Always with You - Part One(16)

Me: No. But I hope you're right. I don't have time to babysit you.



Sophie: You won't have to babysit me. I'll be running that bar like a pro in a couple of weeks.



Me: All you need to do is keep the customers happy.



Sophie: I'm good at pleasing people.

Another suggestive remark? Or am I making too much of everything she says? Am I looking for something that's not there? Am I looking for something to be pissed about?

I scrub a hand over my face. What a damn nightmare! Of all the things Olivia and I need in our life right now, none of this comes anywhere close. The arrival of an ex, a child that could be mine, being uprooted during the holidays, Olivia's father having surgery-our life and our plans will be taking a back seat for the moment. Indefinitely. And that makes me uneasy as hell.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN



Olivia



I have the strangest feeling that Cash is hiding something from me when I walk back into the little waiting room. His expression is unusually tense. Even the smile he gives me looks … uneasy.

"Everything okay?" he asks, reaching out to stroke my upper arms when I stop in front of him.

"Yeah. That was Arnie. Just checking on Dad. Word spreads fast in small towns."

"That it does," he replies noncommittally. "Hey, you getting hungry?"

I glance at the clock on the wall. It's after lunch, but I don't feel the least bit hungry. Just uptight. Worried. Downright afraid, even.

"Not really, but you should go get you something."

He shakes his head. "Nope. I don't want to leave you."

"You can't stand here and starve just because I'm not hungry."

"I can and I will."

As if to speak up in dissent, Cash's stomach growls loudly.

"I think your body would beg to differ."

"I only listen to that thing when it's hungry for you, which is all the time. In all other areas, I can control myself."

I can't help smiling. "Lucky for you, that's the one area I want you out of control."

"Then you should be very happy. I can just think about you without clothes and … damn!" he growls, his eyes glistening black.

Although I'm happy that he still reacts to me that way after all this time, I'm too distracted and burdened to feel like doing anything about it.

"Well, since there's nothing that can be done about that hunger, at least go take care of the other one. You might have to be strong for both of us and you can't very well do that when you're starving."

"I could be strong for you on my deathbed."

"Let's not test that for another sixty or seventy years, k? Now go eat. There's time while he's still in surgery. Besides, I've got some calls to make. Someone is going to have to take care of the farm for a while."

"Baby, just tell me what to do, who to call and I'll do it."

"It's okay. I know these people. It's just better for me to do it. Take care of the things you need to now, before he gets out."

"Are you sure? I hate leaving you here alone."



       
         
       
        

"It's fine. I promise. You're just making sure that you can be here for me the rest of the night. That's all. Besides, I've got things to do. So do you. Just be back in a couple of hours. They said it would take four to six hours, so you've got time."

"I guess I probably need to get our things then. In case I can't get back over there tonight." He seems hesitant to bring it up.

I swallow hard. Back to Sophie. "Okay. Now's as good a time as any, I suppose."

"You know you can always change your mind. We can figure out something else."

It's tempting. So, so tempting. The curve of my lips feels tight. Forced. Fake. "No, it's fine. It's not permanent. And the little girl shouldn't have to suffer because of her mother's poor decision making."

Cash cups my face in his big hands. "You're the most amazing woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"And don't you forget it," I tease.

"I could never forget you. You've got the ass of a sixteen-year-old Russian gymnast."

"Nice," I laugh, lightly slapping his arm. "How very … specific."

"All your body parts are world-class. Any time you want specifics, I'm happy to share."

"Maybe later."

He bends his head to kiss my neck. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Then I'll hurry back."

"Please do."

When he pulls away, digging his car keys out of his pocket, I want to jerk him back to me, to hold on tight and not let him out of my sight. But I can't do that. Healthy adults in a healthy relationship don't do that to one another. No matter how much they want to. Or how afraid they are.