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“I think not,” he says with a smirk. “I would have left you at home to rest, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. Besides, you can’t wear the boots just yet, remember?”
Shoot. I bite my lip and try to think of how to tell him I need to work to pay off the people my dad owes money to.
“Hey,” he said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you with that comment. I shouldn’t tease you; I’ll try to do better.”
Everything out of Wade’s mouth blows my ever-loving mind. One thing after another is somehow more perfect than the last.
“Thank you, but that’s not why I’m upset,” I tell him. “I really need to earn money.”
He leans back in the seat of his truck and studies my face. “Do you trust me to take care of you?”
“Yes,” I say meekly, a knot of emotions forming in my throat.
“And didn’t I promise that your problems are now my problems?”
I nod because I can’t form another word.
“Good. Glad we have that settled. Now, I want you to stop worrying about that shit and get to work at your new job.”
He doesn’t explain further, but he does, for once, let me use my crutches. His hand remains steady against me as we make our way up the steps of the construction trailer at the Ingalls house.
“What’s my new job?” I ask once we’re inside.
I look around at the pile of folders and paperwork next to the desktop computer, and I think I know.
“You have a choice. You could sit there and read a book or scroll on your phone. If you’re feeling up to anything else, you could take a crack at all this admin stuff that I’m behind on. You did say you were organized. But only if you’re feeling up to it. I’ll pay you either way.”
What other choice do I have? I’m not going to sit here like a lump. But then I think about it, and it seems like something I might have fun with. I do like cleaning up and helping people get organized. It’s one of those things that, when I was a kid, made me feel like I was in control of something in my life.
“Sure,” I tell him. “Where will you be?”
Wade closes the distance between us and presses a sustaining kiss to my lips.
“Right here with you. I’m not leaving your side.”
I sit down at the computer as he logs me in, asking me to handle the backlog of invoices first.
I shake my head. “Bad boy.”
“Yeah, I know. Buck is on top of all this stuff, normally.”
While he props up my bum foot on a folding chair, I hesitantly ask, “So, will I just be doing this until Buck comes back? If so, I’ll have to take some time to line up another job when he returns from family leave.”
Wade shakes his head. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Why not?”
“If Wade can hire Grace when we didn’t have it in the budget, then we can hire you as well.”
I don’t know why I keep protesting. I guess I would rather die than be in anybody’s way or not earn my keep. “But Grace makes money for the company. It’s different.”
Finally, having had enough, Wade scrubs a palm over his face. “Okay. Look. How much does your dad owe these guys?”
I wince and then tell him the number.
He doesn’t even blink. “Fine. Then that’s your stipend until Buck comes back.”
My jaw drops. “That’s more than twice what I would make as a construction worker in a year. Or as your assistant!”
