I blinked over at the other end of the table, where Graham was looking at me, expectantly.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
He took in my bandaged hands. “I can get you a plate of food, if you’d like?”
“Oh, you don’t have to…”
He shook his head. “I don’t mind. I was about to get seconds.”
With a reassuring smile, he got up and headed to the plates heaping with food lined up on the counter. I hated how I couldn’t get it myself, but my hands did throb.
“Can I get you some coffee?” Skye asked from where she stood by the coffee pot. “Or tea? Water?”
I stared at the woman who I’d seen on the documentary about the serial killer. It was weird meeting someone for the first time when you’d watched them on TV.
Her brows drew together the longer I gaped at her without speaking, and I cleared my throat.
“Tea is good, thank you.”
Skye nodded and went to a cabinet to grab a box of tea and a mug.
Graham came back with a full plate, setting it down carefully in front of me. “Reid doesn’t know how to cook for less than twenty people.”
“That’s not true,” Reid shot back. “I was just raised by Raleigh Ramsey, and she doesn’t see the point in making any less.”
Lark laughed.
“Thank you,” I said again.
“Anytime.” Graham nodded, taking his seat next to Quinn and grabbing for her hand.
Skye set a steaming mug of tea next to my plate. “We heard you’ve been taking care of Hailey,” she said, her face softening.
“Roman needed help, and I happened to be available.” I shrugged. “She’s really great.”
“I can’t wait to see her,” Lark said, as she gave Thea Grace a piece of her bacon.
“I’m actually surprised Roman trusted you with Hailey,” Quinn mused.
The woman holding Graham’s hand was some kind of lawyer. Roman had mentioned she was supposed to start working withthe Ohio Innocence Project before they had left for the safe house.
Quinn blinked at the silence that followed her comment, and she sat up straighter. Her expression tensed. “Not that you aren’t a trustworthy person,” she said, straightforwardly. “I meant that Roman isn’t very trusting, especially when it comes to Hailey.”
Graham shifted closer to her, giving her a reassuring smile. Then, his bright-blue eyes came back to me. “Roman is lucky to have found you.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling everyone else’s focus on me too. “I’m pretty lucky as well. Roman and Hailey have been…really amazing.”
The memory of Roman’s lips flashed through my mind, but I squashed it down. I wished he were here to guide me through meeting his family. There were so many of them.
“All right, you guys,” a deep, rumbling voice said from the end of the table. Warner waved around the room. “Leave the girl alone for now and let her eat. I’m sure she’s hungry.”
I gave him a grateful glance, and he winked at me as the rest of the clan went back to themselves.
As I ate my breakfast, I watched the rest of the family. The food was delicious, and everyone else left me alone, which I appreciated. Only Lark reached out to me, talking about Thea Grace.
The longer I sat there, the more comfortable I became. A warmth settled over me as I sipped on my second mug of tea.
For a fleeting, hopeful moment, I wondered what it might be like to belong here.
