What would she do if she lost her job? Would she go back to New York and her family?
My stomach grumbled.
One crisis at a time.
“Is someone making pancakes?” I walked toward the pair. Danny threw his hands up in excitement.
“Oh, be careful.” Faith held her hands between Danny and the pan. “That pan is hot.”
Danny jumped down off the step stool and ran into my arms. “Missed you, Dad.”
“Missed you too, Champ.” His little body wrapped against mine, filling any existing holes with his love.
“I tried to stay awake last night, but my eyelids were too heavy.” Danny sighed.
I chuckled. “That’s okay, Champ. I had a hard time opening my eyes too.” I winked in Faith’s direction, who was staring at my chest, her mouth ajar. She wore my dark blue sweater. It looked good on her, even if the sleeves were too long. Her cheeks turned pink, and she shook her head. I figured she’d seen me without a shirt before with the stitches, so it didn’t matter. Although, I liked the effect I had on her.
Danny wiggled in my arms, wanting me to release him from the hug. I eased my grip on him. And he reached for my hand and tugged me toward the table. “I made you breakfast! I made a fewblack ones like Grandma, but I did better with a timer.” I sat in the chair he indicated.
Faith walked toward the table, holding a plate of towering pancakes and wearing a soft smile. This time, she focused on my face. I never wanted this to end. If only we could pretend that life hadn’t been drastically altered outside in the snow.
“Good Morning, Adam.” Faith raised a brow.
“Morning, Faith.” I reached for her hand, and she placed it in mine. I gave it a quick squeeze before she pulled it out of my grasp.
“I’ll have you know, it took constant distraction to keep this boy from waking you up for the last few hours. He is quite a determined thing.” She chuckled.
Hours? I looked for my watch, which was still by my bed. “What time is it?”
“Ten.”
My eyes went wide. I hadn’t slept in that long probably since Danny was born.
“Wow.”
“The meeting is in an hour, so you have half an hour.” She nodded toward the stack. “You’d better get eating.” She grinned. “Danny was sure you would eat at least ten.”
“Ten?” I grimaced. I didn’t want to disappoint Danny, but I wasn’t sure that was doable. “I mean, I’m hungry, but, uh…”
Faith went back into the kitchen and returned with two plates. “Maybe Danny and I can help.” She winked.
The three of us sat down to breakfast, and Danny told me all about the adventures of the day before. Danny smiled at Faith often, and she smiled back.
I sighed. Better get this meeting over with. If Faith couldn’t stick around, Danny and I needed to know sooner rather than later. “All right, let’s eat up. We have a meeting to get to.”
Danny’s bright eyes searched mine. “I get to come too, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think most of the town will be there.”
Danny shoved a huge bite into his mouth. “I’ll hurry.”
I grimaced as pancake bits fell onto the table. “Maybe just focus on chewing real good.”
Faith took a small bite, and her eyes traced the walls of the house. It was like she was trying to remember everything, to burn it into her memory.
That didn’t bode well.
What would our future hold? Her gaze flicked to mine, and she gave a sad smile and then focused on her plate.
