Of course she says that.
Of course she makes room for me when her father came in here trying to shove our whole future down our throats. It makes me want to drag her into my lap and kiss her until I can be as certain as she seems.
“Jack, why don’t you do what you need to, and... can I go to work with you?”
The center.
All day.
My pulse thunders against my eardrums.
“I don’t think you want to do that,” I answer.
Suddenly,she leads me toward the couch, pulling me to sit beside her. I collapse into the cushion as if I just ran a marathon.
With a gentle touch, she strokes my temple with her thumb. Her perfume wraps around me, and suddenly the house feels different. Warmer and smaller. Like there isn’t room in it for the version of me that used to survive here without her.
“I love you,” she says sweetly.
I side-eye her, but purse my lips together. It seems so easy for this woman. She must be in la-la land again. And maybe that should annoy me, but some reckless, starving part of me wants to believe her.
“One problem at a time, remember?”
I nod, but it isn’t one problem. It’s a hundred. She must see I’m wrecked, and sighs softly.
“Okay. I’ll work at the church today, and you can go about your day separately.”
I snatch her wrist so fast, she flinches. Regret flashes through me, but not enough to let go.
“Don’t,” I say. My voice comes out rough. “Don’t talk like you’re leaving.”
I pull her onto my lap and lock her in my arms. She cups my face, her smile stretching.
“Stay.” I swallow hard. “Come to work with me.”
Because I don’t want her to go. I need her by my side. Yes. This is what I want. We can do this. She’lllove the center.
I wince, not believing that for a second.
The center is particularly loud. It’s a full house today. I’m torn in every direction, which isn’t good. I wanted Morgan to ease into the madness, not drown in it.
By lunch, I glance over. She’s opening kitchen cupboards to learn where things are. She helps set out plates and cups. She studies everything, listens, tries to predict how to help next.
Sometimes, she stares at nothing, and I wonder what she’s thinking. This isn’t a megachurch with tons of staff and everything’s clean and modern.
I clutch my chest for a second as my heart punches my ribs. It’s possible she’s already planning an escape.
However, she doesn’t complain. Every little thing she does is perfect, and lands wrong and right at the same time.
A smile at Tommy. A hand on my shoulder. Her purse in my chair.
She is turning my life into something softer, and instead of relaxing, I feel myself bracing for the moment it gets ripped away.
After recreational time, a woman crew member, Eddie, walks inside with the front of her pants wet.
Fuck, she had an accident.
I look around for Julie, but she’s busy. I go to the clothes bin and find some pants that seem about her size.
