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"Just for you." I double down, giving him a smile. "For your mom and stepdad, I brought a taco bar, that way you can have it over a couple of days. There's also instructions in there for how to turn it into a casserole once you're sick of eating it like tacos. You're welcome to send me a message if you need help."
I know I'm talking when I shouldn't be. I'm totally over-selling, but it's so important to me to make a good impression, I can't seem to stop myself.
"Come sit with me while I eat." Abel grabs hold of my hand, and pulls me into the kitchen with him.
Before we leave, I make a mention of flowers sitting next to Heidi. “Those flowers are gorgeous.”
She beams. “They’re from Boone. Aren’t they pretty?”
“Aww look at Big Daddy Boone being sweet.” I clasp my hand over my mouth. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I said that in public. Holy shit.”
Heidi snorts, and Abel looks at me like I’ve grown another head. “You call my dad that?”
“Only to Alexis. It slipped.” I whine tilting my head back, wishing the world would either swallow me whole, or a bolt of lightning will take me out of my misery.
“Wow. You better be glad you made me food,” he jokes. “Now, can I go eat?”
He leads me into the kitchen, my face burning in embarrassment.
I have a seat across from him, taking joy in the way he eats the food I made for him. "Is it good?"
"You know it is."
And that's all I need. To be content in the knowledge that I'm taking care of him, and I'm everything he needs at this moment.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Abel
"How are you holding up? Didn't expect to see you here today," Dad says as I enter the job site we're working on. "I approved you being off for another day."
"I know, but Mom sent me home last night. She said I was hovering too much, and there's nothing for me to do. The doctor said they basically did everything they could do, and now all we can do is wait for the test results. That's worse than not being able to do anything at all. I'd rather be here, working, than trying to think positively about the results."
"Well, I have plenty for you to do, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad it seems like your mom's gonna be okay too. I talked to her last night."
"Like y'all texted?" I ask, not sure what he's going to say.
"No, like we actually talked over the phone. It's been a long time since we did that. It was good to hear her voice. We were good friends once, and it was nice to talk to her as a friend again, not as your mother, who I harbor all kinds of shit against. I'm glad she's okay, and I'm thankful that you being as open as you have allowed us to have that."
I'm thankful as hell that my parents are mature enough to be able to have the relationship they have now. There were times when I was little, and even when I was a teenager, I was put in the middle. It means everything that I know they won't do that anymore. "I'm glad that y'all can have the relationship you have, and that I can have what I have with both of you. Neither one of you have ever made me feel bad about spending time with the other, and I appreciate that."
He reaches over, hugging me tightly. "You're better than I deserve, Son. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing with you, and I think I was the luckiest of us all. You never seemed to ask for more than I could give you, and that was the biggest blessing I ever had."
"Love you too, Old Man."
He lets me go, and I head inside. Barrett's already there, getting ready to get started. "Hey, how's Heidi? I know I only texted you once yesterday, but I didn't want to bother you. I know how stressful that shit can be."
He's one of the only people who does know how stressful it can be. He lost his grandfather to cancer last year, and I had to watch as my best friend was obliterated emotionally. "She's doing good. I texted her this morning. She was already awake and moving around, which is great news. I'm gonna stop by there tonight after I get off work and check on her."
"She'll get her results by the end of the week?"
"Hopefully, and he said he got clear margins, so I'm just going ahead and assuming it's a blessing all the way around. Now," I sigh, taking my jacket off. "What are we working on today? I just need to get involved in something and not have to think about all the shit that's been going on."
"Sounds good to me. We're demoing the back two rooms so we can get started on a new addition tomorrow. So, if you need to take some of that fear and anger out, this is the perfect time to do it."
There's a reason we're best friends, he knows what I need before I do sometimes. "You got your Bluetooth speaker?"
He grins. "I do."
