Page 122 of That One Heartbreak

“Yes,” she whispered, afraid she’d start crying again. “I really do. It’s beautiful. You worked so hard.”

“I don’t hate the grill anymore,” Ethan told her, his eyes bright as he looked up at her.

“Nor do I,” Addy said, not wanting to be left out. “I love it now.”

Kate hugged her kids, being careful not to squeeze Ethan’s injured arm. “You’re both so amazing.”

“Marley did some of the work,” Addy conceded. “But we did a lot too.”

“Yes, you did. I’m so proud of you.” She kissed her daughter’s cheek. “If you go inside there’s some juice waiting for you in the kitchen.”

“Whoop!” Addy bumped her fist into the air and started running.

Kate turned to look at Ethan. “Your arm okay?”

“It’s fine. You and Marley need to stop asking me that.”

Of course Marley had been asking. She wouldn’t have expected anything less. “And you’re okay? With the grill?”

“Yeah. It was cool making the planter. I like working with Marley. He’s not angry with us, he told us that. He’s angry with himself. Or he was.” Ethan pressed his lips together. “I told him I was angry with myself too, and he said that was okay. That sometimes we get angry, but it’s what we do with the anger that counts. We have to work through it and leave it behind.”

Her throat felt tight. “He’s right.”

“Yeah, I think he is.” Ethan looked at her hopefully. “Can I have some juice too?”

“There’s a glass inside waiting for you, too. Then it’s time for a shower and bed, okay?”

Ethan nodded and walked back to the house. She watched him until he opened the back door then took a deep breath before turning and walking around the side of the house.

Marley was still there, loading the last of his tools into the truck.

“Are you leaving?” she asked him.

“No, just putting everything away.” His eyes caught hers. “But I can leave if you want me to.”

“I don’t.” Her heart was hammering against her chest. “I need to change Ethan’s dressing and get the kids to bed. And then I’m ready to listen, if you’re ready to talk.” And maybe she’d do some talking too. She felt like she needed that.

His gaze didn’t leave hers. “I’m so ready.”

“Would you like to come inside?” she asked him. “There’s more sweet tea. You can wait in the air conditioning while I get them to sleep.”

“I’d like that very much,” he told her. And then he smiled and it sent a pulse of electricity to the tips of her fingers and her toes.

And she couldn’t help but smile back.

“The kids want you to say goodnight to them,” Kate told him. She was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall. He was sitting in the kitchen in the dark, a half-empty glass of sweet tea on the table in front of him. His long legs were stretched out as he looked out of the window at the now darkening sky, watching as the stars began to pepper the fabric of the universe.

“Sure.” He stood. “If that’s okay with you.”

“I think there’d be a riot if it wasn’t.” There was that half smile again. What he wouldn’t give to make her smile like she did last week. Unguarded. Huge.

Like she didn’t have a care in the world.

She stepped aside for him to walk past her, but not enough that his arm didn’t brush hers. He could hear her breath stutter at the contact, the same way his body clenched.

Damn, he liked that too much.

He went into Addy’s room first. She was lying on her back, her eyes wide as though she was forcing herself to stay awake.

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