“Good, good.”
“Stop deflecting. What’s happening with your woman?”
“Well, she’s got CFS. And she had a flare-up this morning right after she woke up.”
“Well, that’s terrible. I know there’s no cure for that. Must be hell.”
“It is. I hate to see her like that.”
He pauses and then sighs. “That’s not what’s got you so fucked up though, is it?”
“No. She overheard me talking to Liam and she got the crazy idea that I…that we…that what happened was because of a bet.”
“Jesus! That better not be true!”
“No! Hell no! I love the woman. But I didn’t feel like I could argue with her because she was so sick this morning. She was hurting and I just didn’t want to add to it.”
“So you let her go?”
“I drove her home and dropped her off.”
“What the fuck, man?”
“What?”
“If she’s your woman you don’t drop her off, ever. You walk your ass up to the door and make sure she’s okay. And if she’s hurting, you go in and take care of her.”
“But she didn’t want me there.”
“Too fucking bad.”
I snort, “Is that how you sweet-talked Verity into being with your grumpy ass? By not listening to her when she tells you something?”
“If it means leaving her hurting, I’ll never do what she asks. I’ll always take care of her. That’s the kind of man she deserves. One that puts her first. Even if she doesn’t want me to.”
“But she’s sick.”
“So she needs you more than ever. Pull your damn big-boy pants on and get your ass over there to take care of her. Get your fucking head out of your ass.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. Call off work and make sure one of the guys can take care of your kid or bring her over to her house. Doesn’t matter. But you don’t leave your woman hurting without at least trying to make it better. No matter if that’s what she thinks she wants.”
“Verity must be a saint to put up with you.”
He snorts out a broken chuckle. “Verity would kick my ass if I ever left her so don’t go thinking that my woman’s soft, asshole. I doubt if yours is either. So go take care of her the way you should. If you love her, you make sure she’s good first. Deal with your hurt feelings later.”
Rolling my eyes, I stand up and stretch, my heart beating crazily. “Okay. I’m gonna go then. I’ll try and head up to Black Timber Peak sometime soon. Gotta get some good hiking in this year.”
“Good. You’re all out of shape and doughy from working in that bakery. You’re getting soft in your old age.”
“Fucker, I can bench you under the table.”
“It’s cute that you think that. Now get the hell out of there and go take care of your woman. By the way, what’s her name? I’m sure that Verity will ask and then I’ll have to call you back.She doesn’t think that guys ever get the important information from a call!”
“She’s probably right. Her name is Lily. She’s a podcaster. Because she can work around her flare-ups.”
“You need to lock your woman down and take care of her the way she needs. The way she deserves.”
