So, I take some time to process what he said while I make tea for him. I was so annoyed with him just a few moments ago. He was lateagain,and even Finn made a remark. I shut it down, and he rolled his eyes, his subtext explicit:You keep defending him.
Rhys taking time off will mean a lot to Finn and to Mikaela, who misses her father, even if she accepts that he’s a doctor and busier than other fathers.
“I don’t know if this is the right thing,” I admit, sliding a cup toward him.
“Me neither.” He wraps his hands around the mug. “But it’s the first thing that feels like it could be.”
I drink some tea, even though it hasn’t brewed long enough and is too hot. “What did Tory say?”
He quirks an eyebrow, amused. “Now, Jayne, you keep bringing her up, and I’m going to think you’re jealous.”
He’s already less stressed. He’s already the man I remember, the one who wasn’t weighed down with pressure from work and at home. Just making the decision has given him, dare I say, a sense of freedom.
“Why should I be jealous of her?” I snap, keeping my lips from twitching, which they want to do.
“Well, she’s blonde and stacked.”
I blow on the hot tea. “How do you know she’s stacked?” I challenge.
“Paul told me,” he retorts. “You know what a hound dog he is.”
This makes me laugh. Paul is a puppy dog if a comparison has to be made.
“Claire came by the other day.” He tilts his head, and his eyes are bright, brighter than I’ve seen in a long time.
I frown. “She texted me, wants to meet for lunch.”
“She psyched me.”
I let out a short laugh. “She did what?”
The edges of his mouth tilt, gentle and unguarded. “She said it was a friendly chat, but she was playing psychologist. Did you know that my identity is tied to me being a surgeon?”
“Yes. And?”
“Wow! That came out quickly. You didn’t even have to think about it.”
“What can I say, I know my husband.”
He runs a finger down my cheek. “It got me thinking, which I guess was her point. I want my identity to be wrapped around more things than being a surgeon, Jayne.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that this sabbatical is as much for me as it is for my family. I have been running all my life to be a better man than my father, and…that Finn lied to you to protect me? Well?—”
I set my cup down and walk to him, hug him, not caring that some of the tea from his cup sloshes down. “I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about how I said it. I didn’t even think.”
I should have. I should have realized that this is where his head would go.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I hear him put his teacup on the counter. He wraps his arms around me. “It needed to be said. I don’t want Finn to feel like I did, like he’s responsible for keeping the peace between us.”
I lay my forehead against his chest. “You’re nothing like your father, Rhys.”
He rubs his chin on my head. “I know.ButFinn does feel he has to help our marriage, and that was the last straw. I won’t resent you, Jayne, for doing this. I think I will hate myself if I don’t do it. I promise you, there will be no regrets.”
I lift my eyes to his and study him. Then I grin. “Tell me that when summer camp season starts and you’re running around picking up one kid, dropping another off, and picking up the first kid and….”
He tightens his hold on me. “You don’t scare me, Mrs. Prescott.”
