Chapter Text
The lack of early-morning traffic in Rockrest meant that Leigh had no excuse for being late. But that certainly never stopped her before. At least she could assuage her team’s annoyance with the box of donuts sitting in the passenger’s seat of her pick-up truck.
After a wide yawn, she took a sip of coffee and squinted at the first threads of warm color glinting over the morning tide. A salty breeze fluttered in and out of her open windows. She’d have to get down to the beach before heading to the Sealife Sanctuary. The coastal town may be sleepy at that hour, but the local sea turtles were plenty active. There were nests to monitor, plus the task of keeping an eye out for new ones.
And if that wasn’t enough, visitor season was in full swing and tours would be booked up for the day before lunchtime, which would give her almost no time to squeeze in animal rehab in the pavilion.
She blew a stop sign that she never paid any mind to this early in the morning and turned toward the nearest beach access.
If she could finish up with the turtle nests before the full sunrise, maybe she wouldn’t be so late after all. Still, the day ahead was jam-packed. And with tourists creating long lines at the local businesses, she’d have to help with late-night orders at the bakery when she got home—
“Watch it!”
Leigh slammed the brakes and jolted hard against the seatbelt. White knuckling the steering wheel, she peered through the windshield and looked up—and up, and up—until she saw the face of the person who had shouted.
It was one of the bigger folk. He was easily over fifteen feet tall. She gave him only a quick glimpse before looking down at her lap, but she saw more than enough to recognize him. Black-frame glasses. Ash-brown hair peeked out from under a beanie. And a few facial scars framing a menacing scowl.
Galen Kader.
Of the five giants who had graduated in Leigh’s senior class, Galen was the only one who hadn’t moved away to the city. He still lived in the lackluster giant neighborhood on the other side of town, but she so rarely saw him, part of her had assumed he’d finally left.
And in case their past interaction hadn’t been bad enough, now she’d nearly put her truck through his legs.
“I-I’m so sorry!” She turned her truck the other way, the tires desperately kicking up traction before she jolted to another stop and glanced up and back at him. He hadn’t moved, his eyes narrowed down at her. She made a vague gesture at the passenger seat. “I-I have donuts if you…” She trailed off as he rolled his eyes and continued walking in the opposite direction. “… Okay, gotcha! Have a good one!”
Easing the truck back into motion less chaotically, she gave an involuntary shudder, unable to shake the image of Galen’s expression. Not the friendliest face to meet in the morning—especially one so big.
She decided to head to a different beach access—one where she wouldn’t risk literally running into Galen again. As she made her way up a hill, she considered her options. But she wasn’t able to dwell on her indecisiveness for more than a second before she caught sight of something coming up in the middle of the street. Something much smaller than a two-story high person.
A mud turtle was making its leisurely way across the road as if it didn’t know that cars existed.
“Oh, hell no. Buddy, you’re gonna get yourself squashed.” Leigh stopped the truck, feeling the weight of the vehicle tug backward down the hill. She put on the parking brake—something that took her a second to figure out since she needed it so rarely, living at sea level.
There were no other cars around, but she still hurried out and jogged to reach the turtle.
“Do you know how lucky you are?” she told it as she gently grabbed its shell with both hands. “Sea turtles are usually my thing, but I’m making an exception for you.”
Leigh carried the turtle in the direction it had been scuttling and set it down safely on the other side. Before she could wish it a safe journey, a resounding THUNK echoed through the sleepy streets, followed by a booming shout of pain.
She whirled.
Her pick-up was gone.
Her wide eyes snapped further down the street, and she found where it had gone.
It had rolled backward down the hill. And it had crashed directly into Galen, who was laying on his side in the middle of the street, locked up in pain and cursing up a storm.
She whispered a few choice words herself as she sprinted to him.
~~~
Leigh stared at her untouched food. “I can’t believe I did that,” she muttered for the millionth time. She buried her face in her hands and groaned, her face growing hot as if she was living it all over again.
“Legally, you didn’t do anything.” Beth reached across the table and swiped a handful of Leigh’s fries. “And as your lawyer, I suggest you stop moping around like you did something wrong—and especially refrain from making any implication that this unfortunate incident was somehow your doing.”
“What would’ve happened if the parking brake wasn’t faulty?” Leigh shoved the rest of her meal over to Beth. “What if it had been my fault? Would I be in jail?”
“Mm.” Beth frowned, swirling a couple of fries through ketchup. “Probably not. But things would’ve been much messier. At least this way, you don’t have to pay a cent.”
No matter how much Beth assured her that she was in no legal trouble, Leigh couldn’t stop being jittery with guilt. If it wasn’t for Beth’s research, she probably wouldn’t have found out about the recall on her truck. It wasn’t her fault that the parking brake was lousy. The pick-up was already being worked on at the nearest dealership in Hastbury. Until then, Beth offered to give her rides when she could.
It had all happened so fast.
It was lucky that emergency services were able to contact a couple of local giants to help Galen walk after the accident. From then on, she hadn’t seen him in person. He’d managed to get to the single giant doctor in town, while Leigh sought Beth’s help. Now, two days later, they’d sorted things out over a video call with Galen. And Leigh felt as lousy as the parking brake.
Beth had done all the talking while Galen scowled and gave clipped responses through the camera. After everything, Beth insisted that Leigh could pay her by treating her to lunch—nothing more.
“Do you know how he’s gonna recover?” Leigh asked.
