Page 62 of The Kidnapped

“Nothing.” Hollis shrugged a shoulder.

“Hollis, you can’t just do nothing. She’s your friend.”

“I know. But I’ve never been in this situation before. I’ve never really had friends as an adult. And when I dated, they were people I was with, not exactly friends first, so I don’t know how to deal with liking a friend and not being able to be with them.”

“I think it starts with talking to her,” Kenna reasoned. “You might not get the outcome you want, but you should at least address the elephant in the relationship now.”

“What do I even say? She snuck up on me. One day, I’m sitting in a support group meeting just for something to do and maybe something to help, and there’s this beautiful woman sitting across from me. Next, we’re going to coffee, and she’s asking me to go with her to meet Dylan and watch the show. I stay at her place, and she’s stayed over at mine as well, and there are these feelings now. I just want to hold her all the time.”

“That’s all you want? What about those rewards?” Kenna teased.

“I’d like those, too,” Hollis replied. “I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this way before.”

“Talk to her, Hollis.”

“That’s what got me into this mess to begin with.”

“And you can’t help whom you have feelings for. Your heart got you into this mess.” Kenna laughed a little. “You can’t do anything about that. Maybe just give her a chance to explain why she said no. You didn’t do that the first time. She may feel the same way and is just not ready. Maybe she doesn’t. Either way, just give her a chance to explain. Then, figure out how to proceed from there.”

“I guess.”

“Hey, why don’t we go for drinks after work? Aaliyah is hanging out with her cousins at my sister’s place tonight. Ripley and I were going to go out. Why don’t we grab a few people from here and go out? I’ll buy the first round.”

Hollis sighed and said, “Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’d rather be alone. Well, with my mom, technically.”

“Are you sure?” Kenna checked.

“I’m sure. But thank you for the offer,” Hollis said, standing up. “And if you don’t have Aaliyah tonight, you could always ask for your reward from your wife.”

Kenna laughed and replied, “I guess I could. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I just have to get past it, like everything else,” Hollis told her.

???

“What do you want for dinner tonight? I haven’t gone shopping yet, so we don’t have much, but I can go pick something up, if you want. Looks like we’ve got a couple chicken breasts. Is there a recipe you–” Hollis stopped when she heard the doorbell. “Are you expecting someone?” she asked her mother, who was lying on the sofa.

When she didn’t hear a response, Hollis closed the refrigerator and walked into the living room to find the woman asleep. Hollis tossed a small smile in her mother’s direction but was secretly worried because Olivia had been sleeping a lot more lately. She’d also been spending more and more time in bed and had a harder time moving around without Hollis’s help. The second ring of the bell brought Hollis from her worried thoughts back to the present and made her focus straight on the person who could wake up her mother if Hollis didn’t get to the door before the third time they rang the bell. She pulled open the door and saw Raleigh standing there with two brown paper bags in her arms.

“Raleigh?”

“I know I just showed up, but I also tried texting you earlier, and you haven’t responded, so… I took a chance.”

“I meant to. I just–”

“It’s okay. Can I come in?”

“Depends. What are you bringing with you?” Hollis asked.

“Dinner,” Raleigh replied, walking inside. When Hollis took one of the bags from her, Raleigh looked over at the sofa and whispered, “She’s asleep?”

“A lot these days, yeah.”

“Will cooking wake her up?” Raleigh asked.

“Not likely.”

“Have you already made dinner?”

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