Page 65 of Puck You Very Much

She was worried.

“All right, love. Should I keep an eye on him until you get here?”

“Yes, please,” she croaked. “I’ll hurry.”

She hung up, lowered the phone, and breathed in and out heavily.

He was just lying on the ground looking at the stars. Some people did that. But he was depressed and he had said more than once that his life was worthless without her mother and…and he had stopped caring about himself! About his health, about his life, about everything. She couldn’t bear seeing how he gave up on himself more every day. But she couldn’t look away, either.

“Shit,” she whispered, rubbing her burning eyes.

She had to go.

She didn’t have a car, though. Maddie had dropped her off. It was imperative that she get a car. Mrs. Marsden’s eyes weren’t the best anymore, and what if she hadn’t noticed that her father… that he…

“Shit!” she said louder, running her hands over her hair and nervously twisting the ring on her middle finger.

It was fine. No need to panic. Maddie was much better than she was at cheering her father up and convincing him to be sensible. Maddie, however, had already given half her life to their father, and now it was Lucy’s turn. To do that, she needed a damn car!

“Are you okay?”

She winced and whirled around.

Dax stood behind her, his eyebrows knitted together as he scanned her face.

“No,” she managed. “My father is… I need to call an Uber, or a taxi. Do taxis still exist? No. Nobody takes taxis. Uber, I need a…”

“Lucy,” he said gently, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Calm down. I drove here and I don’t drink during the season unless I’m hoping to run late for a photo shoot. I can drive you. Wherever you need to go.”

Blinking, she glanced up at him, rubbed her eyes, and shook her head. “I need to get to Burbank. That’s half an hour away, Dax, I can’t…”

“Let’s go,” he interrupted, directing her down the street. “You can tell me what’s going on along the way.”

“But…”

“Let’s go.”

She was too confused to contradict him.

Dax was driving too fast, but Lucy was grateful—grateful not to be alone. Grateful that he didn’t break the silence that filled the interior of the car like a haze, that every argument between them was momentarily forgotten. That he gave her time and didn’t ask what was wrong or if she was crying. She didn’t even know if she was. Everything was somehow…askew.

The last few weeks had been so damn stressful, emotionally. She was exhausted and drained—and her father was the cherry on top of the mountain of emotional whip that she’d been carrying around for weeks.

Dax made up the rest of the mountain. She liked him; there was no use telling herself otherwise. He made her laugh, made her heart stumble. She was afraid she was already irrevocably in love with him and that he would make work unbearable just by being there. No one excited her like Dax! No one gave her such a high as he did. No one confused her as he did. No one kissed like he did.

“Thank you,” she whispered, clearing her throat to free herself from her thoughts. “For driving me. It’s…thank you.”

“No problem,” he murmured, giving her a quick sideways glance. “You seem confused.”

She laughed dryly and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her middle finger and thumb. “The way I look now, Dax? That’s how I feel inside pretty much all the time when I’m with you.”

She didn’t know why she was saying this truth aloud. Maybe it was because her head was filled with so many worries and thoughts that it was a relief to get rid of at least one.

He drummed his index finger restlessly on the steering wheel. “There’s no need. I’m…harmless.”

She had to laugh. That was the understatement of the century.

He raised one corner of his mouth. “Well, more harmless than you anyway,” he added more quietly.

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