“Good.That way we can go get him if we need to.I’ll call you back.”
“Wait,” she said before he could hang up.“I really appreciate you doing this.Especially after…”
“You don’t need to thank me.You should know I’d do anything for you.”
He hung up before she could say anything else.Or think how to respond, anyway.
*
Ryan suspected thatonce Aria had made up her mind to move her father in with her, she wouldn’t change it.But he wondered if she knew what to expect?Her mother had died of cancer, and Aria had said she’d died at home.So she probably did know at least some of what to expect.Still, he decided to warn her.
He had work but in between cases he arranged for the hospital bed to be delivered the following day.He also talked to hospice about a nurse but he couldn’t arrange that until they knew when Steven would come.After work he stopped by the medical supply store in Livingston, which was where he’d ordered the bed, and picked up an over-the-bed adjustable table he’d had them put on hold.He considered taking the tray to Aria’s a good excuse to see both her and the baby.
He wasn’t so foolish as to think she wasn’t still angry with him.And she definitely didn’t trust him.But the fact that she’d turned to him for help made him think he still had a chance to convince her he didn’t want to move, not when his year was up and not ever if this was where Aria and Sophie were living.
First things first, though.Helping her get her father taken care of was the foremost thing he needed to do.Once that was done, he could worry about the future.But when he got to Aria’s house after work he found everything in an uproar.Sophie was crying, apparently inconsolably, in Whitney’s arms.Aria was out in the greenhouse trying to fix a leak.And Whitney told him that Steven had called from the veterans’ home and told Aria he couldn’t stay with her and was going to the VA Hospice in Billings.
First, he took Sophie from Whitney, put her up on his shoulder and soothed her, and gave her a bottle.She settled down, but the tears on her chubby cheeks broke his heart.He knew babies cried, of course, and Sophie had cried around him before, but usually she was either hungry, dirty, or sleepy.It took him half an hour to calm her down enough to feed her.
“I think she’s teething,” Whitney said once he’d put the baby to sleep.“I don’t know why I didn’t realize it right away.But she’s always so calm and placid.”
“Unless she’s hungry.I wouldn’t call her calm then.”
Whitney laughed.“No, that’s true.I put some teething rings in the refrigerator to give her.And we should get some of the over-the-counter gel to put on her gums as well.”
“Put it on the list.I’ll go to the store after I talk to Aria.”
He left Whitney with the baby and went to the greenhouse to see what was going on there.As far as he knew, Aria hadn’t set a date for her opening.Now with her father dying he didn’t know when she planned to do it.
He opened the door and started to call out but then he heard… crying.Following the sound he found her sitting by the swamp cooler, the evaporative cooling unit, in the middle of the floor in a puddle of water.Walking over to her, he squatted down and put a hand on her shoulder.“Hey, can I help?”
She started, then tried to wipe her tears but all she succeeded in doing was to wipe mud all over her face.“Oh, Ryan.What are you doing here?”
He squatted down beside her.“I brought you an adjustable table for the bed but according to Whitney you might not need it.”
*
There he was.Looking so… dependable.Like he was there for her and would continue to be, no matter what.But that was a lie.Wasn’t it?
“What can I do to help?”Ryan asked again.
Hold me,she wanted to say.But she couldn’t.“I think I fixed the leak.”
Ryan stood and reached a hand down for her.“Good.Why don’t you change into some dry clothes and”—he gazed at her face—“and wash your face and we’ll talk about your father.”
Because it was there, she took his hand and stood.“He won’t stay with me.He doesn’t want me.”Just like before.He didn’t want her enough to stay.
“Come on.”He put his arm around her shoulders and began walking to the house.“You’re soaked.We’ll figure it out.”
“Why are you being nice to me?I called you a liar and kicked you out.”
He smiled down at her.“Because I love you.”
“Still?”
“Always.”
Once they reached the house and after hearing from Whitney that Sophie was asleep, she went to her room to take a shower.As the water beat down on her, she wanted to cry, but she didn’t.She was afraid if she started she’d never stop.Why in the hell she let her father get to her, she didn’t know.But she was done crying about him.
