“I used the vanilla protein powder today. You like it?”
Penny nodded. They stood there across the counter, both still a little bleary-eyed from sleep.
Brett finished his shake first. “I'm going to go brush my teeth.”
“I'll take the rest of this in the car.” Penny picked up her cup and walked to the door to get her shoes. When Brett shuffled out of his room, he was using his crutch. She nodded her approval. “That's a good idea.”
Brett paused in the hall when he saw his shoes lined up in front of her. He frowned, and Penny didn’t wait for him to make whatever argument he was already forming in his head.
“Please save us both the trouble and just come over here and put your feet in the shoes.”
Brett's cheeks reddened, but he did as she asked. She was gentle with his right leg, but he still clenched a little harder on the crutch as she pushed the shoe into place.
“Are you sure you're going to be okay today?” she asked as she straightened.
“You’re starting to sound like my mother.”
Penny tensed.There it was.Even when she was hyperaware of it, she still slipped into that role. Brett was a grown man, and she was so desperate to kiss his boo-boos better she didn’t trust that he knew what was best for himself.
Brett’s expression sobered. “That’s not a bad thing. My mom’s awesome.”
“Right.” Penny dropped her eyes and walked out onto the porch. The crisp morning air caressed her cheeks, and she inhaled. It was fine. She could back off. It would just take a little practice to figure out what her role was in this new reality where the lines between work and home were smudged.
She hadn't even thought to ask Brett where the job site was. When they got into the car, she passed him her charging cord. “If you just plug this in and type in the directions, it should pop up on the screen.”
Brett pulled up the address on the map. Penny briefly caught a glimpse of the words “Cove Park Dr.” before it expanded into the street view. Something about that address rang a bell, but she didn't think too hard about it before pulling out onto the street.
“What contract is this for?” she asked, hoping they could move past her deer-in-headlights moment after his mom comment.
“It's a new build for a holistic medical center, not massive, but it has about twenty-two offices and an urgent care center.”
Penny blinked. “That seems massive to me.”
“Well, size isn’t everything,” he retorted. Penny shot him a look, and he gave a churlish grin. “Sorry. Working on that filter.”
“Not hard enough.” Penny held up a hand. “Don’t even respond to that one.”
Brett chuckled and leaned his seat back. “I prefer the smaller builds. Less . . . friction.”
Penny ignored the low hanging fruit. "So who's doing this build?”
“I haven't met with him yet. It's David something.”
Penny plucked her shake from the cupholder. She looked down and noticed Brett rubbing his knee. “Do you still think you're going to want to do three sessions a week?”
“I thought this was like labour. You're not allowed to talk about getting after it within twenty-four hours.”
Penny laughed. “I don’t even want to know how you’re aware of that rule.”
Brett tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. When he fixed his gaze out the windshield, Penny didn’t interrupt with any more questions. Pain could be the most attentive companion, taking up all that brain space so there wasn't any room for anything or anybody else.
When they approached the building, Brett pulled his phone from his pocket and searched for something, then frowned. “Huh. I guess it wasn't David. It was Daniel.”
Penny parked in front of the office building, and when she looked up, she nearly spit the rest of her protein shake all over the dashboard.
Standing inside the glass, directly in front of the car, was Danny.
ChapterEight
