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Her dad had once told her that she should be careful getting overly involved in vices like gambling. That it was one thing to enjoy the odd game with the McClouds, but she had to be careful about going any further with it.
She had always thought it was charming that he was so concerned about things. It just made her miss him now, especially with the strangeness of the situation making her own saliva feel like ash in her mouth.
She wasn’t used to feeling dramatic.
There had just been a preponderance of dramatic feelings lately, and she did not like it.
It felt like this was crashing in with Byron coming in a couple of days, and she felt overwhelmed.
Her father had taught her to handle everything as it came. He was one of the calmest men she had ever known. Quiet and measured and just utterly relaxed with each and every change that life brought.
Even when his health had declined and the doctors had put him on hospice he’d been at peace. Accepting of the cycle, wherever he was at in it.
It was one of the things that made him such a great veterinarian. One of the things that made him such a wonderful and accomplished member of his field. Such a good dad.
But this was... She wasn’t able to accomplish that. Not right now. She was losing hold on something that she hadn’t even known was slipping, and she didn’t know what to do about it.
And what could she do when she felt like Lachlan was suddenly the source of some of her upset? When she felt like some of what was going on inside her was related to whatever was happening with him. To the way that he had involved her in this quest.
It didn’t make any sense.Shedidn’t make any sense, and she wasn’t used to it.
She went through the motions of the game, folding midway through, and getting up to babysit the cookies. Then she got them out and pretended to watch them cool.
After one more game, she decided that she couldn’t stay anymore.
“I’m not feeling very well,” she said. “I think I’m going to go.”
“What?” Lachlan looked at her. “Are you okay?”
“It’s just...my stomach. I’ll... I’ll talk to you later.”
She got up, leaving all of her things—her bowls and food—and heading quickly out the front door toward her car.
She heard footsteps behind her and the door close firmly, and honestly, she should’ve known that Lachlan wasn’t going to let her get away with a sudden exit.
She turned around and there he was, backlit by the porch light.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Nothing. I just... I don’t feel well, and I realized that Byron is going to be here in two days, and I don’t have everything prepared for him. Maybe I’m actually anxious about that. I think that’s it. I don’t know. There was just something about... I just... There’s a lot of stuff.” At least that was honest.
“Yeah.”
He walked slowly down the steps, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Should I leave? Should I go with you? I don’t want you at home by yourself not feeling well.” He frowned. “I don’t like that you live by yourself.”
“It’s probably just a stomach bug. I don’t need tending.”
“I’m glad that you don’t think you do, but I’m not entirely convinced of that.”
“Stay. You invited Fia over and I think it’s going well. She seems to like you.”
“Maybe. Or maybe she’s just polite, and she’s enjoying the free food and the money she’s winning from us.”
“Well. You’re going to have to make sure that Elsie doesn’t kill her for winning too many times in a row. You know how she gets.”
“I do. But I’m sure that Fia can handle her own, given that Alaina is her younger sister, and you know howsheis.”
