Page 61 of True Honey
“So should you.” I whispered back, nuzzling my face into her hair. I didn’t care why she was awake, only that she had come back to me.
SHORE
Sunday morning came quick but I was determined to set everything back on the proper path. I woke up early and got August set up with the boys as they went down into the city for the annual Harbor U walk for Cancer. They weren’t going to go, they were all too wound up about Cael. And I didn’t blame them but they needed the distraction and Cael had organized their appearance with the town. He'd be upset if they didn’t show.
Knowing the hospital was the final stop helped; they could show up for the town and visit Cael if he felt up for it. If anyone, Cael would want Dean’s company for a moment. I was unable to sleep at all, waiting for news from Ryan but he was too pissed off to speak to me. When my phone rang at four am, I fully expected an earful, but it was Riona. Her soft voice as she told me that Cael was going to need more than one surgery nearly broke my heart but at least someone had called. So I got up, my bed empty of Drew and cold. She had left after I fell asleep and it stung. But I would focus on what I could control. First getting the boys out the door to the walk and then I spent the next two hours in the gym sweating out the guilt before getting breakfast made and knocking on Drew’s door.
“Auggie?” She called out, her voice sleepy.
“No, Silas.” I braced for her to tell me to fuck off, but instead there was a long silence, a little shuffling and then the door creaked open. “Breakfast, coffee?”
“Oh,” her lips formed a perfect circle as her eyes drifted down to the plate of scrambled eggs and mug. Something was wrong, I could tell in the way her jaw tightened and her expression changed.
“You don’t eat eggs do you?” I assumed.
“No no…” she shook her head looking up at me. “I only drink coffee if it’s basically dessert; cream, sugar, the works…”
I glanced at the black coffee and smiled. “Eat,” I said, handing her the plate. “We have plans today and you aren’t doing it on an empty stomach.”
She took the plate, eyeing me as her fingers brushed mine for the fork. I backed away from the door and wandered back into the kitchen to check the fridge, which was empty of what she needed. I looked up at the list that she had left on the outside of it, stuck to the freezer door with a Hornets magnet that had seen better days. The list was all August’s handwriting—nothing for Drew.
“Mmm,” I grumbled, shutting the fridge before taking the stairs to the main floor and raiding Jensen’s coffee creamer collection in the fridge. I swiped both the regular cream and the caramel that he hid in the back of the fridge. Bringing them both back downstairs for Drew.
She’s sitting at the island in a hoodie and jeans when I return, her hair pulled back in a lazy bun and her eyes drifting to the two bottles.
“Why didn’t you write it on the grocery list?” I asked her, setting them on the counter to retrieve her abandoned cup of coffee. She pointed to the caramel when I held them up to her.
“Because I can buy myself cream for my coffee, Silas,” she said after a bite of food. “Do you know where August is?”
“Dean picked him up for the Cancer Walk in the city… I hope that’s alright—”
“That girl, Daisy. Is she nice?” Drew asked, pushing around her breakfast with her fork.
“I don’t have an educated opinion?” I said, raising my eyebrow at her. “Her mom is Cael’s Aunt, she's a sweet kid. Quiet. Her parents aren’t together anymore either,” I explained and Drew nodded. “So maybe her and Auggie found some common ground.”
“He’s spending a lot of time at the baseball stadium for a boy that hates sports,” she said.
“I grew up in that stadium,” I defended gently, “it’s a safe place for him to find his footing in Harbor. I promise”
“You’re being awfully welcoming for a man working under contract,” she noted, her smile brightening as she took another bite of food.
I held back what I wanted to say to her about the contract. That I was going to do everything in my power to make her want to destroy it.
“We’ve been out of sync and before we do any more dinners or events I would like to get us back on the right path,” I said instead, skirting around the fact that my path looked very different from hers.
“Out of sync?” She stood from the stool, walking around me to clean her plate and I took it from her before she could.
“One thing I learned from growing up in the sport is that if a team isn’t on the same page, they can’t win the game. Right now,” I paused, making sure she understood the next part wasn’t her fault. “I’m distracted, I need a break. A reset.”
“Fair enough,” she said, clearly still a little confused by my remark.
“I wanted to take you somewhere today, to give us both a chance to do that?” I asked her, both my hands were fucking sweaty and I felt like an idiot. Asking her on a date like we were in high school made me feel juvenile andnervous.“Just the two of us.”
“Oh,” she said, pausing to look at me. “Maybe we shouldn’t… the last time we did something just the two of us—”
“Just trust me?” I asked her and her brows furrowed. Trust was in short supply these days and that was alright because I had a plan to earn hers back.
It took her a moment but she nodded. “Alright.”
