“I shouldn’t have had her working. I shouldn’t have left her unsupervised. I was in the cooler when she was calling for me and I didn’t hear her at first. It’s my fault.”
“We were all doing stuff like that at her age,” he murmured. “Accidents happen. And she’ll be okay. Knowing her, she wanted to feel useful.”
I hated that he was right. I glanced toward the living room. The sound of the TV created a gentle noise buffer, letting me breathe just a little more.
“June,” Dallas whispered. His eyes darkened, stormy and brooding. “Where is your brother?”
The question of the century. “Said he’ll come by this evening. Said he has therapy today and work. Then again, he said yesterday he had work but was asleep when I finally got a hold of him.” The anger had cooled from burning coals to ash. I didn’t have the energy for it anymore. “I don’t know. I thought things were getting better. Thank god the doctor has a crush on Evie, because they gave us a deal on the bill.”
Dallas stepped closer. “What?”
My head craned back. “What do you mean what?”
“Why were you paying?—”
“The insurance payments haven’t been on time.” I swallowed hard. “For a while, apparently. I don’t think there’s anything that can be done. It is what it is.”
His cheeks turned red as he shook his head and stepped back. The man was visibly stressed for me, and that made me feel just a little better.
I picked up one of the short ribs and bit into it. My eyes shut and I sighed in pure happiness. It wasn’t the meat I wanted, but it would have to do. I snorted to myself and took another bite.
I kept telling myself that it was things like this that were signs I couldn’t be a mom. I hadn’t eaten today yet because of the worry burrowing in deep.
But at some point, I needed to come to terms with the fact that Iwasa mom. Maybe not on paper, but Laura was mine to love and protect and care for.
“I guess it’s good to know this,” Dallas finally said.
I made a face and reached for a roll. “Why?”
“Because otherwise I’d be putting the son of a bitch in the hospital.”
“Dallas. Please keep the macho hero vibes in check.”
I met his gaze and despite everything, smiled. He leaned back against the sink and crossed his bulky arms. My gaze lingered on his biceps a little too long. His muscles made my mouth water.
And just like that, the silence between us filled with pressure. Tension. Longing. It felt like we’d popped a giant bubble, and all of the months of being careful about my interactions with him were suddenly pointless.
His throat constricted. “Are you going to talk to me about Madi?”
What?I coughed as a piece of meat went down wrong and covered my mouth, trying to recover as he slowly arched a brow.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I managed to get out.
“Yes, you do. She told me about it.”
“What . . . why?”
“Because I’m going on a date with her Friday.”
Oh. Right. I stared at him, those words lingering between us, taunting us.
“She’s coming over to my house. I’m cooking dinner.”
The quiet returned, and this time I couldn’t find a single word to break it.
His expression grew more serious. His eyes darkened, his brows pulling together. “I really want to talk about that night, June.”
I shook my head immediately. My muscles stiffened, my chest erupting with panic like a flock of birds. “Not right now. I can’t do anything right now but take care of Laura. I’m drowning. I can’t—I can’t.”
