“Josie took care of you?” Logan repeated.
All eyes settled on me and suddenly I felt hot despite the falling temperature. “Are those steaks burning?”
Quickly, Derek diverted his attention back to the grill before flipping the meat. The diversion didn’t last long. “Nice try.”
“So Josie?”
“Yeah?”
“What? She came over, cooked me lunch, forced pills down my throat, and left again. No big deal.” And that was the truth.
“Little blue pills?”
Logan was pissing me off. I barely knew this guy, and here he was suggesting something he had no business suggesting. It was just rude and disrespectable. Especially for Josie.
“Knock it off!” Derek swatted Logan on the back, propelling him forwards. Instantly I felt better. If Derek hadn’t knocked him into line, I was awfully close to doing so.
Ignoring the question, we fell into an easy banter. After twenty minutes of trying to convince me that I should join the local football team, something I had no intentions of ever doing—hell, the truth of it was I didn’t even particularly like football—dinner was served. I was expecting Josie to appear and eat but she never showed. Taking a bite of the juicy steak, I swallowed it down along with my disappointment.
Mia appeared to clear away the dishes, and when no one rose to help her, I couldn’t just sit there. She didn’t need to be cleaning up after us.
“Let me help.”
“No, Nate, it’s fine. You just sit back and relax. You’re a guest.”
Ignoring her weak objection, I gathered up an arm full of plates and followed her into the kitchen. The moment I did, I knew I shouldn’t have. There was Josie. Looking completely miserable and adorable at the same time. Her grey sweatshirt was stained and splattered with something white. Her black stretchy pants, while making her ass look decidedly spankable, had seen better days. Dragging my suddenly starving eyes from her ass, I noticed the bottoms were frayed and dirty. She was squatted down in front of Matilda’s highchair as she fed her. It was so natural. So normal. My heart squeezed in my chest, and the urge to throw up was almost overwhelming. Then she coughed. A painful, dry wheezing.
“Nate?”
Mia’s voice brought my attention back to reality. When she took the dirty plates from my hands, Josie turned around, her eyes freezing me where I stood.
“Nate…” Josie attempted, but another coughing fit strangled her words.
It was then I got my first proper look at her. Her hair was pulled back in a tangled mess. Her nose was red and the skin flaky. Her eyes were rimmed by dark bags. She looked completely and utterly miserable. It took everything I had not to leap over the island bench, pick her up, and take care of her. Forever. A realisation that almost knocked on my ass.
“You not feeling very well?”
“Wonder where I got that from,” she grumbled.
“Mum…Mum…Mum,” Matilda babbled barely a second before she stuffed her stubby fingers into the bowl in front of her and smooshed it all over her face. Unable to control my laughter, Matilda lit up at the sound, which resulted in her waving her hands around wildly.
I wanted to be sorry. I really did.
But watching the way she was with her daughter, seeing how patient and understanding she was even though she was obviously sick as a dog made my heart swell.
“Want another drink?” Mia offered, her head sticking out of the fridge.
“Thanks.”
“Can you take one out to Derek too?”
“Sure.”
Fuck me, Derek was a lucky man. Here was a woman who was doing everything she could to make sure he was taken care of. Cleaning up after his mates, sending more beer, and putting up with it all without complaining. I was as envious as all hell. It was all I’d ever wanted and everything I knew I’d never have.
Grabbing the beers from Mia, I popped the top off, tossing them in the direction of the bin. When they pinged on the tiled floor, I trudged over and scooped them up, dropping them in. When I spun around, I realised my every move was being tracked by a very inquisitive set of eyes. Poking my tongue out at her, Matilda giggled and waved her arms about, coating her hair, face and shirt with the thick coating of sticky, white goo.
“What is she eating?”
“Yoghurt,” Josie replied unemotionally.
She looked drained. Part of me wished I could help her. Carry some of her load. Ease her burden. But it wasn’t my place. Without another word, I took the drinks and headed back out to re-join the festivities.
