“Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I am.”She aims a watery smile my way.
Wheeler releases her and takes a step away.His gaze bounces from her to me and back again.He grips the back of his neck and blows out a long breath.
“I'm sorry, Schmidt.I’ve been flipping out a lot and it has nothing to do with you.I'm really sorry for scaring Tali every time I’ve seen her too.”
“I forgive you.”I watch him, not fully trusting him.
“Just… take care of her and treat her well.That’s all I care about.I need her to be happy.”
“I will.I want her to be happy too.”
“And if you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” he blurts out.
A slow smile spreads across my face and Wheeler follows suit.Soon we’re both chuckling and Winnie’s slipping her arm around my waist.
“Are we good then?”I arch a brow.
“Yeah, it’s gonna hurt like crazy, but she hasn’t been mine in a long time.I'm just having a hard time accepting that.”
“Let’s go see Tali.I think she’d like to meet the real Wheeler.”
Wheeler smiles and doesn’t hesitate to join the rest of the guys.He takes one seat and I take the other.Winnie moves to grab a chair from another table, but I tug her onto my lap.
As soon as Tali’s settled onto Wheeler’s lap, her bottom lip trembles and her eyes fill with tears.
“Hey, pretty girl,” he says softly.“Don’t go crying on me.You’ll break my heart.”
She watches him carefully, not sure if she trusts him after he’s yelled in front of her so many times.She glances in my direction and I smile, letting her know it’s ok.
“You’re ok, Tali Girl.”Winnie holds out her hand and Tali instantly wraps her fingers around Winnie’s.
Wheeler keeps talking to Tali and soon he has her laughing and smiling.It’s nice to see him back to normal.I can only imagine the torment he was going through seeing Winnie with me and knowing he couldn’t do anything to stop it.
I feel bad that having her in my arms is hurting him so much, but she hasn’t been his in a long time.He just didn’t realize it.
When everyone starts packing up to leave, I take Tali back from Wheeler and Winnie grabs the diaper bag.We walk towards the front yard with my hand on the small of her back.
By the time we get home, Tali’s sound asleep in the backseat.She didn’t take a nap today and she’s been yawning for the past hour.I'm sure she’s crashed for the night.
Once her diaper is changed and she’s snoring softly in her crib, I go in search of Winnie.I haven’t gotten to spend much time with her this week.
The night she took a bath in my tub and we talked about Ellie, she slept the entire night in bed with me.She laid her head on my chest and draped her arm over my stomach.It was the best night’s sleep I’ve gotten in months… Maybe even since Ellie died.
I haven’t really been able to talk to her since.We haven’t been able to discuss our relationship either.
“Did she go down easily?”Winnie smiles at me from where she’s laying on the couch.
“Yeah, she was exhausted.I think I might need to invite the guys over so they can tire her out more often.”
“I told you, having a support system is nice.”She smiles and repositions herself so there’s room for me on the couch.
“How are you doing?”I squeeze her foot and pull it onto my lap.I begin massaging it and she lets out a soft moan.
“Holy crap, you’re good at that.I'm fine though, why wouldn’t I be?”
She’s changed since we got home.Gone are the jeans and sweater, in their place is a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts.She’s perfect.Everything I’ve been wanting.
