AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Does it still hurt?” she asked, as she studied his wound.
He swung his gaze from his sister to his dad and then back to his sister, “Yeah, but it will be okay.”
The sweet little girl leaned forward and kissed her brother’s injured finger. “Does it feel better now?”
“Sure does, Mol.”
Elizabeth’s heart warmed. She was sure she’d just witnessed the sweetest, most caring, exchange ever between a brother and sister.
“A couple of more minutes and then you guys need to brush your teeth and get ready for bed. The birthday boy is going to have a big day ahead of him tomorrow,” Joe said as he headed back down the hall toward the kitchen, motioning for her to follow.
He retrieved his beer from the counter and proceeded to the living room and took a seat on his recliner.
She sat on the couch and looked at him. “Oh my God. That scream scared the living daylights out of me. I thought something terrible had happened.”
Joe smiled. “For Max, at that particular moment, something did.”
“And you, you just know how to fix everything. Why can’t I have that quality?” she asked. “I can’t seem to fix anything these days,” she mumbled as she thought about how to fix her situation at work. And more importantly, how to fix it so the handsome man sitting in the recliner would want her again, and kiss her again like he did the night before she went to New York.
––––––––
Joe studied Elizabeth as he continuously ran her comment through his mind. “You just know how to fix everything.”
Yeah right. Then how come I’m so helpless with your situation.
A short time later, the kids appeared in the living room, dressed in their pajamas, ready to be tucked in for the night. Joe scooped Max up and flung him over his shoulder and then he scooped Molly up and flung her over his other shoulder. They laughed non-stop as he bounced them up and down and spun them around in the living room, and then he headed off down the hall toward their bedrooms. They yelled, “Good night,” to her as they disappeared out of sight.
When Joe returned, he took a seat next to her on the couch and placed his arm around her shoulder. “How are you guys coming along with the wedding plans?” he asked.
She placed her hand on his thigh and stroked it. He tensed, then reached down and lifted her hand and wove his fingers among hers. If she kept rubbing his leg he would need to kiss her, and if he kissed her it would lead to the kind of kiss they shared the night before her New York trip. With another kiss like that, he feared he wouldn’t be able to stop at kissing; he would have to have her, and if he took her...he would be in for the long haul.
Was she ready for that? Was he ready for that? And the kids?
His thoughts shifted to her leaving him and the kids to go back to New York. He couldn’t stand the thought of that happening, and he needed to know if she was still considering that option.
“Joe, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. Just tired I guess. It was a long week. We’re meeting Nick and Maria, Angelina and Jim, and all the kids at noon tomorrow at Chuck E. Cheese’s, so why don’t you come over at about 11:30 a.m.”
Once the words were out of his mouth, he realized how it must have sounded to her, like he was trying to get rid of her, which is exactly what he didn’t want to do.
Why am I acting like such an idiot?
“You know, Joe, for someone who is always trying to get others to share their feelings, you certainly do a good job of not sharing your own at times,” Elizabeth spat as she rose from the couch and hustled over to the entryway.
Her words cut him like a knife; he was a hypocrite, and knew it.
He sprang off the couch, and in two quick steps was on her heels. He reached for her wrist. She swung around as he grabbed it.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I try to get you to share and then I don’t.”
Her beautiful, green-eyed gaze stayed on him, waiting for more.
“Well here goes...” He sucked in a breath and let it out. “I’m feeling completely helpless. I want to help you, but I don’t know how, and part of the reason I don’t know how is because I don’t fully know what’s going on with you. Like what happened at the Kents? I know you said it was nothing, yet I don’t know what it was, and you won’t say. I want you to stay— you have no idea how badly, but I find myself unable to let you because I’m afraid...” His voice trailed off as his gaze landed on the floor.
––––––––
Elizabeth freed her wrist from his grasp and placed her hands on his warm cheeks. She raised his head until his tear-filled gaze met hers. She lost herself for a moment in his eyes.
