“Parents,” I joked, but I’d sure as hell be happier if Abby came home too.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Sorry, I thought of Abby for a second,” I wheezed. “Sometimes, I push myself too hard when my mind won’t settle.” The admission was out of my mouth as quickly as I wanted to shove it back in.
“Shit.” He stopped dead in his tracks, Smitty pulling me to a stop next to him.
“I meant for this run to take your mind off crap, not make it bubble up. Now I feel like a fool.” A small crinkle of concern formed to the side of his left eye, and I couldn’t help but get lost in it. That was there for me. At least, I thought so.
“You know what? It helped. It’s been fun and easy, except I don’t think I can do that pace on the way home. That was my bad.”
“Sure, you can.” He smacked my butt and said, “Let’s go.”
Just like that, the tension was forgotten, and I ran that pace all the way home.
