Jericho leaned back, his head against the wall. “No. Just...”
Kennedy set a root beer on the table in front of him. “You were worried.”
He opened it.
“That looks like more than worry,” Sully said. He added ketchup to the table, then pulled out a chair. “Mr. Cool J was scared.”
He gave Sully an eye. “She’s going to get herself killed.”
“Maybe,” Kennedy said as she settled into a kitchen chair. “Or maybe she’s doing her job.”
He looked out the window. “Thank you for that newsflash.”
“Hey,” Sully said.
Jericho closed his eyes, pinching his nose. “Sorry. I’m being a jerk.”
Silence and then Kennedy’s hand touched his arm. “It’s not wrong to worry about people you love, Jericho. There’s no fault in it. You wouldn’t be a man—wouldn’t beyou—if you didn’t want to protect her.” She squeezed his arm. “You can’t be everywhere, can’t protect her from life, can’t foresee every danger. Thingshappen, and you’re just going to have to figure out how to live with that ache inside.”
“Seems to me this isn’t about protecting Harley,” Sully said carefully. “It’s about you. It’s about feeling helpless and overwhelmed and...”
He frowned at Sully. To his knowledge, Sully couldn’t read minds.
Except, he did know about the avalanche, and who knew what his brothers said when he wasn’t around. Still. “Me?”
Sully reached for a burger. “Yeah. Mr. Save the World. Except you can’t, and that drives you wild. It’s why you left Copper Mountain. Why you left the military. Why you left Montana.” He met his brother’s gaze. “Why you’re going to leave us again.”
“I’m not...”
Sully raised an eyebrow.
Fine, despite his words to Hudson, it had been his first thought driving back from Pete’s place.
Pack. Leave.
Run.
Wow, he hadn’t changed at all.
Still. “I don’t think I can be that guy who watches her run straight at danger. But I can’t be the kind of man who holds her back either.” He looked at Kennedy. “I know it’s her job.”
“Running away didn’t work so well last time. That’s why you came back to Copper Mountain.” Sully took a drink, set his mug down. “Maybe instead of running, you need to figure out why you’re so scared ofstaying.”
He drew in a breath.
“Better to leave than watch her die?” Kennedy said.
Oh. But he sighed. “Something like that.”
“No, that’s just an excuse,” Sully said softly, then looked at his wife. “It’s because you know that no matter what happens,things go south. You can’t be enough to stop, well, bad things from happening. And that requires you to trust.”
“How can I trust her—”
“God.”
Oh.
Sully leaned back. “You were never meant to save her, or the world. In fact, that’s a little arrogant, bro. I get it, but that’s just pride.”