Page 83 of An Adventure For Aster

Daphne grinned. “You are, but you never let people know that.”

He was scrambling the eggs and reached down to get the pan with his other hand and when he went to pull it up it fell out of his hand.

Fuck.

He shook his hand off and flexed his fingers and then picked it up quickly. “Sorry about the noise.”

“What happened?” she asked. “Why are you flexing your hand?”

“Nothing,” he said. “I slept on my arm funny last night. Every once in a while some of my fingers go numb when that happens. I had to shake it off in the shower too.”

Daphne didn’t look as if she believed him, but he went back to making breakfast like it was no big deal and purposely used his left hand to show it was fine.

Which it was, but he couldn’t stand that every once in a while if he bent his arm just right he got a shooting pain in his chest or shoulder; other times his fingers lost their feeling. It wasn’t that he couldn’t move them, but he couldn’t feel that he had a grip on something.

“How often does that happen?” Daphne asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Not enough to even count it.”

“Maybe you should get a pillow to prop your arm up or something.”

“Or just not sleep on that side,” he said, laughing. “I slept hard and that’s a good thing. Do you know how long it’s been since I could close my eyes and not worry about having to jump up and deal with danger?”

“Thank God for that,” Daphne said. “Though you might get called into a fire.”

He let out a sigh. “There aren’t many calls,” he said. “And by the time I get there it’s under control or nothing. I’m just outside, I told you that. Even Raine doesn’t bug me about it too much, so don’t you do that.”

“I don’t think she likes you to do that either,” Daphne said.

“Did she say anything about it?” he asked. It’d never come up with them other than the one time Raine slipped and told Daphne.

“No,” Daphne said.

“Then why say that to me,” he said. “Don’t try to guilt me into things.”

“Sorry,” Daphne said, smirking. “But you know I worry.”

He let out a sigh. “I know.”

“How do you even have time with your job?”

“Zane has told me to do what I need to. Lily too. They love this community and know there is a lack of volunteers. Don’t you think it’s a nice thing I’m seeped into it here for the long haul?”

“Trying to convince me to come and that you’re staying, aren’t you?”

“Yes to both, but I’m not lying to you either.” He finished with their eggs and put them on plates with the toast that had popped.

“I know you’re not. It’s just such a big decision. I’ve never lived anywhere else.”

“So you’re scared?” he asked. He wasn’t sure why that never occurred to him. “Change is hard, I know.”

“It is,” Daphne said. “But it’s not a hardship either. It’s so nice here and quiet. I’m really worried that I won’t find a job and then just be sitting around feeling like more of a failure than I do now.”

He took a deep breath. “You’re not a failure. You’re a hard worker and stubborn as can be. Let me ask you this—Mom and Dad are putting the house up for sale in a few weeks, right?”

She’d told him that last night. He’d been shocked to hear it’d be that soon, but his parents were ready to move out and didn’t care that there were things to fix in their house hoping a buyer wouldn’t care as much.

“So they say,” Daphne said. “Though it’s not even close to ready and they don’t seem to be in a hurry.”

---