Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“You don’t have to—”
“Don’t, Maddie,” I say quietly. “I know we haven’t discussed finances yet, and we will, but for now, let me pay. I’m rich, after all.”
She grumbles under her breath, most of which I can’t understand, but there’s a thank-you in there.
By the time we get home, Maddie looks as whipped as Grayce and I’m guessing that’s from worry. It’s not that I wasn’t worried, but I was confident that we got her the proper treatment.
I carry the pharmacy bag in one hand, the car seat in the other, bump the door with my hip, and try not to wake Grayce snoozing under her tiger sticker.
Maddie exhales like a diver breaking the surface.
“You okay?” I ask, because she looks like she’s about to shatter or sleep on her feet.
She leans her hip against the counter and rubs the bridge of her nose. For a second, she doesn’t fight herself. “I hate feeling powerless,” she admits, voice raw. “I know exactly how the system works. I know how to make a plan and follow it. Then she gets sick and none of my rules matter.” Her mouth twists. “I don’t ask for help.”
“I noticed,” I say, and somehow it comes out warm.
Her eyes flick up to mine, blue and careful. I expect the snark, the shove away. What she says instead is, “I’m trying.”
“I know,” I say. “Me too.”
Something loosens in my chest and I glance at my watch. “I’ve got to head to the arena in about forty minutes,” I say, careful, like I’m testing the ice.
She nods, no heat in it. “Okay.”
Grayce squirms and I look down to find her eyes open, inquisitive and locked on me. I lift her out of the car carrier, noting that she tugs on her ear before putting a hand to my scruffy face.
I offer her a knuckle and she latches on to it, solemn and fierce. “Hey,” I tell her, as if she can understand me. “You were a warrior princess this morning. Ten out of ten for bravery. Eleven out of ten for screaming.”
Maddie snorts. “She gets that from you.”
“The screaming?” I feign offense.
“The warrior princess thing,” she says, and the corner of her mouth lifts.
Drawing my attention to just how full her lips are and the peek of straight teeth beyond.
It strikes me that I’d like to kiss that mouth, and then it hits me a hundred times harder that it’s a ridiculous thought. I set it aside so fast I get mental whiplash. The last thing we need is me complicating a situation that’s already a minefield.
Luckily, Maddie doesn’t seem to notice and heads into the living room. She settles onto the couch, and I set Grayce’s playmat on the rug and lower her onto it. She immediately flips to her belly, commits to the most perfect plank in the history of babies and then her butt raises up in the air. She wobbles and then flops back down to the mat with a little grunt of distress.
“She’s frustrated,” I murmur.
“She wants to walk,” Maddie says, watching with a kind of helpless adoration. “She’s not satisfied with pulling up anymore. She wants to move.”
“Dangerous combination,” I say. “Takes after her mother.”
“Excuse me?” She arches an eyebrow. “You saying I’m a danger to myself?”
“I’m saying you’re relentless,” I correct. “And you don’t like being told to wait.”
She thinks about denying it. Then she sighs. “Fair.”
♦
Later, as I’m pulling into the players’ parking lot, I receive a text from an unknown number. This is Dr. Klemmer’s office—checking in. Call if Grayce’s pain worsens.
Then another text from a number I don’t recognize and clearly a contact Brienne must have reached out to. Pediatric ENT if you need a follow-up. Happy to help—Dr. Rao.
I stare at the screen, at the quiet power of a village spinning up around a baby who didn’t ask for any of this and deserves it all. I forward both texts to Maddie and then add a note of my own. Text me if you need me to pick up anything for you or Grayce on the way home.
A bubble appears. Disappears. She’s probably figuring out how to politely decline the offer, at least for herself.
The bubble appears again and I wait.
Okay.
It’s only one word, but it’s a big one for someone who doesn’t like depending on anyone.
I rest my head back against the seat and for the first time in a week, I have a renewed sense of energy.
I’m still terrified. Exhausted in a way I don’t truly understand. And yet, everything seems to be very right in my world.
CHAPTER 12
Maddie
The house is quiet and I take advantage of Grayce sleeping in her crib for her afternoon nap, having dozed off in my arms after a dose of pain reliever. She doesn’t seem to be getting worse, so I’m hopeful this will resolve on its own.