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“Apparently so.”
“I see,” I said again. I hated to ask, but I had to, because I didn’t believe for one second that she’d left her dad on his own by choice. “So why aren’t you with him? At the farm?”
Another deep, shuddering breath. “Because he says it hurts him too much to see me right now.”
Fuck. That cut her, deeply, I could tell. I didn’t know what to say, so I remained quiet, just stood there watching her clean that damn mixing bowl. Then a realization hit me. If the restaurant was closed, and she wasn’t allowed to go to the farm, she was all alone. She’d be spending the next few days waiting on the test results by herself. “You should go stay with Zara.”
I felt her flinch. “No.”
“You haven’t told her?”
She shook her head. “She loves my dad so much. I don’t want to tell her until I know what to say. I mean, it might be nothing and then I’d be upsetting her for no reason.”
“She might want to know.”
Dropping the dishcloth in the soapy water, she leaned her hands on the edge of the sink, her head bowed. “If I tell her, it makes it real. And I can’t deal with that.”
“Okay. Then you’ll stay here.”
“Huh?”
“For tonight, at least. Stay here.” It wasn’t really a request, and I did that on purpose, knowing she’d say no if she thought I was giving her an out.
“Fine, whatever. But I’m not interested in…you know…”
“Come on, do you really think I’m gonna make a move on you with my son a few feet down the hall while you’re worried sick about your dad?”
“No, of course not. Sorry.”
I’d have hugged her if I’d thought she would have let me, but she was definitely giving off aDon’t fucking touch mevibe, so I restrained myself. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t have a spare room, so you’ll have to bunk with me, but I’ll give you a shirt to wear, if you want.”
“Okay.”
“Good. I’m just gonna head outside and do some yard work while there’s still daylight. Send Jesse out to let me know if you need anything else.”
“Sure.”
I went to go, pausing when she said softly, “Gabe?”
When I looked back, she’d turned away from the sink, and was finally looking at me. I felt a terrible ache in my heart at the expression in her eyes. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Before I went outside, I thought I’d better explain the situation to Jesse, so I went down the hall and knocked lightly on his door. “Hey bud, can I talk to you for a minute?”
He sat up, pushing his glasses up his nose, eyeing me carefully. “Is it about Allegra?”
Perceptive kid. “Yeah, it is.”
“What’s wrong with her? Is she sick or something?”
“No, she’s not sick. But she’s very upset about something. It’s her own private business and I think she’d be more upset if she thought you knew, because she’s trying to be really strong right now. So I’m not going to tell you what it is, if that’s okay?”
His face was a mixture of confusion and concern, but he nodded, so I continued.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave her on her own right now, so I’ve told her to stay here. With us.”
