“What…what would that look like?” I asked cautiously.
I think my mother had been the last person I’d allowed to take care of me, and that had been when I was a child. Even in the hospital, learning how to walk again, I’d refused any more help than necessary.
From the way Stevie sighed, the softening of her lips and the corners of her eyes, I knew she saw the truth.
“Oh Garrak…” She placed her palms on my chest, and I knew she could feel my heart beating for her. “Even little things. Let me get your leg in the morning, it’s not a big deal. Let me make you breakfast. And I’m a pretty good cook—let me take over dinner sometimes? It’s not like I’m doing anything else useful.” She sighed, her smile a little watery. “Let mehelp. Please?”
Her words—herpleas—stunned me. I stared down at my perfect little Mate, my voice harsh as I confessed, “I can’t believe I’ve been so selfish that I didn’t realize?—”
“You’re not selfish, Garrak,” she interrupted sternly. “You’re strong. So strong, strong foreveryone, always. But…” Her fingers curled around my lapels. “You don’t have to be strongallthe time. I can be strong for you too. We can be strong together.”
Together.I’d said that, hadn’t I?
“We can rely on each other,” I rasped, amazed at these realizations.
“Yes.” Steve nodded firmly, then seemed to deflate. “I need a reason to thrive on Eastshore, and if I knew I had that…”
Hearing the defeat in her voice almost broke me.Oh, my little Mate, how I’ve failed you.
I brushed another soft kiss over her lips and released her, stepping back. She lunged to grab my hands before I went far, which suited me.
“Garrak, I love you, and I want to be with you. I love your home, I love Eastshore, and I love what you’re doing there. But I can’tnotbe a part of it.”
“I should never have asked that of you.”
I could see from her expression she still didn’t understand.
Shaking my head at my own poor communication, and still holding her hands, I sank down to one knee in front of her.
Stevie gasped, her hold on my fingers tightening. “Garrak, what?—”
“Dkaar, your note was revealing. I had never considered you might feel the way I do, needing to contribute to the world, and I was devastated I’d hurt you like that. You are right; I shouldn’t expect you to be someone you’re not, even if Idowant to cover you in bubble wrap and keep you in my bed.”
She didn’t laugh at the joke, but looked panicked, tugging at my hand. “What are you doing? Get up! You can’t be kneeling like you’re about to?—”
“Once I thought about it, the solution was obvious.” Ignoring her frantic yanking, I allowed my smile to grow. “Stevie, would you do me the honor?—”
“Garrak!”
“—of becoming the new director of the Eastshore Isle Community Center?”
Her mouth snapped shut, and she stared down at me in stunned silence, her expression unreadable. After a long while, she uttered a confused little, “What?”
I pulled her fingers to my mouth, pressing a kiss on her knuckles. “You’re perfect for the job, love. You understand what people need and how they think. Not just humans, but apparently orcs too.”
Her lips twitched, and myKteerleapt.
“I guess I do…”
I squeezed her fingers. “The community center was my idea, but you’ve been planning the space as much as I have. This isyourspace now, too, to make the world a better place. It can be your dream too, if you want it.”
My voice had turned hesitant by that last part, as I realized she hadn’t responded to my offer or my words. But now, I felt the tension leave my body as Stevie’s face slowly lit with a smile.
“You mean it, Garrak?” she whispered.
“I do. I’ll get the money for the endowment, somehow.” Because somewhere around losing Stevie, I’d realized her father’s money meant little to me now. “If you could believe in the community center as much as?—”
“Yes!” she cried, throwing herself down into my arms, wrapping herself around me. “Yes! Of course it’s my dream!”
