Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107352 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Wink is the cutest name,” the vet tech confirmed.
“It suits him, don’t you think?”
She smiled and nodded, and when he winked at her, she said he was flirting.
“I suspect he is,” I said with a grin.
Once I was done, I was going to go straight home, but I got a call from Chief Higheagle in Newcastle, who asked when it would be possible for me to drive over and sign the statement I’d given her about what happened with Griff and Wilson. Since I was out and on the road already, I headed over. She appreciated my making the time and enjoyed meeting Wink. Everyone in the office did. Small towns—you had to love them.
When I got home, I went in through the garage, put Wink down and shooed him inside, then found a shelf in the garage for the carrier. When I turned to head into the house, Luke was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, staring at me.
“Where were you?”
I squinted at him. “I took the cat to his vet appointment. I texted the kids on our group chat, so they all knew where I was.”
He cleared his throat. “I would like to be added to the…chat.”
“Not a problem,” I assured him, taking a step closer, needing him to move so I could go into the mudroom. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I just—Tatum got freaked out when she couldn’t find you.”
“Not to call that statement into question, but as I said, I texted, so I doubt she thought I was in the house,” I replied, studying him. “Something else happen?”
“I meant to say, after she got upset—about what, I don’t know—I think she was sad you weren’t here.”
“But you’re here.”
Frustrated huff of air. “But that’s not good enough.”
“It is,” I told him. “You’re hanging back.”
“Pardon?”
Quick inhale. “You want to grab them and squeeze the crap outta them, but you’re not. How come?”
“Do you always say whatever pops into your brain?”
“No,” I contended. “I breathe because I’m big enough to hurt people if I don’t.”
It was interesting the way he looked me up and down then, and after what seemed like a moment too long, his eyes returned to my face. “Yeah. That’s why I was concerned when I walked in. I was afraid I couldn’t take you.”
I smiled at him. “You’d have been right.”
He scoffed. “Sure of yourself, are you?”
“Yes. Very.” I pointed at myself. “Fixer.”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh.
“So answer the question—why aren’t you squeezing the stuffing out of your kids?”
“What?”
I nearly growled. “You know what I mean. Answer the question.”
Quick exhale from him. “I’m unsure of them. Those are not the kids I left.”
“In what way?”
“I left a sullen, surly sixteen-year-old boy who hated me, a withdrawn, silent thirteen-year-old who shared nothing with me, ever, at all, and a ten-year-old girl who stared at me, all the time, like I was stupid. But…I could order them around, and they would do what I said. It was quiet in the house except for the TV and their phones and tablets and game systems.”
I nodded.
“But I walked through the door a few hours ago, and everything’s different, from the house itself to the people in it. Suddenly I’m being talked to, and it’s taking me a second to catch up to where you all are already.”
“I get that. But they’re starved for hugs and affection, and they need it from you.”
“I know what my kids need,” he croaked defensively.
I maintained eye contact, and after a moment, he looked away.
“I would never tell you how to parent. What I’m relating to you is what I’ve observed in the time I’ve been here.”
He dragged his gaze from the floor back to mine. “I know. I’m sorry. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve—”
“No. Taking care of your kids was my privilege, make no mistake. And if you’d rather wait for them to come to you, that’s your choice.”
“And what did you do?”
“Two of them came to me. Your oldest, I said to him, I wanna hug ya, he said okay, and that was that.”
He took a shaky breath.
“All right, then,” I said. “I should get in there and go talk to—”
“Tatum said you might be leaving after Thanksgiving.”
“No. I told her I would be here through Thanksgiving. After that, I’ll be going for sure.”
“Oh. Is that…” His voice went out on him, and he swallowed. “Is that how long you think you’ll be needed?”
I shook my head. “There will be someone here through the course of the trial—at least that’s what we planned for at Torus—but I think it would be best for the kids if I was swapped out for another fixer.”
He cleared his throat. “Why is that?”
I shrugged. “Due to your absence and things being a bit—” I thought a moment. “—in flux, I think they sort of glommed on to me because I was here and—”