Page 108 of Devoted Enough

“That sounds good.”

Pulling out of the police station parking lot, we returned to Haven’s apartment. She packed up a few things from her kitchen, the rest of her clothes, and everything for the dogs. The rest she was going todonate.

Once we returned to my house, we carried the boxes into the houseand left the dog boxesin the truck for later.

“How about you go take a hot shower, and I’ll make us up something to eat?”

She let out a small gasp. “We were supposed to have dinner at your parents’ tonight.”

“Don’t worry about that. I texted them and told them we’d be late.”

Her eyes went wide with shock. “I didn’t mention what happened.”

When her body visibly relaxed, she almost looked like she was about to collapse.

“I think you should take a bath instead of a shower.”

“That sounds lovely. You don’t need help with making something to eat?”

With a shake of my head, I took her hand and led her to our bathroom.

Our bathroom. I couldn’t help but smile, knowing this was no longermy house but ours.

As I helped her undress, I placed soft kisses on her bare skin. I started the bath water, put a towel on the counter, and helped her into the tub. She sank in the bubbles and let out a long exhale.

“You okay for a bit?”

She nodded. “This feels like heaven, thank you.”

Reaching over, I turned on the radio I had in the bathroom and tuned it to a station that played calming music. Haven closed her eyes and let out a long exhale. Shutting the door, I headed to the kitchen to make dinner. The doorbell rang as I was walking by. When I opened it, I saw my mother bundled up in a winter jacket, hat, and gloves. “It’s starting to come down! Looks like we’ll have a white Christmas! I was worried.”

“Mom, what are you doing here?”

She stepped in and stomped her feet to get the snow off. I glanced past her and said, “We just got home a bit ago, and it was barely coming down.”

Smiling, she took off her coat and hung it up, then stuffed her hat and gloves in the pocket.

“I’m here because we’ve been trying to call you since we hadn’t heard from you or Haven about dinner since you texted you would be late. I got worried, so I told your father I was coming over here to make sure you both were okay.”

I closed my eyes and cursed. “I’m so sorry, Mom. Things got a bit crazy, and I completely forgot to let you know we weren’t going to be able to make it.”

Her smile faded, and she studied me. “What’s going on, Nate?”

“Why do you think something is going on?”

“You look…tired.”

I laughed. “I am tired, Mom. Follow me while I make some dinner for me and Haven.”

“Do you not want to come over? We have plenty of leftovers.”

Pulling out a stock pot, I turned to her. “Haven’s had a pretty rough day. I don’t think she would be up for visiting,” I said.

“What happened?”

“Well, the day started amazing when I asked her to move in with me, and she agreed.”

Another smile broke out across her face. “That’s a wonderful thing!”

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