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“Are you?” she countered. “I’ve got a roast in the crockpot at home waiting, if that’s okay. I thought you might be hungry after your flight and…”
“That sounds incredible. I’m just ready to get to the house, get Max to bed, put Trigger in the yard for a bit because she’s been driving me nuts on the flight, and finally kick off my boots.”
“I see,” she replied evasively, opening the back door to her car and putting Max’s sleeping form down in his car seat before buckling him in. She heard the other door open and stood, only to come face to face with Eric.
“… And to be alone so we can finally say ‘hello’ properly or talk,” Eric said quietly. “I’m not big on advertising for the entire world to see how I want to kiss my wife. I’m not a ‘public display’ kind of guy.”
“I’m glad,” she whispered softly, “because I’m not either.”
They stood there for a moment looking at each other, before Eric smiled shyly to her in the dim light cascading down on them from the parking lot lights.
“Shall we go home, then?”
“Yeah,” she smiled. “Let’s do.”
* * *
Pulling up to the house,they got out of the car and tried to keep from waking up Max. It was late and the moon was illuminating the steps up to the doorway easily. Her hands were trembling as she watched Eric heft up his bag onto his shoulder… before scooping up Max in his arms, just like any father would.
Eric barely knew this boy, yet was more of a dad to him than anyone else in his life. It meant so much to her of his easy acceptance and unconditional friendship offered… and seeing the two of them playing in the yard together with Trigger during his last visit, that was when she knew she was falling for her pen pal.
Opening the door, Eric shrugged off the bag and let it drop onto the floor before walking towards Max’s room. She fussed behind him silently, on alert and ready to take over in case Max woke up or started crying… only to see Eric lay him gently in his crib, placing a steadying hand on his back to calm the tiny boy before turning to look at her.
“Is there anything else I should do?” he whispered softly, looking at her.
“Nope,” she murmured thickly, touched that he wanted to be there, wanted to be a parent with her. “That’s perfect.”
The two of them walked out of Max’s room and he pulled the door to just slightly, allowing them to hear if her son woke up. Without a word, she moved into the kitchen to make a plate for Eric and heard him follow, using the can opener for Trigger. The dog was jumping around, her nails clacking on the tile floor, as she happily followed Eric out the back door to the yard.
She tore off a chunk of French bread, putting it on the side of his plate and hers, carrying them to the small dining table where her roses had been since receiving them and looked up as Eric walked back in.
“Hey,” he said simply in greeting, looking a little unsure of himself.
“C’mon,” she urged nervously. “I know you must be hungry, and I wanted to wait for you so we could sit together.”
“Madison?”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing,” he said quietly, and moved to wash his hands before turning around and putting his hands on the counter, leaning back casually. “Actually, it’s not nothing. Can I see how bad your hand was, and what happened to it?”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” she began, knowing this was going to come up sooner or later. “The jeweler still has my ring and said he might…”
“I don’t care about the ring,” he muttered, taking her hand in his and inspecting her scar that was there along her finger, running from her knuckle to her fingertip. “I care that you are okay. The ring can be replaced, but…”
You can’t,he was going to say, and she knew it. She looked up at him, the unspoken words hanging between them, moving to lay her other hand on his cheek as his eyes held hers.
“I’m so sorry you had to deal with this alone,” he whispered, his eyes searching hers. “I know this is crazy and we barely know each other, but I feel like I actuallydoknow you – like we’ve known each other for years, and just seem to click. Does that make any sense?”
“I understand,” she said softly, her thumb stroking his cheek. “It seems so natural, so easy between us, and I keep waiting for something to happen, for something to go wrong.”
“Does it have to?”
“No,” she admitted, not moving. “I suppose I’m just afraid…”
“Afraid of me? Afraid of what?” he asked softly, bringing her once injured hand to his lips and kissing her ring finger tenderly.
“I’m afraid to have my heart broken,” she confessed, not looking away from him, and feeling her throat thicken with emotion as the truth hung between them. That was what was holding her back so much, because she was so frightened that something was going to go horribly wrong. She could handle the disappointment and pain from leaving Asher… but if something went wrong with Eric?
