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Tatum’s eyes burned with tears.
“So. This happens.” She licked her lips. “Everywhere I go. I look for her. And then I settle somewhere. And make friends. Fall in love.” She shrugged and sighed. “And then Sutton shows up.”
Adele nodded and checked the sandwich in the skillet.
“And sometimes she fucks everything up, and sometimes I do.”
“It’s okay to fuck things up now and then.”
“She’s an addict.” Tatum blinked and then swiped at the tears that streaked her face. “Today, she showed up to ask me for money for her daughter.”
“How old is her daughter?”
“Six. She says she has a cavity. Sutton wanted money for the dentist.”
“And you gave it to her?”
Tatum nodded. “Yeah. Because what if Bryony really has a cavity and needs a filling?”
“I would have done the same,” Adele agreed.
“But what if she took the money for something else? I mean, she said she’s been clean for six months, but what if she was lying? What if she wasn’t lying, but I handed her that cash, and she walked out of here and made the wrong decision?”
Adele flipped the sandwich.
“How long have you been taking care of your sister?”
Tatum laughed softly. “Since I was sixteen. Feels like forever.”
“That’s a lot. On your shoulders.”
“It is,” she said with a nod. “And it’s a lot for me to put on someone else.”
“Charlie?” Adele tipped her head.
“He deserves so much more.”
“Sweetheart, you deserve so much more,” Adele argued. “And Charlie’s strong. Lean on him all you need. You’re not going to drive him away.”
“How do you know that?”
“He learned how to love a woman from his father’s example,” Adele said simply. “He’ll love you through anything you face.”
Tatum rubbed her eyes as Adele turned back to the stove. She stirred the tomato soup and flipped the grilled cheese again. When they heard another knock at the door, she didn’t even turn around.
“That’d be Charlie.”
33
He hadn’t really believed she would pack up and run away just because Sutton had shown up at Murphy’s Brews earlier. But still, Charlie couldn’t deny the relief he felt when she opened her door and nodded for him to come inside. When he heard someone in the kitchen, he assumed it was Sutton. But it didn’t matter. Before Tatum could even reach past him to close the door, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight against his chest.
She fought him for a moment.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled into his chest.
“I know you are.” He kissed the top of her head and held her tighter.
“Today was mild for Sutton.”
