Ryker doesn’t argue. He just squeezes my shoulder once, hard, like he’s packing all his reassurance into that single touch.
Norah pulls back slightly and looks up at me, her hand sliding into mine. Her fingers are warm, her skin so fucking soft.
“What are you going to do?” she asks.
“For now?” I say. “Nothing that’ll agitate Amber. She just lost a baby. I don’t want to push her when she’s already dealing with this. This is all so fucked up. I know my sister. It’ll take her a minute to figure her things out, but fuck. I wish there was something I could do. Right now, getting through to her is so hard.”
Her face softens immediately. “I can’t even imagine what she’s going through,” she says quietly. “I keep thinking about how sad she must be.”
Ryker exhales through his nose. “It’s hell.”
Norah nods, eyes shining. “No one deserves that.”
Ryker clears his throat. “Rough morning,” he says, changing gears. “I’m gonna make breakfast. We all need food.”
She smiles faintly. “Can you make something without eggs?”
I glance at her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says, quick but sincere. “I promise. I’m just finding the smell a little bit too much today. I swear, I tried making some this morning and almost threw up. You know how when you eat eggs or chicken, sometimes, they taste like exactly what they are? Am I being weird? I’m being weird.”
“You’re not being weird.” Ryker smiles at her. “I’ll make something else.”
“I already made some sausages and cut up some fruit, so maybe just fix up the bacon and toast,” I tell him.
“You got it,” he says.
We settle on the sofa while Ryker moves around the kitchen, the familiar sounds of pans and drawers grounding in their normalcy. Norah curls into my side, and I wrap an arm around her automatically.
She tucks her face into the space beneath my jaw, her cheek warm against my neck. Her fingers slide up into my hair, stroking slowly, soothingly, like she knows exactly how much I need the contact.
I close my eyes for a second.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I murmur.
She stills. “Do you mean that?” she asks. “Because I keep thinking my being here made everything worse.”
“No,” I say immediately, pulling back just enough to look at her. “You made it better. You always do.”
Her gaze searches mine, then she nods, reassured.
I rest my hand on Norah’s knee, soothing myself with the feel of her there. Her skin is as soft as it always is, but she feels warm. Her scent seems intensified somehow.
“You okay?” I ask quietly.
She nods. “I am.”
I frown slightly. “You feel a little warm.”
She gives a small shrug. “It’s just this morning and all the running around. And everything that’s happened.”
I want to ask more, but Ryker calls out that breakfast is ready, and the moment passes.
We eat at the table, plates full of bacon, sausage, toast, and fruit. Juice sits untouched in a second glass across from me, and the absence of Maisie in her usual seat makes the whole thing feel wrong. Too quiet. Too empty.
After we finish, Ryker stands. “I’m meeting Chase at the site. Jude, take your time.” He leans down and kisses Norah’s cheek gently. “I’ll grab a shower first. Can you wait until I’m done before you leave?”
She nods. “Yeah. Of course.”
