I tried to take a sip of water to wet my parched mouth and almost sputtered it onto the table.
“I’m not sure anyone could or should learn from me right now. But this may not be the worst idea.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Is that a yes or a maybe?”
I twisted the napkin in my hands, imagining what it would be like to be a full-time babysitter of a second grader. I liked kids; not having any of my own had nothing to do with not wanting them. I just hadn’t met anyone I wanted to have themwith. Even if I had, my work hadn’t been conducive to having children, or even a goldfish, since I was only home for clusters of days at a time.
I didn’t want to go back to that life, but I needed to move on somewhere, even if it was temporary.
Moving in to take care of Lee’s daughter would ease the pressure of looking for a place to live and figuring out what to do next.
And I was over Lee. Sure, I’d almost melted all over the chair when he’d told me that he would have come to Ohio tobe with me at one of the lowest points of my life. But all that worry and love etched in his features while he got on his knees in front of me wasfriendlylove.
My face had healed, but my ego was still battered. And even when it was intact, Lee would always be a weakness.
But I was an adult. A lost adult, but I had enough faculties to make this work.
Most likely.
“Okay,” I blurted out.
Lee’s head popped up.
“Okay,” he repeated slowly. “You’ll do it?”
“Yes, I will do it,” I said, the words coming out in a rush. “I’ll move in for the season, and you don’t have to worry about quitting or who is with Bennie. And I have plenty of savings since I haven’t done anything but work the past few years, so you won’t be paying me a dime.”
Lee smiled, his body sagging with relief as he picked up my hand to kiss the top of my wrist.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said, bringing my hand to his forehead.
“Stop that before people start congratulating us,” I gritted out, kicking his shin under the table. I slipped my hand away from his, shaking it out next to me to get rid of the tingle from his soft, warm mouth.
Jesus, what did I get myself into?
FIVE
STELLA
“I’m going to miss you,” my mother said, her fingers wrapped around her coffee mug as she studied me from her dining table. The kitchen was a small alcove attached to a decent-sized dining area that bled into the living room, my bedroom for the last almost-month.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said as I slid into a chair next to her. “I’m only twenty minutes away, close enough to visit all the time.”
“It was nice having a kid not on assignment for a little while.” Mom smiled, holding my gaze as she brought the mug to her lips. Her hands were bony, her knuckles swollen from the painful arthritis that still plagued her some days. But with daily therapy, I was pleased to see how well she was able to take care of herself without seeming to be in too much pain.
That didn’t take away from the guilt of being away for so long, especially after watching all her friends get regular visits from their families. Imagining how she may have felt with only a monthly visit from me, and how neither of ushad seen my brother in person this year, had gnawed at me ever since I’d come back.
“You know I can’t stay here,” I said, squeezing her shoulder. “I’m way past the allowance for overnight guests. I’ve been here for weeks, and I am sure they’ve noticed. I feel like I have to sneak in and out now.”
She set down her mug, lips twisted as she shook her head.
“My daughter can stay here whenever and for however long she wants.”
“Your daughter is under fifty-five,” I said, chuckling as I kissed her cheek. “So, no, she can’t.”
A frown pulled down her red-painted lips as she glared back at me.
