“You make it work,” I said softly. I knew there wasn’t a whole bunch I could say to put his mind at ease, but I had to try. If he was having second thoughts about marrying Paisley Hill, I wouldn’t let him entertain it.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “We make it work because I love her, and she loves me. And that’s what you have to do when you love somebody, right? Make it work?”
I opened my mouth to answer him, but before I could the bell on the front door jingled and Peyton stepped inside, jacket drawn up around her chin to block the cold from her bare neck.
“Hi,” she said, stopping just inside the doorway to smile at Hansen and me.
“Hi,” I said, unable to resist the grin that appeared on my face. I reached out my hand and Peyton moved forward, nodding politely at Hansen.
“You’re the friend that brings him to PT,” she said, holding her hand out to him. “I’m Peyton.”
“Hi, Peyton, I’m Tate Hansen,” he said, shaking her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh, gosh, nothing bad, I hope,” Peyton said with a grin, and Hansen laughed.
“You’re a saint compared to this idiot.”
“Aw, don’t be mean,” Peyton teased, sidling up to me. “He’s not too bad.” She glanced up at me, allowing me to take her arm in mine. “Are you ready to go? I can get you home before I have to be back to work. We even have time to drive-thru somewhere for lunch.”
“Ready as ever,” I said, reaching for my jacket that hung over the couch. Peyton helped me shrug it on while I balanced on one crutch.
“He’s lucky he has you, you know,” Hansen said, walking us to the door. “If it wasn’t for you, he’d probably still be hiding in his childhood bedroom bitching about how unfair the world is.”
“He still does that,” Peyton teased. “But at least he feeds me while he complains, right?”
“Har, har.”
“Just teasing.” With a smile, Peyton took my hand in hers as we bid Hansen a goodbye and went to the car. She helped me into the seat and put the crutch in the back, settling into the driver’s seat to get the engine and heat going.
“Plans tonight?” I asked as she drove in the direction of my mom’s house. “Can I take you to dinner?”
“Can’t tonight,” said Peyton, pulling into a drive-thru burger place. “I—I already have plans.”
“Plans?” I repeated. “What kind of plans?”
“None of your business, Butler.”
“Not even a hint?”
Peyton glared at me, giving me an opportunity to shut up before I dug myself in deeper. I could almost bet that her plans had something to do with the city boy she’d brought up once before.
“Fine,” I said, abruptly changing the subject. “How is Susan feeling? Has she started chemo?”
“Tomorrow is her first appointment,” Peyton said. “We’re just looking forward to seeing if it will help.”
“How can I help?” I asked. “Is there something I can do? I can come to the appointment, if you want. Or go grocery shopping, or something.”
Peyton laughed at this, which was probably a better reaction than slapping me. “It’s okay, you do enough just being someone I can talk to while she goes through this.”
“I feel like I should be doing more,” I insisted, and Peyton shook her head, reaching across the seat to take my hand and hold it tight in hers.
“Believe me, you’re doing enough. We’ll make a plan for tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure,” I said, but my mind was still going a million miles an hour. I wanted to be more support for not only her, but for Susan as well. They were family, both of them, and I would make sure they knew that no matter what might or might not happen with Peyton and me.
Chapter14
Peyton
