“If you want to have us over for dinner, that’s fine, but don’t do it on my account. You should probably invite Ariel, too. I don’t think Presley is going to feel comfortable leaving her home alone anytime soon.”
“Got it. I’ll text Daphne to see when a good time will be.”
I shook my head at my best friend. He was going to help whether I wanted him to or not. “When you’re done playing matchmaker, maybe we can get this door installed.”
The rest of the day passed quickly. When we finished with the door, we helped Judge install her home security system. Before I was ready, there was nothing left to do, and it was time for me to go home.
“I really can’t thank you guys enough,” Presley said.
“We were happy to help,” Judge assured her and pointed to his business card in her hand. “Be sure to call the office if you have any questions or problems with the equipment.”
“I will. Thank you.”
After Judge left, Dice looked at Presley. “Daphne wanted me to invite you and Ariel over to our house for dinner on Friday. Ink will be there, too.”
“Oh, um, sure. We’d love to,” Presley said.
“Great. We’ll see you then.”
“Do I need to bring anything?”
“Nope. Just yourselves,” he said as he headed to his truck.
And then it was just the two of us. “Thank you for all your help this weekend.”
“You’re welcome. Are you two going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “It might take a few days to feel comfortable again, but we’ll get there.”
“Call me if you need anything. I don’t care what time it is.”
“I will. Thank you.”
As I walked to the SUV, I decidedly did not want to leave, but I couldn’t think of a reason to stay. I couldn’t say for sure, but I got the feeling that Presley felt the same.
11
PRESLEY
When my alarm went off Monday morning, I seriously considered turning it off and calling in sick to work. After the weekend I had, I was exhausted. Despite having the new alarm system, I didn’t sleep well, and neither did Ariel. Both of us tried to go to bed at our usual time, but I was still wide awake two hours later when she knocked on my door and asked if she could sleep in my room.
I had to leave for work before she had to leave for school, but she assured me that she would be okay. That didn’t make it any easier to leave her. I think I hugged her at least four times before I finally had to leave if I didn’t want to be late. As it was, I made it to work with only two minutes to spare.
Thankfully, it was a busy day, which made the time go by quickly and kept me from obsessively worrying about Ariel being home alone after school. Regardless, I was packed and ready to go thirty minutes before my shift was over, all the while praying my patients would remain stable through shift change. For whatever reason, patients had a tendency to crash during shift change.
Luck was on my side, and I all but ran to my car after giving report to the oncoming nurse. I vaguely heard someone calling my name, but I ignored whoever it was. I was solely focused on getting home.
When I pulled into my driveway, I exhaled in relief. Then, I sent Ariel a text to let her know I was home before I went inside.
She was sitting on the couch watching a show on TV. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, honey. How was your day?”
“Meh. Pretty boring. What about you?”
“Busy, but nothing exciting. Have you had dinner yet?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
“No, I was waiting for you.”
