Invincible Chronicles of Nick - By Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 0,69

least it’s not summertime. That would have made his run excruciating.

Opening the door that was now fully repaired and in proper operating order, he headed for the counter.

Bubba came out of the back room to greet him. “Oh, it’s you, Nick. I thought I might have a paying customer. Should have known.”

“Thanks, Bubba. Love you, too.”

He rolled his eyes before he wandered back toward the curtains. “Mark’s in the office with Madaug. They said to send you in as soon as you arrived.”

Nick paused as he watched Bubba close the tower shell on a computer, then move it to the pickup shelf for the owner to reclaim. He had to give Mark and Bubba credit as he glanced around the back area. They’d done an amazing job putting the store back together. There weren’t hardly any signs that it’d ever been damaged, never mind burned, shot, and attacked with an ax.

Best not to remind Bubba of that, since Nick had been the one wielding it.

“Did they tell you why they wanted to see me?”

Bubba pulled down the next system waiting to be repaired and hooked it into the periphals, then started booting it up to run a diagnostic. “Nah, and I don’t care. As long as you girls don’t burn down my store, I’m happy in my ignorance.”

Nick decided not to question that at all, given the damage they’d already wreaked, but as he neared the office door, he remembered what Kody had told him about his friend’s past. Was any of that true at all?

Don’t ask it, Nick. Don’t.

But as was typical, his mouth took off without consulting his common sense or his brain. “Bubba? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Were you ever married?”

There was no mistaking the grief on his face over that normal question. The agony. The self-loathing. How awful that four simple words, one harmless question, could wring that much pain out of someone.

Bubba cleared his throat before he answered. “Yeah, I was. Long time ago.”

Having inadvertently hurt him, Nick wanted to make Bubba feel better, but he didn’t know how. He shouldn’t have asked. He shouldn’t have. And after seeing Bubba’s reaction, he knew Kody had been telling him the truth. The man was eaten up with guilt. “I’m sorry, Bubba.”

“For what?”

“You look real upset all of a sudden. I didn’t mean to bring up an unhappy memory. Sorry.”

Bubba swallowed hard as he turned to face him. “Nick … I hope one day you find you a woman who loves you like my Melissa loved me. Whatever you do, boy, don’t turn your back on her. If she says she needs you for something, don’t matter how stupid it sounds or what deadline you got, you go to her and you do it. Screw work or whatever else. In the end, the only things that matter are the people in your life. The ones who make your life worth living and whose smiles light up your world. Don’t ever push them aside for fair-weather friends. Everything else is just cheap window dressing that you can replace. But once them people are gone…”

He winced. “You can’t buy back time, Nick. Ever. It’s the only thing in life you can’t get more of, and it’s the one thing that will mercilessly tear you up when it’s gone. It takes pity on no soul and no heart. And all those fools who tell you it gets easier in time are lying dumb-asses. Losing someone you really love don’t never get easier. You just go a few hours longer without breaking down. That’s all … that’s all.”

Tears choked him at the pain he heard in Bubba’s voice. It was rare for him to show that kind of emotion. Big Bubba Burdette was a growling bear of a man. Huge. Tough as nails. Never let anything bother him.

And loyal to the end.

Everyone deserved a friend like him.

Who would ever have thought that such a fearsome, larger-than-life beast could be haunted by something so human as the loss of his wife and child?

Without thinking, Nick went over and hugged him hard.

Bubba bristled. “Boy, what are you doing? Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”

Nick shook his head. “You looked like you could use a hug.”

“Then call up Tyra Banks and send her over. That I’m always up for. Don’t want no straggly teenager rubbing up against me. Jeez.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you, you old grump.”

Bubba scoffed. “Not that old. Not that wise. But still filled with enough venom to spank your butt if