Page 23 of Falling Fast

Charlie lowered her pizza to the plate in her lap, dread gathering in the pit of her stomach at his leaden tone. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?”

“My mom’s sick.”

Her appetite vanished. “How sick?”

Those golden-brown eyes finally lifted to hers, held. “She’s dying. MS.”

The pizza turned into a gelatinous lump in her stomach. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” How had she not known this? Why had Easton never said anything?

He nodded stiffly. “We’re not sure exactly how much time she has left, but she’s almost at the palliative stage and she’s been having trouble swallowing anything on her own for the past few days. My dad’s been trying to force feed her things through a straw, to see if that helps. Soup, milkshakes, whatever he can get down her to keep her from wasting away.”

Oh, that was awful. She wanted to put her arms around him so badly but wasn’t sure he’d let her and something warned her not to cross the invisible barrier between them even in that innocent way. “And instead of being there, you’re stuck here with me on this op.”

One side of his mouth curled upward in a wry grin. “Well. Not the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in the line of duty.”

“Gee, thanks,” she teased, playing along as he attempted to lighten the mood.

He chuckled, then sobered. “Nah, I’d go crazy sitting at her bedside, watching her slowly waste away.”

He said it in a dismissive way, but his guilt was clear. And based on what he’d just told her, there was no way he wouldn’t be there for his family if they needed him.

“At least this op gives me something else to focus on for the time being. And I’ll be honest, I like being the one to watch your back.”

Charlie didn’t know what to say to that, and a sudden lump had formed in her throat anyhow. She couldn’t let him know how much his words melted her.

Jamie blew out a hard breath. “So let’s hope Baker gives us what we need sooner rather than later.”

“Yes, let’s hope.” She slid her plate onto the coffee table, feeling a little sick to her stomach at the bombshell Jamie had dropped. “Does Easton know?”

“Yeah. He’s been great throughout this whole thing. He gets it.”

That was good. At least Jamie felt comfortable talking to him about it when he needed someone. But she would love to be the one he turned to instead.

You don’t want strings, remember? Flings don’t confide their deepest feelings to each other. You can’t have it both ways.

Annoyed, she reached for her beer, took a sip while she contemplated him. For some reason she’d been sure she had him all figured out, but now she realized she barely knew him at all. He had a lot more depth than she’d ever given him credit for, and she was sorry she hadn’t realized it until now. “You wanna talk about it more?”

“Not really.”

“Okay.”

He chomped down on his pizza for the next few minutes, but she could tell the situation with his mom was eating at him. “It sucks for my mom, but I feel the worst for my dad,” he finally said after a long pause. “They’ve been together thirty-four years now. They were first loves, met when they were teenagers. He’ll be totally lost without her.”

“That’s so sweet.” And bittersweet, now that his dad was going to lose her. “My parents were high school sweethearts.” She fiddled with the label on the bottle, peeling the corner of it away from the condensation-damp glass to keep her hands busy.

This conversation was edging them firmly toward friend territory and though it was emotionally risky for her, she didn’t want to avoid it or pull back. Something about putting her safety in his hands today and now him opening up to her had shifted the dynamic of their relationship.

She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. All she knew was, it felt good to talk to him. For all the heat and passion simmering between them, they still didn’t know each other that well yet.

“I remember my mom being sick, but not really how it felt,” she went on when he stayed quiet. “I’ve got just a vague recollection of anxiety and fear as she got worse. Then one day my dad didn’t take us all up to the hospital in the afternoon like he usually did. She was gone. Just gone. And I still regret not being there to say goodbye and tell her I loved her one last time.” Chest tight, she looked over at him, found him watching her with that steady, honeyed gaze. “Trust me when I tell you, you don’t want to live with that same regret.”

“No. I’ve been going home to visit whenever I can, even if it’s just for a day or two over the weekend. And when it gets close to the end, I’ll take a leave of absence if I have to. There’s no way I wouldn’t be there when she goes.”

She hated that he was dealing with something so devastating. Couldn’t believe she hadn’t known any of this until now.

Because it was none of your business.“Good. That’s good,” she murmured, not knowing what else to say.

“We can change the subject now. Didn’t mean to be a downer.”

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