Page 7 of Moonlight Feels Right
"Did she say when she's coming back?"
"No, and it doesn't feel like it will be soon. I can't believe she didn't have someone else she could leave Olivia with. Someone better than me. I don't know what she needs, and I don't want to hurt her."
His last statement made her realize that his fear was coming from a good place and not a selfish place. "You won't hurt her if you care about her."
"Of course, I care. But I don't know what she needs."
"Let's make a list," she suggested, moving into his kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and found beer, eggs, juice, and some take-out containers. She started rattling off some basic items while he took notes on his phone. Moving to the cupboards, she found them just as bare. "Do you eat at all?" she asked, giving him a questioning look.
"I haven't been that hungry."
He was lean, almost gaunt, she thought. Clearly, whatever injuries he'd been dealing with had left him with little appetite. She added more items to his list: cereal, bread, and snack items, as well as fruit and veggies to go into Olivia's lunch tomorrow. As the list grew longer, she said, "Let's go to the store now. I need to get back by six for taco night. In fact, you don't have to worry about dinner tonight because you and Olivia can join the taco party. Gabe and Madison are bringing the food, and it's going to be fantastic."
He immediately shook his head. "No, thanks."
"Why not?" she challenged.
"Because I don't need to be part of a group right now."
"That's exactly what you need. Coming to taco night will give you a break from entertaining Olivia. And Paige's son, Henry, will be there. He's the same age as Olivia. She'll have someone to play with besides you," she said pointedly. "When the taco party is over, it will be her bedtime. But if you want to do it your way and spend the evening alone together…"
He held up a hand in surrender. "No, you're right. Taco night sounds like a better way to go."
"It is, and you might even enjoy it." She paused, then asked a question that had been burning inside her for a long time. "What do you have against us, anyway? Did someone in the complex do you wrong? Did they say something that annoyed you? Or do you just hate people in general?"
"What I hate are questions and looks of pity. I'm very aware of the gossip surrounding me and my accident. And I don't want to talk about any of it."
"Okay, that's fair. But no one here is going to push you to talk. We respect each other's privacy."
"Do you?" he asked dryly.
She didn't miss his not-so-subtle reminder that she was inserting herself into his life at this very moment. "Like I said, I don't have to help."
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Look, people here are very friendly and supportive. We're like a family. But everyone has a private life, too. I have secrets I've never talked to anyone about because I don't want to. And people respect that."
Her words brought a curious and doubtful gleam to his eyes. "You have secrets? That's a little hard to believe."
"Why?"
"Because you're so wide-eyed and innocent. I can't imagine you have dark secrets."
"Well, you don't know everything. You don't want me to judge you; don't judge me."
Their gazes connected, and she felt a surprising spark between them, which was very unusual. It was probably just anger, she told herself. It couldn't possibly be anything else. She would never be interested in someone like him. "So, do you want to go to the store together or not?"
"Let's go together. And thank you, Emmalyn."
"You're welcome, Hunter."
It was the first time they'd addressed each other by name, and it felt like they'd broken down a barrier between them that had once felt impenetrable.
The mysterious, attractive, dark-eyed stranger with the persistent scowl and pain-filled, weary expression had just admitted he needed help. And hopefully, she wouldn't regret giving it to him.
He had misjudged Emmalyn, Hunter thought as they finished loading his car with groceries and other items. The sweet woman who had given him tentative but wary smiles over the past seven months was also smart, practical, and firm in dealing with both him and Olivia. He'd always thought she was a little scared of him, and he'd been fine with that. He'd wanted space to be alone, and keeping people at arm's length had given him the solitude he needed. But Emmalyn wasn't being timid now.
She'd taken charge of their shopping trip, forcing him to focus on what Olivia needed right now and not think about the bigger, overwhelming picture that made him wonder how he could possibly take care of a small child when he was in the final push to complete his rehabilitation and return to active duty. But Emmalyn was making him take things one step at a time. And every time he ran into a wall, she found a way out. Like when she'd realized he didn't have a car seat and had dug one out of her closet that she'd used for school field trips. He was beginning to think she was a bit of a magician, and he couldn't imagine how he would have gotten through this day without her help, which was shocking since he rarely needed help with anything. In fact, he prided himself on being self-sufficient. But taking care of a child was definitely outside his area of expertise.