“I mean, that’s not our problem. But from what I could glean, he’ll just have to heal naturally.”
“Seriously?” Leigh’s eyes widened, and she sat back in her seat. “A knee sprain like that needs therapy to heal properly. He’s lucky the ligament wasn’t completely torn. Then… then he would’ve needed surgery!”
“Hey, deep breath.” Beth reached across the table and clasped Leigh’s hand. “Repeat after me: Not.”
Leigh sighed. “Not.”
“Our.”
“Our.”
“Problem.”
Pouting, Leigh snatched her hand free. “But I could’ve stopped it from happening if I hadn’t—”
“Ugh!” Beth threw her hands up. “Why do you care so much? I mean, you saw the dirty looks he gave you during the video conference, right? Doesn’t he remember what you did for him back in high school? You were grounded for like a week after that!”
“That was years ago! I dunno, maybe he didn’t look so thrilled with me because I hit him with my truck, Elizabeth!”
“Ah-agh!” Beth reached across and put a finger to Leigh’s lips. “We don’t say that.”
Leigh rolled her eyes and pushed Beth’s hand away. “Besides, he probably doesn’t even remember about the cake thing. It’s been, what, over ten years? We were barely sophomores.”
Evidently, Beth was done talking circles about the situation. She went back to focusing on her food and ordering another victory mimosa, even though this hadn’t been an actual court case.
While she was distracted, Leigh drummed her fingers on the table. She thought about Galen. And the lack of medical care for him. And the Sealife Sanctuary. And the pavilion. Slowly, an idea formed, and it didn’t take long for Beth to catch on to her expression.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” Beth said, “I advise you to stop thinking it.”
Leigh pushed her chair back and stood. “You got Galen’s address, right?”
~~~
There was no way around it. Galen’s shitty insurance wouldn’t cover the cost of physical therapy in Hastbury.
He was lucky enough to get a couple of weeks off from work without the danger of being fired. They wouldn’t dare get rid of him. The construction company would never say no to someone who could lift five times more than their best workers combined. They just didn’t have to pay him while he was on leave.
He found himself wishing he had gotten injured on the job instead. Then maybe he could’ve gotten multiple visits with a physical therapist instead of having to settle for a single appointment with the local doctor who was like a hundred years old.
And as he was so politely informed by Leigh Harvey’s lawyer, she wouldn’t have to cover the cost of anything—the doctor visit, emergency services, therapy, nothing. While he would love to blame her for being careless, the truck had been faulty—allegedly.
Couldn’t she have heard about the recall before she ruined my life? Galen thought bitterly.
She’d looked on the verge of tears during the whole video call. Her face hadn’t changed too drastically since high school. They had talked a few times back then, but he’d messed that up for good with the cake incident. He remembered her lawyer from school too, though she was a couple of years older. Beth had always been a loud-mouth; no wonder she’d chosen this career path.
While Galen was wallowing in his thoughts, a tiny knock came at the door.
He thought about ignoring it, but the knock came again insistently. Sighing heavily, she pushed himself off the couch and winced. He could still walk, but with an embarrassing limp. Each step sent a shockwave of pain through his knee, like he wanted to sit on the ground and never get up again. His bruises were nothing short of horrific, too.
“What?” he muttered, pulling the door open.
To his bewilderment, Leigh and Beth were standing on his front porch. Leigh was swirling her black ponytail between her fingers. Her dark eyes were trained on the ground. Beth was standing closer, blond hair in a perfect bun. She smiled up at him pleasantly, entirely unintimidated.
“Elizabeth Murphy, attorney at law and best friend to this gorgeous and woefully misguided creature,” she announced.
“I know who you are, Beth,” he said flatly. “What do you want?”
Beth tilted her chin higher. “My client is generously offering a proposal. For a low price, she can assist you with aquatic therapy, five evenings a week for the next two weeks. Are you in?”
He had no answer because what she was saying made no sense. The confusion must have been palpable on his face because Leigh shuffled forward a few steps. They made eye contact for a brief moment before she looked past him.
“I studied physical therapy for a few courses. With a sprain like yours, I should be able to help you best in the water. We’ve got an empty pool at the pavilion at Sealife Sanctuary. You know, where we keep the sea turtles and stuff.”
Involuntarily, Galen curled his lip at the mention of turtles. All he could think of was Leigh apologizing profusely while he was sprawled on the street in agony. She kept repeating that she was trying to save a turtle—that’s why she’d left her truck like that.
“I don’t need help,” Galen said, though he knew that was a lie. He clenched his jaw. “Besides, it doesn’t look like you want to be anywhere near me. What makes you think you could handle helping me through therapy, trapped in a pool with me?”
“Oh, my client would not be getting in the water with you,” Beth said. “She’d just guide you through what to do.”
He scoffed. “Pretty sure I could get as much help from videos online.”
“But where would you get the water for it?” Beth pointed out. “I don’t think you’d do so hot with the waves pummeling you in the ocean.”
Galen let out a sharp huff and leaned on the doorframe, knowing that only put his pain on his display. But there was no hiding that it hurt to stand there. Chances were, he wouldn’t get better in two weeks without help. He couldn’t afford to take off any more time than that.
If his insurance wouldn’t cover therapy, then he may as well get help from the one who caused this mess.
“Fine,” he sighed.
“Six PM, Monday,” Beth said, ushering Leigh off at once. “The pavilion behind Sealife Sanctuary. Don’t be late!”