Read Online Just Enough Light by AJ Quinn - Free Book Online Page B

could stop herself, as anger warred with old grief and heartache. She swore quietly, knowing she was tired and her filters were obviously not working.
    “Shit.” The muscles in Gabe’s jaw pulled taut. “I’m sorry, Kellen. I wasn’t thinking.”
    The air thickened, the silence deafened.
    “I’m sorry, too.” She wrapped her arms tight around herself, took a deep breath, and pulled hard on her emotions. It wasn’t working. Nothing was working. But she was not going to take it out on Gabe.
    She knew Gabe, much more than a lot of the others on the team, had a good idea what her childhood had been like. They’d talked some. Not a lot, just enough. And he was smart enough to have put the pieces together when Cody and Ren came to live with her.
    They were survivors, she thought. The three of them. That had made them strong. And it was that strength she would use to get through what was to come—meeting with the boy’s parents.
    After that, she would need to find some time alone. To meditate. To ground herself. And to find some desperately needed inner peace.

    *

    Dana gave Annie a minute’s lead time after she left Incident Command, then followed her out, finding her easily enough, sitting in her small office staring sightlessly out the window. “Can I do anything to help?” she asked softly.
    “I love her, you know. She’s the kid sister I always wanted but never had. And I don’t want to lose her.” A long moment passed. “I just wish she wouldn’t keep taking risks. Like jumping in that damned river when she’s not yet back to full capacity.”
    “Are we talking about Kellen?”
    “Yes. She’s always been known for lecturing the team on safety then taking chances with a devil-may-care attitude. Always the first to make a risky helo jump, rappel down a cliff, or belly crawl on an unstable avalanche field. But ever since she got hurt, it seems like it’s been so much worse. And it’s not just me that thinks so. The whole team is worried about her. But it’s like she can’t stop. She’s too committed to the work. To the soul of it. It’s almost like she’s afraid if she slows down it might mean acknowledging she’s not yet back at one hundred percent. Or worse, that she may never be.”
    Dana stared at her. Dumbfounded. “Are we still talking about Kellen? She’s hurt? What did I miss?”
    Annie sighed. “I’m sorry, Dana, you didn’t miss anything. It happened just over a year ago. But it took the better part of several months post-surgery for Kellen to learn how to walk again. She’s only been back full-time with the team for a month, and while she may have moved on, I seem to be the one having trouble with it.”
    Jesus Christ . Dana shook her head in shock and disbelief. “Annie? What happened a year ago?”
    “The girls—Cody and Ren—they’d been working really hard. They’d just gotten their high school diplomas. Tim, Gabe, Sam, we’d all tutored them and I suggested we recognize what they’d achieved by taking them out on a training exercise. The kids loved the idea and everyone agreed.”
    Annie stopped and Dana let the silence slide for a couple of minutes before gently asking, “Are you okay?”
    “Yes.” Annie’s voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “We’d only been out a short time when a call came in about an injured climber. As it turned out, we were virtually on top of where we were needed, and although Kel said it was a difficult approach, she and Tim had done a rescue from Devil’s Tower before. There were also more than enough fully trained SAR personnel onboard, and if we needed any further incentive, we’d been told one of the climbers was bleeding rather badly.”
    Dana watched as Annie fisted her hands and swallowed. “So you went ahead with the rescue?”
    “Yes. There was really no other decision we could have made. We were using the winch, lowering Kellen to where the injured victim was, when she suddenly dropped. No warning. It was like she