Deacon had brought Candy to visit for a while, and to update him on the kid who'd broken in.Turned out he was a good kid who'd gotten in with a bad crowd — he came from Jefferson County, and the sheriff over there had filled Deacon in on his background.It didn't hold much sway with Deacon, though.As sheriff, he was fair and just, but he didn't tolerate anyone hurting his friends.
Janey and Rocket had come over, too.Janey had wanted to go through Emmett's appointments to decide how best to cover them, but all he'd allowed her to do was take care of Monday and Tuesday's schedule — he was hoping he'd find a way to get back out there himself by Wednesday.
As much as he loved his friends, and appreciated them coming around, he'd felt a whole lot better after they'd all gone.The house had felt like his own again, like things were back to normal for him and the girls.Except it wasn't just him and the girls; Harper was still here, too.And him being able to relax in his own home with her there said a whole lot — not that he wanted to examine exactly what it meant just yet.
For now, the house was quiet — silent and still.He lay there in the darkness and watched the glowing red digits on the clock under the TV switch from 2:59 to 3:00 a.m.Morning was a long way away yet.He shifted again, trying to get comfortable, and inhaled sharply as the pain shot through his shoulder.
The inhale only intensified the pain in his ribs.He lay still and tense, waiting for the waves to pass.He was in for a long night, but more than that, he was in for a long recovery.
Broken ribs weren't fast to heal, he knew that much.But all he could do was wait.There was no point in getting ahead of himself.
He knew how to live with pain — emotional and physical.He could handle that.
What he found more difficult to handle was the effect it would have on his daughters.They looked out for him as best they could — they always had.Since Emily died, the three of them had been a tight little unit.
As much as he wished she wouldn't, Alana tried to make herself responsible for him.Tanya just loved with her heart wide open.She might not always understand what was going on, but she sensed when he or her sister wasn’t happy and did everything she could to try and keep things light.
He leaned his head back against the pillows heavily, and now Harper was here.Part of him felt lighter — under normal circumstances he enjoyed being around her.Even though these weren't normal circumstances, he was enjoying having her here.
She'd had the girls laughing while they ate dinner.She'd chosen a movie that everyone had enjoyed.She made life easier; there was no doubt about that.
But at the same time, he had a feeling that life might become more difficult.There was no denying the attraction between them, but his current circumstances weren't exactly conducive to them being able to explore what a relationship might look like.Sure, in some ways it would accelerate things.Her being here, her becoming part of his everyday life — of the family's everyday life.But the situation was imposed by circumstances, not chosen by either of them.
He lay still when he heard a floorboard creak upstairs.
When he noticed that he was holding his breath in order to listen, he forced himself to breathe deeply again.There were no other sounds — he'd expected to hear the toilet flush and footsteps returning to a bedroom, but there was nothing.
He closed his eyes again, smiling to himself as he did, remembering when Tanya had laughed about people closing their eyes as if that could help them hear better, and Alana explaining that as a matter of fact, blocking off visual input allowed more brain power to process audio input.
Any other kid might have been put out or felt put down by her sister’s superior-sounding explanation, but Tanya had been fascinated, and Alana was proud to share her knowledge, not condescending about it.They were good girls.
He stared out through the window at the inky dark sky.
A million stars shone back at him, and a wave of sadness swept over him.Emily had told him that she'd watch them from up there, that she'd shine down on them, that she'd always love them, even after she'd gone.His throat constricted with emotion, remembering the way she'd laughed and poked him in the ribs, telling him that she wouldn't be watching him in a creepy way when he met someone new.
Damn.He hadn’t believed that he would, he'd never wanted to, but Harper had come out of the blue.Another sound brought him back to the moment.His ears strained and then he heard a footstep, behind the sofa this time.Not knowing who it was, he asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"
The footsteps came around, and he smiled at Harper when she sat down in the armchair across from him."Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you.I'm fine, how are you feeling?"
"You didn't disturb me; I was awake anyway.You were pretty stealthy.I didn't hear you till you were almost here."
"Like I said, I didn't want to disturb you.Last night, I figured out the stairs, picked myself the path between the creaky floorboards.I think I have it figured out now."
"I'd have to say you do.It's usually hard for anyone to sneak up on me."
"I'll take that as a compliment.Can I get you anything — anything at all?"
He gave her a wry smile."If anything at all is on offer, then I'll take a fast forward button to get me through the next few weeks."
"If I figure out how to get one, it's yours, I promise.But in the meantime, I can only help get you through it.I can't magic you past it."
"Yeah."He checked his watch."You don't need to keep coming down every couple of hours.You know, I'm okay, really."
"You might be okay, mister.But I do need to keep coming down — every hour if you must know.But that's for me to be okay.I'm feeling more confident that you are now."She pushed to her feet."If I can't get you anything, I should leave you to at least get some sleep."
He wanted to ask her to stay.But just because sleep would be a long time coming for him, didn't mean he should keep her from going back to bed.
"Thanks for checking on me.Hope you get some more sleep."
