Page 68 of Coming Home

She giggled, “You middle-named us both.”

“I take this being your boyfriend thing very seriously.” He snuggled her closer. “Next question: are we telling people we are boyfriend/girlfriend?” His nose scrunched. “Now I sound like a teenager.”

Nat bit her lip. Hesitation tiptoed inside her. Dating Noah wasn’t like dating anyone else. If today reinforced anything, it was that their families were so enmeshed that if this wasn’t handled just right, it could rip lifelong relationships apart. She’d lost one brother; she couldn’t lose another nor see him lose the surrogate brother he had in Noah.

“Not yet.” Her fingers threaded through the silky dark hair dusting his chest. “I want to just give us more time before we let others in. I promise it won’t be forever…I just need more time. If this is a deal breaker…” The words refused to come out.

“I understand.” He traced her lips. “Sometimes warriors need to be patient.”

“Well, patience is something that should always be rewarded.” She pressed him backward until his back hit the mattress.

Nat’s eyes flicked to the alarm clock on the bedstand. “I’m going to reserve the right to harass you about having an alarm clock like the geriatric millennial that you are for later because I only have forty-five minutes to sex you up before I have to grab my Jeep from the park and head back home.”

Noah flipped her onto her back, kissing down her body. “Forty-five minutes? I need to get to work then…I have a girlfriend to please.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping…”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

“Tater tots are truly the food of the gods!” Nat dipped a crispy potato round into ketchup. “Iloveit when you have morning shifts at the café,” she groaned with happy pleasure.

“I supply free lunch, and you give me free medical advice. It’s a quid pro quo relationship,” Summer teased, stabbing a piece of salmon from their shared salad.

Whenever Summer worked the breakfast shift at the café, she’d get a to-go salad and an order of tater tots for lunch and stop by the clinic to eat with Nat. These lunch dates were contingent on Liam’s schedule or on Summer not having to see a client for her growing event planning business.

Today, Liam, the mini-Clayton, was spending the afternoon at the vet clinic. Most of the time, he’d be in the reception area eating too many cookies, greeting the animal patients, andplaying with Fitz and Lizzie, who went to the clinic whenever he was there or Elle was out of town for work.

Lunch dates with her bestie were better than ice cream for dinner. Since last Monday’s dinner date, too much of their interaction with each other had been via text messages, and that had been dominated by Nat’s relationship with Noah. Since then, Summer had been busy with work and had an initial telephone interview with the behavioral therapist in preparation of Liam starting therapy in the fall.

“How’d your chat with the therapist go?” She lifted her iced tea.

Summer pulled her long hair into a low ponytail. “It went well. We just went over some insurance, logistical, and background info. She made some suggestions, including joining a support group for parents with kids on the spectrum.”

“That’s great.” Her excitement was soon dulled by Summer’s pinched expression. “Let me guess…it’s in Buffalo.”

“Yup,” Summer sighed, setting her fork down. “She did suggest some online resources, though. Message boards, Facebook groups, and websites. That kind of thing.”

Nat leaned back in her chair, gnawing on her lip. It was ridiculous how few resources were available in rural communities. In Boston, if she had a parent in the same situation, there’d be an entire list of organizations to connect with.

“Is there a way to reach out to other parents in the county and put together a group?” she suggested.

“I thought about that, but the group in Buffalo is facilitated by a trained psychologist. We’d need to find one with the expertise in Autism to run our group, and there’s no one outside of Buffalo or Rochester. As it is, we barely have any mental health services in the area. I remember when I first movedback…” Summer shifted in her seat. Her worry-filled eyes flicked to the open office door.

Summer’s gap years, between leaving Perry at eighteen and returning at twenty-nine, were a mystery. She’d offered small glimpses but not much.

Nat’s vision moved to the doorway. Without saying a word, she stood, walked over, shut the door, and sat back down.

Summer offered a thankful smile. “Liam’s dad, Max, and I dated for four years. I thought he was everything. Good looking. Sophisticated. Rich. He was the opposite of Perry…of me. I felt so lucky to be with him and…” Her voice quaked. “If I forgot that, then he reminded me with...” She shook her head. “For four years, I lost myself in the relationship…no, I lost myself to him.”

Nat reached across the space between them, linking their hands.

“I tried so hard to make him happy. To make him not…”

So much was said in the unspoken words. Nat squeezed her hand, reminding Summer that she was there. That even if Nat hadn’t been there then, she was there now. And she’d be there after.

“I thought it was what I deserved, and I stayed until I found out I was pregnant. Max was in London on business. It wasn’t just about me anymore…and I left. I came back home. Max had only met my parents when they came to New York City to visit. He’d never been to Perry. I changed my cell phone number. I deleted social media. I didn’t talk to anyone from my life there. I went back to my natural hair color. When I came back, I was a mess, and my parents thought it would be good for me to talk to someone, but it was so difficult to find a therapist in the area. Especially one that was affordable. I didn’t have insurance until Cassie hired me full-time.”

“Did you eventually find someone?” she asked.

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