Page 31 of Undeniable You

“That’s a really nice thing to say.” I was losing the war on tears and had to look away for a second to get myself together as Juniper skipped back into the hospital room.

I looked up at the ceiling and took a few deep breaths. Larison had taken Sophie in to say hello and to deliver the flowers. It was so sweet that Sophie had showed up to support her friend. She really was the best. Reid told me all the time that she didn’t know why Sophie was with her, and then I had to remind Reid of all of her wonderful qualities.

How’s everything going?She must have sensed me thinking about her. The message from Reid couldn’t have had more coincidental timing.

Sophie is here and I’m sitting in the hall and trying not to feel weird about it. I barely know these people and I don’t want to make things weird.

It was a relief to tell Reid about my insecurities.

They wouldn’t have asked you to be there if they didn’t want you there. You’re an important part of Larison’s and Juniper’s lives now.

That was true. Even though it had only been for a short time, I’d folded myself into Larison and Juniper’s lives pretty seamlessly. At least I thought so.

The boundaries were definitely blurred now, and I didn’t think there was a way to unblur them. Even if I wanted to put up walls, how did I do that? If Larison sent me a message at night, I wasn’t going to ignore her. Maybe I should? No, that would just be rude. And then it might make things awkward between us and I didn’t want that.

There was no easy way out of this entanglement. Especially when I was more than happy to be completely entangled. Larison could wrap me up in all kinds of things and I’d just smile and thank her.

Not in a kinky way (althoughthathad its appeal), but in the way that I knew that this wasn’t just a summer job. You didn’t sink into someone’s life like this and then just exit stage left and never talk again.

We were all entwined.

Larison came out again with Sophie and Juniper.

“Can you help me get this one to eat?” Sophie said, jabbing her thumb in Larison’s direction. Shit. I should have thought about that.

Larison rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Are you? Because I’m betting you haven’t eaten today. I know you, Larison. You’ve been worried and you didn’t eat.” Sophie rubbed Larison’s arm.

“Why don’t we all go down to the cafeteria?” I suggested. I’d fed Juniper lunch a while ago, but she could have a snack.

“Are you hungry, PJ?” I asked Juniper.

“Uh huh.” She held onto Larison’s hand as we walked to the elevator.

Once I got a chance to study Larison with more objective eyes, I noticed how pale and tired she looked. Obviously this surgery had taken a toll on her. Right then and there I decided that when I brought Juniper back to the house, I was making dinner for both of them. Something quick and filling like a veggie chicken soup that they could have for a few days. And bread. And cheese.

The cafeteria had plenty of options and Juniper helped me fill a tray with what she wanted while Sophie took charge of Larison.

The four of us sat together and it was like Larison had wilted into her chair.

Juniper still had tons of energy and as soon as she finished her snack, and I ate the rest, I suggested that we go outside and look at the garden.

“Why don’t you stay here? Or you could sit on one of the benches?” Larison met my eyes and gave me a smile that was so intense that my heart definitely stopped for a second. Fuck. I wanted to take care of her. I was already caring for her daughter, but I craved caring for both of them.

The gardens were lovely and full of butterflies and bees. Juniper skipped around and followed the butterflies as Sophie took Larison to a nearby bench. I stayed with Juniper to make sure she didn’t hurt herself or get stung by a bee or something.

Larison and Sophie talked softly, and I was relieved when Larison laughed. That was good. Still. I saw her rolling her shoulders in the way she did when she’d had a long day.

“Jo Jo?” Juniper asked, drawing my attention away from her mother.

“Yes, PJ?” I asked.

“What do bees dream about?” she asked, completely throwing me off. Kids were so funny that way. One minute they were asking you if they could have more ice cream and the next they were asking you about the nature of reality.

It took me a moment to come up with a good answer. Larison always entertained Juniper’s curiosity and I did the same. I never wanted her to lose it. The world could be an unkind place to curiosity like that.

“I bet bees dream of flowers. Endless fields of delicious flowers, as far as the eye can see. All kinds of flowers. A buffet so they can try each and every one of them until they’re so full that they can’t fly anymore.”

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