. Those rods were heavy and sharp. If the angle were different, they could have seriously injured him. If he had lost his footing and fallen on his neck or back, he could have died.
Blood whooshed in my ears. This was a big fucking mistake on my part, handing this project over.
“Let me see the strap,” I snapped.
When someone brought it forward, I flipped it over, inspecting it. “Is this an old strap?” I asked Aiden.
He shook his head. “We inspect them before every lift. It was in perfect condition.”
“And the weight—”
“Within the limits,” he supplied. “We were safe, Holden. We checked everything.”
“Obviously not.”
Shame washed over his features.
The ambulance pulled up and the paramedics hurried over with a stretcher. Everyone stepped back to give them space and I watched with a rock in my stomach as they loaded Rob into the ambulance and drove away.
“Job site’s closed until the investigation is done,” I announced, and Aiden swore. I crossed my arms, nostrils flaring. “I’m stepping back into the project.”
His face flashed with frustration and defensiveness. “We followed every safety protocol. This couldn’t have been prevented.”
“It’s not up for discussion,” I snapped, pointing at the rebar laying all over the ground. “You’re way over your head. This is my fault.” Some of the fight left me, leaving only shame. “I shouldn’t have put this on your shoulders before you were ready.
I stalked off to my truck to head to the hospital. Way, way in the back of my head, I knew Aiden was right. The guy had always been a stickler for our rigorous safety procedures. This wasn’t his fault.
Still, I couldn’t shake the notion that if I had been in charge, it wouldn’t have happened.
Instead, I was building treehouses in the woods and watching Sadie at the bar. My stomach twisted. I hated choosing like this. I had tried to let things go at work and it blew up in my face.
I had no choice. Regret simmered through my chest and I gritted my teeth.
I SPENT the rest of the afternoon and evening at the hospital, waiting until Rob got out of surgery. Outside his room, I assured his family he would be on leave with full pay and access to as much physiotherapy as he needed before I headed home.
The tension in my chest loosened a fraction as I stepped through the front door. After the day from hell, all I wanted was to see Sadie.
“Hey,” I called as I kicked my boots off. It was just before midnight and all the lights were still on.
“I’m in here.” Her soft voice came from the living room, where she sat in front of the fireplace, gazing at the flames with her arms crossed over her chest.
I stepped forward and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Jesus, am I happy to see you.”
She stiffened as my lips brushed her face and I frowned, straightening up. She wouldn’t meet my gaze. A crease formed between her eyebrows as she stared at the fire.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She glanced at the coffee table.
The ring my dad had given me sat in the cream velvet box, open and sparkling as it caught the light from the fire. Her gaze rose to mine, and her eyes flashed with pain, fury, and betrayal.
For the second time that day, my stomach plummeted.