I had not realized the concern remained.
“Thank you.”
“You worried about that?”
“Yes.”
He shook his head.
“You nearly died and you’re worried about my mortgage.”
“It seemed possible.”
“No.”
His expression became firm.
“You take every dollar they owe you. Every treatment. Every wage payment. The accident was not your fault, and responsibility is not the same as punishment.”
Reid returned and opened the passenger door wider.
“Listen to him,” he said.
“I do sometimes.”
Elias smiled.
“Come back when the pears are ready. Theo will trap you in the barn with that boat.”
“We’ll come.”
The promise felt natural.
Not optimistic.
Expected.
I slept most of the drive home.
When I woke, the station wagon was parked behind the yard. Reid sat beside me with one hand resting on the steering wheel and the other holding mine.
He was waiting.
“How long?”
“Seven minutes.”
“You could have woken me.”
“You looked peaceful.”
I stretched carefully.
My hip objected.
My head did not.
“That was good.”
