AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Just looking to help as many people as I can.” I hold my smile as I step away, shooing off a flurry of emotions that I’ll need to deal with later. For now, Sin is in his role of distrustful client. It’s up to me to win him over.
His brisk footsteps close in quickly from behind.
We stop at the courtyard, where a few residents have opted to spend their morning lounging on lawn furniture, enjoying the sun. We walk in silence. He takes an interest in a resident, Angie, lost in the strokes of a painting she’s creating. I use the time to take a closer look at his paperwork, only now noticing he’s left several areas blank.
It’s not uncommon. People tend to be guarded their first time walking through. It’s a long way fromnice to meet youtoI trust you with my loved one, but it’s a familiar road I’ve traveled many, many times.
“It’s you,” Sin says, and I look up.
Seeing the painting this close, I realize the resemblance is uncanny. I’d almost believe it was me if not for the elegance of the off-the-shoulder gown Angie has painted her in, or the delight in her eyes that could never radiate from mine. It’s how I want to look. Confident. Complete. Happy. Instead, my heart is riddled with so many holes, half the time it feels like it’s about to collapse under all the damage.
Taking a closer look, I see the white curl in her subject’s curly black hair—identical to the one that inexplicably grows at my right temple. Angie nods, beaming with a grin as she silently lets me know it is me.
It’s a version of me that could only happen in Angie’s beautiful imagination.
Grateful, I hug Angie, being gentle to avoid overdoing it. Her muscles are weak. Every word from her lips is a fight, but they’re always worth waiting for. Especially today as she sounds out two words.
“H-h-hap-p-py b-b-b-irth-d-day.”
My heart leaps as she completes the short sentence. It’s the most she’s said in a week, and I find myself speechless, if not a bit teary-eyed.
“Sorry, do you mind if I steal Ivy for a second?”
Derrick interrupts, probably to keep me from outright blubbering. He’s more than my boss, though no one would know it. We’ve been a couple for nearly a year but keeping our relationship under wraps was his idea as much as mine. Sort of.
I keep one eye on Sin, watching as he carries on a one-sided conversation with Angie. He doesn’t seem concerned that she isn’t responding. On the contrary, his smile is genuine, even though he receives nothing more than a few polite nods back. But I’m ready to jump in if he demands any more.
Derrick’s hands stay pocketed, the way they always do when he’s hiding something. Maybe it’s a surprise. Like dinner at a fancy restaurant on the waterfront. Or cuddling together in front of a romantic bonfire on the beach.
Between his work schedule and mine—which is a result of his—it’s been weeks since I’ve had any action. I’m bursting at the seams with sexual frustration, so if my birthday celebration is a beer, a grilled cheese, and twenty solid minutes of hitting it hard during whatever sci-fi show he can’t live without, I’ll take it.
I’m grinning like an idiot when he says low, “I really need you to bring this one home, babe. Seal the deal. The numbers need to look good. I’ve got a big meeting tonight.”
“Tonight? But—”
His cell phone buzzes, and he takes it, mouthing, “Gotta go,” as he winks and rushes back inside.
“Why are you in this, Ms. Palmer?” Sin asks as he sidles up to me.
“What?” I scoop my jaw up off the ground, realizing he isn’t referring to my conversation with Derrick.
Sin means my work. Of course, he does. His thousand-yard stare roves across the lush grounds, taking it in while not focusing on anything at all.
“The same reason everyone works here. It’s personal. We’ve all been here. Helping family members who need assistance.”
He turns, narrowing his eyes. “Family?” The way he says the word is strained, as if he doesn’t believe me.
It compels me to share more than I normally would. “My mother had a degenerative condition. There was a lot of pain in her last years of life. I did all I could.”
I don’t talk about the specifics. How by the time a doctor diagnosed her liver disease, nothing could be done. That it never stopped her from the drugs or the alcohol. Or that despite the unbearable pain she suffered every second of her last days of life, she pushed me away until she was too weak or too tired to put up a fight. There’s no way I can explain how you can love a person with all your heart when they seem to hate you with all of theirs, so I don’t try.
By the look on Sin’s face, I’ve already given him an uncomfortable amount of information to unpack. So, I wrap it up, quickly finishing. “I did what I could to make her comfortable.”
The hard lines of his face soften. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.”
“Thank you.” The practiced smile I use in times like these emerge, and I nod appreciatively, steering our discussion back where it belongs. On him. And not because Derrick wants me to close the deal, but because this man and his family need me. And that’s why I’m here.
“The first steps are never easy,” I say as a gentle reminder. “We have different levels of care and service. Can you tell me more about the person who brought you here today?”
