Her brows drew together as she turned away from him once again. She kept her arms tight to her sides, hands clasped together in her lap. Nate wanted to reach out and pull her close, to cradle her to his chest and will his strength into her body, but he knew that would not be well received.
Nate put a hand on the desk and leaned toward her, trying not to wince as the movement pulled at a bruise on his ribs where the kid had managed to land a couple of punches. "Listen, Lily, you've had almost three years to adjust to this diagnosis. The rest of us are trying to catch up. Cut us a little slack while we figure it all out. If we ask if you're okay, just be honest with us. We all lo_care about you and are just concerned." He braced himself for her reaction to his near slip, but instead she just sat there stiffly. Then, to his surprise, her shoulders slumped and her head bent forward.
"I know. I'm sorry. I will try to be better about it. I'm just not used to having to explain my current health status to people on an hourly basis. For the past few years, most of the people I was around didn't know. I chose not to tell them so they didn't wonder when I tripped if something more serious was wrong. They just assumed I was clumsy."
Nate knew he shouldn't ask the question, but he couldn't help himself. "You weren't close enough with someone who would have noticed?"
She glanced at him and their gazes locked for a second before she shook her head and looked away.
At that moment, Nate just wanted to reach out and give her a shake. Something to wake her up and make her realize that he would be there for the long haul. If she'd only give him a chance. At times he thought she might still feel something for him, but if she did, it was clear she was fighting it.
Surprised she'd talked this freely with him but also a littleafraid of saying something wrong, Nate leaned forward and closed the lid of the laptop. "Don't do any more work today. Enjoy this special time with your family."
Then, before she could say anything else, Nate stood up and left the room. Figuring Lily would be more comfortable without him around—and therefore have less stress—Nate went to his room to take a quick shower and then headed into town. Not in the mood for fast food, Nate went to Elsa's Café on Main Street.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Though her husband had passed away a couple of years earlier, Elsa still bustled around making sure everyone who passed through the doors of her café left happy.
"Nathaniel!" Elsa came around the counter and grasped him by the shoulders to pull him down for a kiss on each cheek. "I'm so sorry to hear about your garage and house. But you're okay. That's the most important thing."
"Can't argue with you there," Nate said with a smile. "And no one else was hurt either."
"They catch the ones who did it yet?"
Nate nodded and pointed to his face. “I actually got to help with that.” He gave her a quick recap of what had happened.
"Good." Elsa gave a firm nod of her head. "People like that need to face the consequences of their actions."
She led him over to a booth and after he was seated said, "You need a menu? Pot roast is the special tonight."
"Sounds good to me." After she had left, Nate leaned backin the booth, stretching his legs out. He pulled his phone out and scrolled through email and social media while he waited.
"Hey, Nate."
Nate looked up, surprised to see Megan standing next to him. He straightened, setting his phone on the table. "Hi, Meg. How's it going?"
"Good." She gestured to the other side of the booth. "Can I sit down for a few minutes?"
"Sure. Have you eaten?"
She shook her head as she sat down, her eyes widened when she looked at him. “What’s with the face? Lily didn’t clock you, did she?”
Nate laughed. “She’s never hit me before. I doubt she’d start now—even if she wanted to.” He gave her the short version of what happened. “So what are you doing here?”
"I was across the street and saw you. Just wanted to see how you were doing. What with everything going on."
"By everything I assume you mean the fires and Lily coming home?"
Megan nodded, her red curls dancing with the movement. She regarded him seriously. "I'm sorry you're having to deal with so much at one time.”
"I know about the MS, too."
Megan's light blue eyes widened. "Lily told you?"
He shook his head. "Will did. He figured I should know."
She nodded. "I thought you should, too. Lily felt differently."
