I’m silent for a moment, sensing the weight behind those carefully chosen words. “You don’t strike me as someone who quits easily.”
“I didn’t quit,” she says quickly. “I just got tired of twisting myself to fit for people who never really wanted me there.”
There’s something raw underneath her words, something old enough to have scarred instead of healed. And it scrapes at something in my chest, because nobody should sound that certain about being unwanted.
“You’ve got the Maplewood Motel for now?”
“For now.” She smiles faintly. “It’s not glamorous, but it’s fine.”
“And work?”
“I’ll find something.” She shrugs. “I’m good at figuring things out.”
I study her for a moment. My shifts are long, and some weeks they stretch in ways I don’t always anticipate. I manage with Elle, I always have. But I think about mornings when I leave before Elle’s awake, and the afternoons when she stays with neighbors or Remi or the Parnells longer than I like because a call runs over. Or when we get a major, and I have to drop everything and head straight in.
“You’re good with Elle,” I repeat, aware that I’m crossing an invisible line I normally don’t breach—at least not this fast, and never this easily.
“She makes it easy.”
“She doesn’t. Not always…”
Penny smiles at that. “I like her.”
“I can see that.” I look down at my hands. “She likes you, too… Gus, too.”
“Well then,” she says, nudging my knee lightly with her own. “Just one third to go, huh?”
I hesitate as I stare at her for a beat, then push forward before I talk myself out of it.
“I work long shifts,” I say. “Sometimes they flip from days to nights. From twelves to longer—but I manage it. We’ve got a system, mostly.”
She nods, listening.
“But with school starting soon, Elle needs something more consistent and someone who enjoys her company.” I meet her eyes properly. “If you’re still looking for work.”
The words hang there, and I hope I’ve made them sound practical. But Penny doesn’t light up and answer immediately. Instead, she glances down the hallway where Elle disappeared.
“What do you think Elle would think of that?”
Not what it would pay or how many hours.
What would Elle think.
It’s the first thing out of her mouth, and it tells me more than any questionnaire could’ve.
“She’d be thrilled,” I say honestly.
Me too.
Penny’s mouth curves slightly at that, but she still looks careful. “I’d have to be sure I could do it properly. You know, not just be filling space when you’re on shift.”
“There’s no way you’djustbe filling space,” I say before I can stop myself. “Miss Mabel retired, and we’ve been patching it together since. Neighbors and friends and Remi. It works, but it’s not consistent.”
“I’d want it to feel stable for her,” Penny says quietly. “Not like I’m just passing through.”
“That’s kind of the point,” I reply.
Her gaze flickers slightly at that, but before we can discuss it further, Elle comes thundering back down the hall.
