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I’m just glad that I’m behind her because I can hide the smile I’m wearing.
CHAPTER 28
Katie
“You don’t have to wheel me to my room. I need to get used to doing this kind of stuff on my own,” I mutter, feeling in the way.
Jake has been so great through all of this. I can’t keep relying on him, though. It’s confusing me too much.It’s confusing my heart.I can tell it’s not going to do any good to tell him to stop, though, because he ignores me and takes me to my room. He wheels me over beside my bed and before I can speak, he moves around the chair so he can see me and then crouches down in front of me. My heart kicks up in speed with my nerves.
“Sweetheart, I want you to be honest with me for a minute.”
“Okay,” I respond, not sure what’s happening here.
“You can’t stand on your own completely. Your legs aren’t strong enough to support you past a few steps and you need someone to help you with your home therapy and other things that used to be simple—like doctor appointments for you and Hazel, taking Lennon back and forth for school when needed, grocery shopping—”
“I’ll figure it out,” I mumble, all too aware of the huge mountain ahead of me. Honestly, if I think about it all, I panic. “I may have to hire someone to help around the house for a couple of weeks until I get better, but I’ll make it work, Jake.”
“Miss Hazel said you had to hire another stylist to take your place in the salon and that doing that will make it so that you don’t have much profit to keep in the green with your business.”
“She had no right to tell you that,” I huff, heat stinging my cheeks. The last thing I want is for Jake to know how tough all of this has made things. I was just starting to get my head above water. Now? I’m not sure what’s going to happen. My car insurance has paid for my medical bills—thank God I had extra insurance on my policy to depend on. Still, I know it won’t pay for all of it and being self-employed means my insurance is definitely not the best there ever was—it's more like the best I can afford. The bills are going to pile up and I’m not sure when I can stand and walk on my own. The doctors assure me that I will get better once all the swelling and inflammation are gone, but not one of them are giving me any idea when that will be. All I get is them placating me with the fact that recovery times differ for everyone, and they can’t give me an exact date. I can kind of understand that, but why can’t they give me a general time frame?
“Was she telling me the truth?”
I avoid looking at his eyes. “We’ll make it.”
“You will, but you will do it with me helping you.”
“If you think I’m going to take any money from you, Jake, you have to be high.” In response to that, his lips spread into a smile—in a way that you can tell he’s fighting not to laugh. “I don’t see one thing funny about any of this,” I growl.
“How about the fact most women who have a seven-year-old and haven’t been paid one dime of child support would be demanding money?”
“I’m the one that decided to have Lennon. You didn’t know about him for three years. It would have been crazy to come after you for child support, Jake.”
“But you said you thought I was told after that. Why didn’t you ask me for child support then? You didn’t ask, not once.”
“I didn’t say I thought you were told, I said Jeff told you.”
“He didn’t.”
“He did,” I insist.
“Such confidence in him. Is that why you didn’t ask me for money?” Jake asks, and I can tell I’ve upset him, but I know Jeff wouldn’t lie to me. He knows how much I’ve been hurt. He wouldn’t do that…
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, you didn’t have to ask me for money because you were gettingeverythingyou needed from my brother.”
The emphasis he puts on everything explains exactly what he’s implying—the dick.
“Just when I start to think you’re the man I always thought you were, you go and prove you’re just an asshole.”
“Katie,” he exhales and for a second, I think I see regret on his features as he rubs the tension at the back of his neck.
“I never accepted a dime from Jeff, even after we began really dating. The only thing he’s given are gifts he gave for special occasions or toys for Lennon. He did buy my van as an engagement gift, but I plan on paying him back and I still plan on it—it will just take longer.”
“That pride of yours is going to do you in, Katie. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it?”
“Spoken like a man who has never been in that position,” I complain.
