Page 51 of It Just Feels Right

“I will, son. I’ll see you in the morning. Love you both.”

“Love you,” I call after him.

“Love you,” Cassie says softly and with her voice full of emotion.

We lie here for a few minutes before I ask her, “Do you want to talk?”

Her reply is instant. “No. Can you just hold me, Baker?”

“Yes.” I whisper against her head before I kiss it. I’m not sure what’s coming tomorrow, but I’m going to enjoy having her in my arms tonight.

CHAPTER 25

CASSIE

“You go back to work tomorrow.”

He doesn’t have to remind me, though. For the last week, I’ve dreaded this day, knowing I’d have to go back to work and leave him. To cover up my worry and sadness, I joke with him. “Are you sick of me already?”

I’ve been with him for seven days straight, twenty-four hours a day. I probably could have left him long enough to go to the store or run errands, but I didn’t want to. Luckily, Ryan has been more than helpful. He packed up some of my clothes and bathroom items and brought them over. He’s gone to the store and stocked the fridge. And he’s brought over takeout. He’s come by every day, and I get more of aglance each time what I was missing having a dad growing up.

Baker gives me a penetrating look and grabs my hand. ‘You know I’m not sick of you.”

I grin, but it doesn’t quite meet my eyes. Even though we’ve been together for a week, we haven’t really talked about anything too personal, and it’s driving me crazy. There are so many things I want to get off my chest. “And you have probably another month before you get released for light duty.”

He shrugs because he doesn’t want to argue. He’s already tried to tell me that he’s going back to work next week. I ignore his shrug. “A month. I have talked to Ryan and Brook. They’re both coming at different times to check on you and make sure everything is okay. I’ll be here after school, but if you need anything, just call me and I’ll come.”

He’s sitting on the couch, watching me move around. I’m just trying to stay busy because I'm feeling antsy. “Stop,” he says and holds his hand out. “Come here and talk to me.”

But I don’t take it. I stack some magazines on the coffee table and act as if I have to clean up when almost every corner of his house is immaculate.

His hand drops. “Brook said that Walker has an apartment that opened up.”

I nod and avoid looking at him. “Yeah, I’m going to go look at it this week. It’s time for me to move out. After talking to your dad this week, I don’t think he and Mom are doing well. But I don’t blame him. I think the fact she didn’t come to the hospital was the breaking point for him.” I lift my eyes to Baker, embarrassed about how my mom is behaving. “I tried talking to her the other day and told her she was messing up. You can imagine how she took it. Anyway, I think your dad is better off. He deserves a woman that loves him more than anything.”

“Cassie,” he says.

I finally turn around and look at him. “Yeah? You need something?”

He nods. “Yeah, I need you to come over here and sit down and talk to me.”

I walk over and sit on the couch. “Have you liked staying here this week with me?”

I draw patterns into the seat cushion between us. “You know I have.”

He sighs in frustration. “I don’t know because any time I try to talk to you, you change the subject.”

Ashamed, I lower my head. I’ve tried to soak this whole week in. Every bit of it I’ve tried to commit to memory because I’m afraid at any point he’s going to tell me to leave. “Do you remember what happened between me and you before everything?”

“There’s nothing wrong with my memory. You mean the ‘pause’?”

I shudder, remembering the fight we had. The way he looked when he thought I was telling him he wasn’t worth it. And the whole time, I was scared. I need to come clean because I’ll regret it if I don’t. “I was scared, Baker. I thought you would leave me anyway. I didn’t want to hurt you or come between you and your dad.”

His gaze bores into me. “And so what? You’re taking care of me because I’m your stepbrother? Is that it?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then why?” he challenges.

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