Page 92 of Wanting a Family Man

A few minutes later, he waved for her to go ahead of him up the stairs. She neatly levered one crutch up to the top of the stairwell, touching the toe of her injured foot to the step as she used the other crutch and the handrail to hop her way to the top.

“Your ankle is getting better?”

“Swelling’s down. It doesn’t really hurt unless I try to use it.”

Since it was raining, they hung back in the galley. It was stripped of its appliances and hatch doors, but wearing a shiny coat of navy blue with crisp white trim. The paint was dry up here and all the windows were open so the smell was only a lingering tang.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she set aside her mask and released the buttons down the front of her coveralls.

“What areyoudoing here? It’s Sunday.”

“I’m only making straight time.”

“I don’t care what Logan’s paying you. But why is he making you work on a weekend for straight time?”

“I want the hours. You yelled at me the last time I said this, but”—she pulled her arms free of her coverall sleeves, then tied them around her waist, the way Sophie often did—“I’m going to Florida. To see my dad.”

“See?” he repeated with astonishment. “You found him?” He sank onto the settee, which was only partially rebuilt so lacked upholstery or any sort of cushion. The table was gone, and it was just a bench of rough plywood under his ass. “That’s news.”

“I know. But aside from the fact that I really, really want to meet him, it’s a chance to get on my feet. Foot,” she corrected wryly. “I’ve looked up job prospects and there are enough options for a start. He invited me to stay in his casita, but I’m sure I could find a sublet with a roommate soon as I have a job. Ihatethe idea of leaving Storm, but I know she’s safe and loved. Reid and Emma said I’m welcome to visit anytime. They want to move to Vancouver after the end of the season so it won’t be as hard to get to them once they’re there.”

Trystan nodded, trying to fit these new pieces into the puzzle he’d already been struggling to assemble in his mind. “When?”

“Tomorrow. There was room on the flight to Victoria.”

Tomorrow.

“From there, I’ll take the ferry to Washington and fly out of Seattle. Reid booked the flights. I was going to catch the ferry from here and take the bus to Victoria, but he said he has points.”

That was bullshit, but Trystan figured Reid was just trying to do his little sister’s aunt a solid.

“And you’re definitely going because…” He leaned his elbows on his thighs, surprised how winded he was. “This is for you and your dad, right? It’s not about me?”

Her expression softened and her mouth twisted wryly.

“There’s no point in running away from you if you’re not going to be here, is there? Sophie told me Johnny is taking over theStorm Ridgeso you can get back to work.”

“I would have told you that myself.” That’s one of the reasons he was here. “We just finalized it the other day.” He didn’t feel any relief in learning her plan to leave had nothing to do with him, though. It cut pretty deeply, to be honest. Especially that she was leaving so abruptly.

“I need to meet my dad and his family. My family, I guess.” Emotions flexed across her expression. “That’s all me and nothing to do with you. I don’t hate you. I only hate that things are awkward between us. I didn’t want them to be.”

“Nothing’s awkward.” He rose and opened his arms. “Come here.”

“I might have paint—” She looked down.

“I don’t care.” He realized she couldn’t walk to him so he went to her. “Please? I need to know we’re okay.”

“We are.” She let herself tip forward and fit herself against him in the way that felt familiar and right. Her head rested on his shoulder. He ran his hands over her narrow back then closed his arms tightly around her, holding her up while he gently crushed her, trying to stem the sensation of a deadly bleed in his chest.

He loved her. He closed his eyes against that knowledge, but it didn’t change the fact that it was true. He loved her and he couldn’t tell her because he needed to let her go. She needed to meet her family.

“I don’t regret anything about this. About you.” She tipped her head back to look up at him. Her arms were around his waist, her soft breasts mashed to his chest, and the knot of her sleeves against his fly. “I’m only sorry that our timing was wrong. Maybe…” She rolled her lips inward. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen, right? I won’t ask you to wait for me and I won’t wait for you, but maybe someday we’ll cross paths and things will be different.”

“Yeah,” he said in a dry husk of a voice. He cupped her cheek and planted a kiss on her mouth, stifling his desire to say,But wait for me.

They held the kiss a long time. It wasn’t hot and passionate. It was hard and still and tasted of yearning. He wanted the power to stop time and fast-forward to the unknown moment when things might be different.

When he pulled back, his chest was tight. He tucked her head under his chin again, closing his eyes against the sting in them.

---