Page 160 of Reeves

My foot eases off the gas as I turn onto the next street.

“To New Orleans?”

“Why not? I could show Benjy the bunker. He’d get a kick out of that, too.”

“Reeves…”

“Listen, no pressure. Just throwing it out there. And y’all could stay if you want. There’s plenty of space.”

I turn into my neighborhood, guiding the car along the curve of the road while his words settle in beside everything else already stacked in my head.

Two days ago, I told him we weren’t doing this again. Last night, I pulled him into my bed. This morning, we almost got caught, and now I’m sitting here considering packing a bag and bringing my son to stay with him like this is normal.

Everything lately is happening at warp-speed, and I don't know what to do about it. If I don't think too much, all I want to do is lean in.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

I pull into the driveway but leave the engine running, the air still blowing across my hands while I stare through the windshield at the front of the house.

It would solve the problem. Benjy would be entertained. I wouldn’t be scrambling to keep him occupied while I try to work. And Reeves—God—Reeves would be right there, like he wasn’t gone for six years and didn’t just walk back into our lives four days ago.

“Let me think about it,” I say, my voice steadier than the waymy grip tightens on the wheel. “Everything’s moving kind of fast.”

“Of course.”

There’s a beat where neither of us hangs up.

“Charli?”

“Yeah?”

“I think he’d like it.”

I look at Benjy in the mirror. He’s watching me now, waiting.

“I know.”

“Think about it and call me back.”

“I will.”

The line goes quiet. I lower the phone to the console but don’t move right away, the engine still running, the air humming through the vents while the house sits in front of me like it always has.

“Mom?”

I glance back at him.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Are we going somewhere?”

I reach up and turn the key, cutting the engine, the quiet settling in around us.

“Maybe,” I say, opening my door. “Let’s go inside.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

Reeves