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“No. You sit. I’ve been on a plane and in a car half the day. I need to move and get my steps in.” She checked her Fitbit, noting her number of steps.
After the pot of coffee brewed, she poured the liquid in a mug and walked over to the couch with two steaming cups.
She leveled me with a stare after handing me my cup. “I know there are things going on with you.”
My whole body tensed. Patty never asked me about my former life, a life that I wanted to forget. She knew the rules, but the concerned look in her eye told me that this time was different. If she asked me about my past, I wouldn’t be able to tell her. Mostly because I didn’t want anyone else involved in my mess.
She placed one soft hand on mine on the table. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to pry. I don’t know your past. But I know you now.” She patted my hand twice, an affectionate look in her eye. “And I know you are a good person. A person who has taken exceptional care of my mother these past few years, even staying with her and lying by her at the hospital. Do you have plans for where you’re going to go? I need to know you’re going to be okay.”
My eyes peered over to Eleanor in her bed, and the corner of my lips tipped upward. She was my confidant in all things. She’d suffered a stroke a few months ago, which had deteriorated her health. I’d refused to be away from her when she was at the hospital, staying right by her bed until the doctors decided that she could be cared for at home.
My eyes focused on the lines etched on the table as I gripped the heart-shaped pendant they’d given me. “I’ll be okay. I just can’t …”I just can’t tell you where I’m going because I don’t know what my next steps are.
But one thing I knew was that I was a survivor. I’d do what I had to do to survive.
Patty ducked her head so that I had to meet her eyes. “I want to help you find a new job.” She tucked an escaping hair behind my ear. “I do. Because you helped me and because I know you have a good heart.”
Her words hit me like a truck; her kindness was overwhelming. I nodded through tear-filled eyes, knowing I’d miss this family—my unconventional family.
She nodded resolutely after watching me a moment, as if it was settled. “I will get you that job you need. But it will be in Illinois. If you are willing.”
Chapter 4
Charles
I snuck out of Vivian’s bed, careful not to wake her, but as soon as I stood, she stirred and opened her eyes. She lifted her head from the pillow, and her eyes bore into mine. Her sleek black hair fell over her shoulders, and she pushed herself to a sitting position.
“Charles? Leaving already?” Her glance slid my way, raking boldly over me.
I nodded and slipped on my boxers and slacks. “Yes. Sorry, I have to get back home.”
“Home. A home is not a house; it’s the people you choose to share it with.”Natalie’s words. Not mine.
And although I had the girls I loved beyond comprehension, my home since Nat’s death had been incomplete. It was something that I’d come to terms with.
“Charles,” she uttered, her voice silky.
I had blanked out on Vivian again.
I turned toward her, my face apologetic. She knew what our relationship was. I didn’t lie and pretend to be someone I wasn’t. I had been an empty shell of my former self since Natalie had passed. That was all I could give Vivian. It was all I had.
“I’m sorry. My mind has been in other places.”
All the stress from looking for a replacement for Patty was weighing me down. I’d been home for almost a week now, and there were still no prospects remotely qualified to fill Patty’s position.
She smiled suggestively. “Your mind and other things were fine thirty minutes ago.”
She tore off the covers and exposed herself. I turned away.
It had taken two whole years for me to give in to Vivian’s flirtation, yet it didn’t let up the guilt. How could I be cheating when my wife was already dead?
In the next second, her hands were around me, and her lips were against my neck. “Stay, Charles. I’ll make it worth it. I promise.”
I extracted her hands and peered down at her. Vivian was stunningly beautiful with her light-olive skin and silky, straight jet-black hair that rested just above her waist.
“You know I can’t. I have to get back to the girls.”
Her calm, put-together demeanor faltered, and I exhaled deeply. I didn’t want to give her hope, hope for a future between us that would never come.
