Page 96 of Tide Over

“I mean, yeah. Sounds like you’re scared.”

I huff out a laugh. “I’ll report back tomorrow after I win.”

“And if you lose?”

“Fuck off.”

We both laugh again, but then fall quiet as the comfortable silence settles between us.

“Tha mi gad ionndrainn, mo chridhe,” I say softly.

I hear him release a soft breath. “Do I get to know what that means yet?

I smile as I close my eyes and picture his face. “Soon.”

We’re silent for a moment longer, before I reluctantly check the time.

“You should get some more sleep,” I say. “And I should too.”

“Yeah,” he says with a sigh.

But neither one of us makes a move to end the call, as we just listen to each other’s soft breaths through the phone.

Eventually I find the courage, knowing he really should get more sleep.

“Talk again tomorrow?” I ask softly.

“Yeah,” he says again. “Night.”

“Night.”

I pull the phone away from my ear and hitend, gripping it tight in my hand as I run my fingers through my hair.

Then it buzzes, the screen lighting up with Theo’s name.

I tap his text, and smile down at the photo of Miss Bobber, curled up on his lap with the white tip of her tail tucked in against her little face.

Our nightly routine while I’m away, where he sends a photo of her before we go to sleep.

While life may feel uncertain right now… we don’t. We’re going to get through this together, and I’ll be with him every step of the way.

He’s going to be ok.

We’regoing to be ok.

THIRTY-SIX

I dragMiss Bobber’s toy across the couch for her and she pounces on it, pulling it to her mouth to bite it. As she falls over to furiously kick at her catch, I let the toy go and my gaze drifts to the ocean out the window as a sigh escapes me.

I am so fucking bored.

It’s been a few days now since I got home from the hospital, and I haven’t even left the house. I can’t drive because of the meds I’m on, not to mention how hard it would be with my arm. But if I could, I’d try. Not that I know where I’d even go or what I’d do.

As I stare at the ocean, my mind wanders to my crew and Grandpa, who are out there right now. Grandpa didn’t have to come out of retirement for this… but I appreciate that he did. He’s looking after my crew and letting them finish out the season so they get paid, which was one of my biggest worries.

I tear my eyes away from the ocean, trying to keep the regret and sadness from growing any more than it already is. But as my gaze then lands on the sunroom door, it flows in anyway.

I haven’t stepped foot in there since I got home, and I don’t want to. Not without Liam. It was supposed to be finished by now… our spot to relax and just be together. But now it’sleft unfinished, with baseboard piled in the corner and a half-finished coffee table in the workshop. And Liam isn’t here, while I’m stuck with a mangled arm, watching the days slip by.

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