He sighed. “You need more time for me to prove to you I’m sticking. And that’s fine. I can be as patient as necessary. But when I pushed you away, I never stopped loving you, Meg.” He tucked his face next to hers and laid a soft kiss on her cheek. “It was nice tonight. Being with you and Haley. Like the family in Haley’s picture.”
The lonely pain in his words made her eyes sting with tears. How could a man with so few friends and who grew up without parents be so sweet? He should be bitter and cold.
When they’d broken up, he kept telling her it was him, and not her. He wasn’t good enough for her. He didn’t know how to be a parent or be part of a family. She should find someone who could be a good husband to her because he was afraid he couldn’t and she deserved the best. Those all sounded like standard breakup lines to her at the time. Coward’s words.
Now, she wanted to believe he’d meant them.
She ached to sleep with him, to feel that connection to him like she’d never felt with any other man, but for the moment she’d be content to lie quietly under him, happy to feel his heart beat slowly against her indecisive one.
She ran her hand through his soft hair and whispered, “You’ll be the first to know when the verdict finally comes in.”
The front door opened and a deep voice called out, “Anyone home?”
Haley let out a yelp. “Hi, Uncle Ryan!”
“Dammit.” Meg poked Josh in the ribs to make him move. “Ryan is being a big . . . brother again.”
Josh slowly rolled off the bed and scooped her up with him, plopping her onto her feet. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s go before he barges in here with his gun drawn.”
When they hit the living room, Meg grabbed Ryan’s arm and yanked him straight out the front door with her. Hands on hips, she said, “Cut. It. Out! He’s Haley’s father, for God’s sake!”
“What? It’s my day off tomorrow. I was just going to offer to help you around here.” Ryan tucked his hands into his jeans pockets and at least had the decency to look guilty.
Meg glanced over her shoulder. Josh stood just inside the door, ready to come to her rescue if necessary. She turned back to Ryan and lowered her voice. “Let me guess. You want to help me, then when I’m not looking, go through all of Josh’s things for clues, right?”
“Yep.” He smiled. “But I’ll help with the dock too.”
“I’m not letting you search his room. And as much as I could use a hand, Dad said you guys couldn’t help me. You don’t need him mad at you too.”
“Dad said we couldn’t loan you money. I’ll be here at eight.” His fist landed a light tap to her shoulder. “Just looking out for you, Meggy.”
His quiet show of support made her anger dissipate by the time he started his truck and backed out of the drive. Sometimes her brothers and sister could get on her last nerve, but at least she had family who loved her.
Unlike Josh. Who had no one.
The next morning, hammer in her hand, Meg wiped the sweat from her brow with her arm as she and Ryan worked on her new dock. Reaching inside the pouch at her waist, she grabbed another nail and then pounded it into the decking. The ache in her back and the growl of her stomach made Meg tug the phone from her pocket to check the time. Almost noon. They’d made some serious progress, so she owed her brother a good lunch. She could probably pull something together inside, but it’d be so much easier to pick something up from Aunt Gloria’s diner. “I’ll go get us some subs. Be right back.”
Ryan nodded and went back to hammering. She jogged into the house to get her car keys and spotted the little note Josh had left for her that morning. “Coffee’s on and lots of healthy stuff for snacks in the fridge. Quit scowling at the healthy part and have a nice day.” Reading it again made her smile. He did know her better than she’d thought.
That he had fresh coffee waiting for her and Ryan when he didn’t even drink it was pretty great too. Maybe she’d pick up a sandwich for Josh while she was at it and drop it by the shop on her way back.
After she’d circled to the other side of the lake and checked on Haley and Grandma, who were eating their lunch too, she walked into the blessedly cool diner.
Her father sat at the counter. If she hadn’t been starving to death, she might have turned right around to avoid him, but hunger won out. She sat on the stool next to him. “Hey, Dad. How are you feeling? Sue Ann said you had another headache the other night?”
“It was nothin’.” Her father took a bite of his sandwich. Probably so he wouldn’t have to talk.