Absolutely.
Hallie unlocked the door then turned to face him with a finger pointed at him. “Don’t you dare move. I’m going to get the crutches out of the back and open the door for you. Then you’re going to use me to help support you as you get situated. It’s going to take some getting used to since you have that neck brace.”
His expression scrunched up. Was he trying to roll his eyes at her? She bit back a grin and slipped out the door before he could witness her amusement. He played nice and was patient with himself as she helped him out of the truck and into the house.He didn’t even bother looking around the place to see if anything was different.
“I’m going to take a nap.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll have dinner ready by five.”
He froze, halfway to his bedroom. Without turning around, he said quietly, “You don’t have to do that. I’ve got the money. I can order something.”
She tried not to be offended that he’d suggest such a thing. This was one of the big reasons she was here, and he knew it. “I don’t mind.”
Jacob didn’t respond. He didn’t even move for what felt like a full minute. The silence stretched long enough she nearly crossed the room to offer some help but then he let out a resigned sigh and hobbled his way back to his room.
Hallie stared off after him, a frown forming at her lips. He was broken. More than his bones. His spirit had been damaged, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. She had a feeling that if someone else were here to help, he’d be even worse. Because if she was certain of anything, it was how close she’d been with him.
Jacob was her friend. Before she’d gone and put her foot in her mouth, they’d been close. And he’d be more patient with her despite the fact that she’d been the one to cause this whole mess.
Clenching and flexing her hands, she turned toward the kitchen. Back when they were closer, they’d had some of the strangest conversations. Well, they weren’t strange to her. They were talks late into the night about things they remembered from their childhood. In one such conversation, Jacob had told herabout the food he’d make himself after school. They didn’t have much food at the time so when he scrounged up some hotdogs, instant potatoes, and cheese, he’d layered them and heated them together.
At the time, she’d scrunched up her nose with disgust. But he’d only laughed and sworn it was one of the best meals he’d had. When she’d asked him if he still ate it, he said he didn’t but not because he didn’t like it. Being on the road meant he had less time to prepare himself food.
Normally he ordered in.
Well, for the next eight to twelve weeks, she’d be here to give him anything he needed and everything he didn’t realize he wanted.
And that started with a strange but nostalgic walk down memory lane.
CHAPTER SIX
Jacob blinked.
Then he glanced up at Hallie where she sat across from him, smiling like she’d ingested the sun itself. Was this shock? Was that this strange tight feeling in his chest that refused to loosen its hold on his heart?
The food on his plate smelled just like he’d remembered it. There were vague memories of when he’d told Hallie about the time he’d made this food. He hadn’t told her the whole story. He hadn’t told her that his mother had left him, his brother and his father just after his seventh birthday. He hadn’t told her that his father was either working, drinking, or sleeping his life away which meant he and his brother had to fend for themselves. And he hadn’t told her that his brother had been the one to fix this meal for him for his eighth birthday.
His childhood hadn’t been a happy one. The only bright spot had been his older brother. Ryker had been two years older, and he’d been forced to grow up too fast. He’d been the only one Jacob could count on for much of his life but when things went south six years ago, he’d pushed his brother out of his life completely.
Staring at the food now, he didn’t know what to do or say.
It was like he’d been thrown into a time warp. He was back to being eight years old again, preparing to blow out the candles and wishing his mother would come home. His father was at work. It was still unclear if his father had even realized it was his birthday until he got home later that night.
Swallowing thickly, Jacob glanced once more at Hallie.
“Did I do it wrong?” She scrunched up her nose in the most adorable way as she studied the food. “I could have sworn you said hotdogs, potatoes, and cheese. Did I forget?—”
“You got it right,” he said hoarsely as he maneuvered his leg out away from the table so she could take her seat. “You’re going to have some, too?” He stared at her plate, recalling the way she’d turned her nose up at the menu item.
She blushed, smiling as she picked up her fork and knife. “Sure. Why not? What is it they say? When in Rome?”
As much as he might have wanted to smile, he just… couldn’t. There were too many warring feelings erupting within him. The memories of his childhood. The issues with Ryker. His job. Everything in his life that had been just within reach, now gone.
And one simple meal had him questioning everything.
He watched her as she cut off the tip of the hotdog. Normally he sliced the hotdogs in half, so they lay flat before he put the potatoes on. Hallie had kept them intact, and the potatoes weren’t exactly staying on the hotdog as she sliced into it.
His focus followed the fork up to her mouth and he watched with fascination as she took her first bite. Her head tilted to the sidewhile she chewed thoughtfully. Then she let out a huff of a laugh. “Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.”
