“Who takes care of you, Corey?”
“I do.”
William shook his head and let out a sigh. “Not very well, you don’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not trying to insult you.” William held up a hand to silence me when I began to ask if it came
naturally to him then. “I’m really not. I think you’re doing the best you can, and a lot of things make
more sense now, but you’re not taking care of yourself. You’re running yourself into the ground,
napping on a hard couch between jobs because you don’t get enough sleep at night. I’d be willing to
bet you rely on the drive-thru for food as you race from one responsibility to the other.”
I shrugged, unable to dispute anything he said because it was all true. I tried to avoid fast food,
but it was easier than waking up early, packing a lunch, and then remembering to take it to the break
room at the store. More than once, I’d come out to my car at the end of a shift to see my lunch bag on
the passenger seat, food spoiled after sitting in the sun all day.
“I thought so,” William responded to my silence. He shook his head again. “I know it’s hard, but
you’re not going to be any good to Willow if you burn out.”
Hearing my daughter’s name in that rich voice gave me pause. I’d told him about her, and the
world hadn’t ended. He was definitely looking at me differently now, but not in the way I’d expected.
“Yeah, well it’s not like I have many options. When she’s with me, I want to make sure I can give her
everything she needs, and when she’s not, I’m busting my ass to make sure I can give her mom money
and still have enough left over to keep a roof over my head and food in the cupboards. Believe me,
this isn’t the life I planned but it’s the one I’ve been given.”
“Let me help you.” The offer was beginning to sound more like a plea, like it would be a favor to
him if I said yes.
“Unless you’re secretly a billionaire and want to dump a pile of cash in my lap, I’m not sure you
can.” Until he’d mentioned it, I’d done a good job ignoring how perpetually tired I was. As long as I
didn’t acknowledge my fatigue, I could pretend it didn’t exist.
William chuckled. “Can’t help you there, I’m afraid. But there are other ways, and I think you
know what they are.”
He didn’t push, and I didn’t ask what he meant. I did know. All I had to do was open my mouth,
and I could hand all this stress over to him, at least for a little while. Would I feel better when it was
