Page 52 of Until You

I wait patiently for her—just in case she decides to talk—but the longer I sit here, the more I know she’s not going to. She doesn’t trust me.

Not yet anyway.

But I’m working on it, and the first part of that is not pressing her.

“Okay, then.” I rise from the table and move into the kitchen where she’s now wiping down already clean counters. “I’ll leave you be, but we’re going to have to figure out arrangements for you while your water is shut off.”

“I’m fine,” she repeats.

If I never hear those two words again, it will be too soon.

“No, you’re not fine, but you can say it if it makes you feel better.” She stills, sponge in one hand, but doesn’t turn to face me. “You don’t have running water here until Bobby comes out next week. Plus, I’m going to need to get the walls checked for mold. I have no idea how long that pipe has been leaking behind the drywall. I can put you up in a hotel since I’m to blame for this—”

“No need to. Like I said, I’m—”

“Fine, yes, we’ve established that fact.” I sigh in frustration and then continue without really thinking through what I’m offering. “Or you’re more than welcome to stay with us. We have two extra bedrooms just sitting there unused. The girls would love it. I’d stay out of your hair.”

“I can manage.”

“It’s just a thought. Besides, I don’t feel right leaving you here with an open wall and—”

“Thank you.” Those two words delivered with a finality tell me there’s no convincing her otherwise.

“You know you’re stubborn as hell, right?”

C’mon, Tenny. Turn around and look at me. Let me see your eyes. Let me know you’re really okay.

“I know.”

I leave the house feeling unsettled and useless with offers to come back if she needs me. But Tenny’s silence only makes the barrage of noise I open my front door to even louder.

Is Tenny okay?

Can we bake her a cake?

Should we make her a card?

Preoccupied with what just happened, my response is an all-around resounding yes as I make an excuse for why I need to make a call in my office.

And I need to make it before I second-guess myself and how I’m invading Tennyson’s privacy.

Dusty picks up on the first ring. “Holy shit, as I live and breathe, Crew Madden is blessing me with his presence.”

“Fuck off, man.” My smile is automatic. The pang of how much I miss everyone even more so.

“How are things?”

“Good. The same. You?”

“Can’t complain other than I’m having to pick up slack for your sorry ass not being here,” Dusty teases. “But then again, I had to do that whether you were here or not.”

The comradery is what I miss the most about not being active on the force.

“You’re so full of shit.”

“True, but you already knew that.” His chuckle reverberates through the line. Someone in the background yells something about telling me hi before he continues. “So tell me, brother. Why am I being blessed with your presence? And it better not be for you to put a good word in with my sister. She’s still off-limits to you.”

I’m so glad he can’t see my smirk or else he would know that off-limits or not, we hooked up a few months back. Two people meeting their needs and curiosity and then moving on. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.