Page 80 of The Haunting Plot

I pinch the bridge of my nose, knowing what’s coming. “Bella, you’re way past a ten.”

“MAKEOVERS!” Bella shouts, ignoring me. I open my mouth to retort and then stop as I take in the room. McKenna looks so thrilled, and Bella did that for her. I decide against saying anything, even if the volume level is irritating my sensory inputs. My girl is happy, and I don’t want to spoil that for her.

“It’s a good thing Jonah’s not here,” Sawyer says, leaning into my ear.

I search his eyes. “Huh?”

“The noise. This would be way too much for him.”

My focus drops to my hands. I can’t look at him right now. “Oh. Yeah.”

Sawyer nudges me with his shoulder. “But look at them.” I follow his gaze to McKenna and Jane. They’re both beaming ear to ear, practically talking over each other as they squeal and giggle. “I think they both needed this. It’s hard having a sibling whose needs are louder than yours.”

“Remember that day you found me in the hallway having a panic attack?”

“Spidergate?”

I bite my lips to hide my smile at the memory. “Yeah. I overheard them talking about that. How they both felt left behind, less important. I think that’s how they became friends. And it’s heartbreaking knowing I’d done that to her. That I’d failed her as a parent. That without Kris, I wasn’t enough. This stuff always came so naturally to him, but I have to work twice as hard with worse results.”

He pushes his thigh against mine, and the contact instantly soothes the buzzing in my head. “You can’t be all things to all people, Raven. Everything is better with a partner, a support system. It’s too much to do alone.”

“Is that why I feel like I’m drowning?” I fake a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ll figure it out. Everything will work out in the end.”

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend with me. Don’t brush off your pain with a platypus.”

My head whips to his, my brows furrowing. “Is that a dad joke? I don’t get it.”

He drags a hand down his face. “Fuck. That’s not the word, is it? Getting old sucks. It sounds like platypus.”

I clamp my mouth shut, determined not to laugh at his adorable blunder. “I think you mean platitude. It’s an overused statement that people use to dismiss big emotions.”

“See, you knew what I meant.” His eyes are doing that twinkling thing again, and I swear he’s casting a spell over my rational thought because fuck, no one has ever made me feel this way before. “They’re in a better place.”

“When one door closes, another opens.”

“Everything will work out in the end,” he says as his thigh pushes against mine again. “You don’t have to minimize your pain with me. I know exactly how you feel. Parenting is hard, but you’re not failing at it.”

I look away as I blow out a slow breath, not wanting to cry. Sawyer doesn’t say anything, just places his giant palm on my thigh and sits with me as we watch Summer and Bella organize the makeovers.

After a few minutes, he leans into my ear. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Caring about me enough to want me to be the best version of myself, grammar and all.”

“That’s not why⁠—”

“It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone you like me.”

My mouth parts, ready to dole out a retort, but the words don’t come. Fuck. I think I do like him. I more than like him. Words are my job. My literal job at the newspaper and with my books. I’m great with words, and yet they’ve all escaped me.

His hand squeezes my thigh a few times as we sit there, as if he knows what I need without me vocalizing it.

He turns to me as I focus on the girls. “Can I tell you something?”