Page 13 of Rush

Nora caught up with them, giggling along with Sophie at his silliness, and something warm settled in the center of his chest.

He opened the pool gate and followed Sophie out, holding it open with an arm stretched behind him long enough for Nora to slip through. He wasn't going to tempt himself any further today by walking behind her, but he’d been raised a gentleman, damn it.

Down a short path, he saw a blanket spread out under the shade of a large maple tree. A cooler of cold drinks sat off to the side.

“Great minds think alike.” Nora laughed as she plopped cross-legged onto the blanket.

The move stretched the towel over her lap but left her bikini-clad breasts bare. Linc forced his eyes off the creamy swells before he forgot—again—they were supposed to be just friends.

He set the bag of food down for Nora to dish out then went over to the cooler to give himself a minute.

Clearing his throat, he called, “What do you ladies want? Juice or water?”

Sophie pointed to the juice like he knew she would and Nora chose water. He grabbed a bottle for himself too. Then as had become their habit, he and Nora shared their mornings with each other. The only difference was today Linc purposefully left out a big chunk of his. Part way through lunch, his niece laid her head on his thigh, and Linc covered her with the extra quilt as she drifted off.

“How did Sophie's therapy session go yesterday?” Nora asked after they were done eating and the trash was thrown away.

Linc pulled his eyes off Sophie to look at Nora. She was leaned back on her hands with her legs stretched out in front of her. She’d thrown her clothes back on over her now dry bikini, but sadly, the extra layer of tank top and shorts wasn't much of an improvement and didn't help keep his eyes from straying to places he shouldn't be looking.

“Good. The therapist said she's showing marked improvement from when she first started. She's more engaged and interested in the world around her, plus her overall mood has improved. The speech specialist said Sophie had even gotten annoyed with her.” Something that was hard to believe as he gazed down at the angelic-looking little girl who slept peacefully beside him.

Nora smothered a snort, mirth in her eyes, as she asked, "And that's a good thing?"

Linc shrugged. “Yeah, surprised me too. But frustration can bring out vocalization, so they often deliberately misunderstand her. They're careful to keep her frustration levelat something she can handle without making things too easy. And since Sophie spoke before the accident, we know there's nothing developmentally wrong. The therapist said we just need to keep doing what we're doing and she'll speak when she's ready. She explained, small children display grief in a lot of different ways. Sometimes, they need to feel in control of specific things. Being in charge of speaking, eating, what they wear, or who they interact with gives them that ordered feeling when the rest of their world has imploded."

“I wish there was more I could do to help.” Nora sat up, swinging around to sit fully facing him.

He reached for her hand, enveloping it with his larger one. Though his fingers itched to do so, he rarely purposely touched her, except as a show of comfort. He would often touch her shoulder, brush their fingers together, or, like now, outright hold her hand. He'd stopped trying to fool himself into thinking it was only to comfort Nora. Somewhere along the way, it had become solace for him as well.

“You've done much more than you could ever know. For both of us, if I'm honest. Before you came into our lives, there was a mile of grief between Sophie and me. She cried a lot, barely smiled, and never laughed, but you bridged that gap and helped us find our way back to each other.” He squeezed her hand to stress his point, “Trust me, you're helping more than you realize.”

He hadn’t meant to embarrass her, but a tell-tale tinge reddened her cheeks as she tried to downplay her importance. “You two would've gotten there with or without me. Anyone can see how much she loves you.”

Linc figured they'd have to agree to disagree. “You're selling yourself short. She likes you, and more importantly, she trusts you. She's never had that with any of the other caregivers.”

Both her eyebrows shot up. “Caregivers plural? How many have there been?”

His jaw locked as he ground his teeth. “Too many.” He didn’t elaborate and thankfully she didn’t press for a reason why.

She did slip her hand from his though, announcing as she stood, “I should probably get going.”

He wanted to pull her back, but Nora never stayed long after lunch, no matter how much he tried to sway her. “Before you do, I want to talk to you about next week.”

She turned back, eyes questioning.

“I've got to be in LA for a few days to shoot a commercial. I can't delay it any longer. I've already pushed it off a couple of times. My agent is running out of excuses and the advertiser’s getting antsy.”

“I'd be happy to watch Sophie if you think she'd be ok with that. But would it be okay if I stayed here with her? It’s a bit cramped at Oz’s with only the one bedroom. I’m fine sleeping on the couch but Sophie needs a bed.”

He was shaking his head before she even finished. “That's not where I was going with that. I'd like you and Sophie to come with me.”

“Go with you?” Her voice rose to a pitch Linc had never heard from her before. “To California? Are you kidding?”

Her enthusiasm was contagious and he found himself grinning like a fool. “And if you’d like, we can stay a few extra days to take Sophie to Disneyland and Universal Studios. I think she’d like that.”

Her eyes widened. “I’m trying very hard to act composed right now when what I really want to do is jump up and down.”

Getting a thrill from her excitement, Linc proudly announced, “I’ll make the reservations.”

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