Page 49 of Five Alarm Love
“I never said Gordy followed the rules.We figure he’s like a cat.Nine lives.”She held the blackberry in her palm, jiggling it in a circle.
Her half smile, half frown triggered an overwhelming response to pull her into his arms and not let go.
Clearing his throat, he managed to quip, “I knew there was a reason I liked him.”
“Well.Yes.”She popped the blackberry in her mouth, chewing slowly.Then she said, “I think what that means for my family is, every moment with Gordy is special.We recognize that we’re on borrowed time.The doctors will continue fine-tuning his treatment, but at some point, we know that it won’t work.”
He rocked back on his heels at the stark finality of the statement.A world without Gordy.The town wouldn’t be the same.“That’s a heavy weight for you and your parents to carry.”
“Mom and Dad are solid.They have a good perspective on life and take each day as it comes.They cope with the situation in their own way.But yeah, it’s hard.”She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she turned away and plucked more berries.The cool breeze and her movements made the bush leavesshush.Nearby, a bird fluttered onto a high branch and called outhey sweetie, hey sweetie.Tuli smiled.Chickadee.Persistent in their calls for attention.
Speaking of persistent… He studied her frown in profile and gently pressed.“Is there more?”
She turned, but her gaze landed a few inches next to him.“What do you mean?”
“Gordy’s been in your life, well, your entire life.You’ve known about his medical issues since before you could probably walk.You’ve rolled with all of the ups and downs.Been a great sister for him.”
“But…” That one quiet word hung in the bright, cool fall air, punctuated by the chickadee call.
He gulped.Time to dive in.This might hurt.“First of all, you have a life to live, and you deserve your own happiness.Second, it seems like you’re dealing with more than Gordy’s situation.”
Another minute of silence.“It’s tough talking about things.”
He took the four steps to close the distance and curled his hand around her upper arm.“Hey, Lou, it’s me.You know that you can tell me anything.”He dropped his hand and made a key-turning motion in front of his mouth.“I will keep it in the vault.If you want to share, I’m here for it.”Here for you.Then he stood there, being present.
The lack of conversation nearly killed him.
Her expression twisted.
Oh no.A cold wave rolled through him.There was something else, and it wasn’t good.He studied her face for a hint.Did it have to do with her conversations with Hunter?Had the guy upset her?Because, supervisor or not, Tuli would give the guy a piece of his mind.
Was it something Tuli had done?He’d fix it.Make amends.Step back.Whatever.
Finally, Lou said, “You know how when we were kids, we would play house together?”
“Yeah, I liked that.”Those were some of his best memories from an early childhood filled with pain and loss.
“We would talk about our dreams of growing up.Having families.”
“I never stopped wanting that.Even after all these years,” he said.
“Yeah.”
Wait.Did that mean… they had a chance?For a guy who could always find the right words to say, the fear of saying the wrong thing rendered him silent.
A small sigh brushed past him like a soft caress.“Life doesn’t always turn out the way we expected it to.”
Something was so wrong here.Tuli knew it in his bones.Everything in the world was sitting one degree off plumb.Even the sunlight was wrong.His heart thudded against his ribs.“I don’t follow.”
“It’s—” She shook her head.“Never mind.”
No.He wanted to hear all of it.Whatever it was.“Come on, Lou, you’ve been my best friend growing up.What’s going on?You’re kind of scaring me.”
She bent a small branch until it broke and dropped the piece on the ground, then wiped her fingers on her cargo pants.“You know how I was dating Ryan a while back?”
He gritted his teeth.That relationship had been hard to watch from the sidelines, but Tuli hadn’t felt confident enough to ask her out back then.You snooze; you lose.This wasn’t the time to share his opinions on her past love life.Might not even be the time to share opinions on her future love life, either.He had no idea the direction this conversation was headed.
“Yeah.”
