“Yeah. Of course.” She smothered the hurt in her eyes, and guilt wrenched in my chest. She let out a nervous laugh. “I’m still used to having to cook for two.” She skated her gaze away.
Ah, hell. “He made you cook every night?”
“Well, my hours weren’t as long as his.”
“He worked nine to five.”
She recoiled. “He worked twelve-hour days.”
Double hell. I wasn’t going to continue to be the one breaking bad news to her. “Okay.”
She pressed both hands to her gut like she was going to hurl any second. Color leached from her face. “Was he lying about that too?”
I inhaled slowly. More bad news to pass on. “He bragged about having banker’s hours, and I joked it was because he was a banker.”
“He was an investment banker.”
“He was a loan officer, Clover,” I said softly.
Tears sprang into her eyes, and her face crumbled. “I’m such an idiot.” Her shoulders shook with heavy sobs, and she pivoted on a stockinged foot only to stop at the entrance to the empty dining room. “And there’s nowhere to have a good cry!”
She stomped outside.
Ah, hell. I made her cry, and I didn’t care it was by proxy.
Did I follow her? Did she want my comfort? I was tired of cleaning up after Elijah, but when it came to Clover, it seemed I had more in the tank.
I trailed her to the porch. She was sitting on the first step, her arms crossed on top of her knees and her head buried in them.
Dropping to sit next to her, I didn’t say anything, just scanned the property that was much nicer than my parents’ place.
Her sobs quieted after a few minutes. She lifted her head and sniffled. “I guess I’ll ask for the full STD panel at the first prenatal checkup.”
“When is that?”
“I made it for next week to establish care.” She pressed her palms against her eyes.
If we were talking doctor’s appointments, we should talk about other logistics. “About the furniture…”
She giggled in bursts. “That money in our account was going to buy us brand-new stuff.” More punchy laughter. “I’ve been trying to stay positive, Van. Things are better this way. I found out early that he was a lying liar. But it’s hard to be positive when I’m going to be sleeping in my car tonight.” The next laugh was a choked sob. “I guess I can call Poppy. Want me to ask one of my siblings for a bed for the night for you?”
Tingles ran up and down my arms, urging me to wrap them around her and tuck her in close. She was so defeated, and I wanted to reassure her. I had to keep my distance and concentrate on recruiting investors for my company. But the furniture issue was mine as well, and when she was distraught about where to sleep, she’d thought about me too. I could do something about that without crossing any personal boundaries.
“Come on.” I had researched the town I was moving to, and that had included the businesses in Coal Haven. “There’s a place in town where we can order some furniture.”
She hiccupped. “I can afford inflatables. That’s it.”
I made some quick calculations. I had prepared for a place of my own eventually. That time was now. “I’ve got it. Want to ride with me?”
Chapter Four
Clover
* * *
Van’s pickup wasn’t what I expected—more that it was a pickup and not an electric car or something. What did computer guys drive?
He opened the door for me, and his clean, linen scent filled the cab. The hint of cedar was there too. I inhaled much longer than a regular breath, and my stomach calmed.
