Page 280 of Steamy Ever After

“You’ve had a lot on your mind, Peyton.”

“Brodie, I don’t?—”

“Stop, sweetheart. I’m going to shower, and then we’ll have breakfast. After that, we’ll talk, okay?”

“I should, too.”

“Shower?” he asked.

“Uh, yes. I’ll, um, wait.”

“Honey, you’re killing me. I am the last person you need to be so nervous around.”

“I’m so…oh, no…” She was crying. “What is wrong with me?”

“Come here.” Brodie took her hand and led her to the sofa, sat down, and pulled her with him. “My ma had her hands full when we were all little, as you can imagine.”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t speak for my brothers and sisters, but what she did always seemed to work for me.”

“What was that?”

“She’d tell me to close my eyes, take five slow, deep breaths, then open them and tell her what was wrong. If I couldn’t, I’d close my eyes again, take five more deep breaths, and so on. Sometimes, it took two or three rounds, but it almost always worked. Wanna try?”

“Not really.”

Brodie laughed. “Okay.”

“But I will.” Peyton closed her eyes and took five deep breaths.

“Can you tell me what’s bothering you?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to.”

“Five more breaths, then. We’ll keep going until you’re ready.” This time Brodie breathed in and out with her.

“Better?”

She shut her eyes tight. “I don’t want this to end, but…”

“I see. You think I want life to be the way it was before Finn’s accident.”

“Do you?”

He shook his head. “If I had my way, I’d never leave.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I’m so tired, and I can’t stop crying.”

“Honey, I wish you’d let me take care of you.”

“But you have your own life, and I know that, and I know you need to leave.”

Brodie stood and pulled her up from the sofa. “Come with me.”

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