Devon kept his gaze on his mother as his father left the room. She didn't look up.
There was a strange feeling at the nape of his neck. He scratched absently, trying to figure out why there was tension in the room where there hadn't been. The pan sizzled as Lydia stirred it, and Devon dutifully got up and began to set the table. He felt them watching him, would have sworn it, but when he looked up at them they were all doing something else.
Chapter Nineteen
“It’s a lot like whiplash,” Devon said. “One minute I feel as if I need to get far away so I can’t ruin anyone else. But then I see Hailey’s face, and I can’t help but realize she’s everything to me.”
“I really think it’s natural to feel that way.” Chloe touched his shoulder. “You went through so much, and the perpetrator was someone very close to you. How could you not have conflicting thoughts?”
Devon shifted and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s like I should have seen it coming. That’s what the illogical part of my brain says, anyway.”
“You couldn't have. Nobody else did, so why do you think you should have been so damn clever? Stop placing the blame on the victim.”
He shook his head. “I never meant to do that. I don't want to be a victim.”
“If you’re still trying to avoid therapy, you need to talk about it more. To anyone.”
“How do you know so much, Chloe?” Devon’s grin was wry. “You should have been a shrink yourself.” It never occurred to him she actually had first-hand knowledge, but she analyzed the hell out of life in a way which reminded him of a professional therapist.
The others moved around the kitchen behind them, setting up food for Hailey’s celebration. Devon still thought it was too much excitement for one little girl.
Chloe shrugged. “It isn’t my calling.”
“How long have you been a dispatcher?” He knew little about her life outside of the fact that she volunteered at the hospital.
“Oh, it’s been a little over four years. I had some training when I graduated high school, and I’ve been at it ever since.”
“Do you still volunteer at the hospital?” He couldn't even imagine the place without picturing her in it.
“I do. Some weeks it’s only one night, depending on my schedule. When I hit my five-year anniversary, I won’t have to put up with swing shifts anymore. Being at the hospital is the best way to spend time with my dad.”
He pursed his lips. “I haven’t met your father yet.”
Chloe shifted so Lori could walk past them out of the kitchen. “He works almost as much as Mom. I don’t know how they do it, not seeing each other for more than a few hours per week.”
“Some couples are built differently, is all.”
