Page 51 of Home Changes
“Wow. Okay, but back on topic. Do you still want me to come in tomorrow and talk to her?”
Allison closed her eyes. “I do. I want to make sure she’s safe. I don’t know who hurt her, but someone has. I hate it. They have to be stopped and, if possible, punished for what they’ve done.”
“I agree.” Seth’s voice lowered. “I wanted to give you the choice, though. I’ll be as gentle as I can be with her, although it would be better if Ken interviewed her.”
“I know. I just don’t know if she’d talk.” Allison turned off the television and slid down in bed.
“I talked to Frank Marshall today while the doctor and his wife were with you,” Seth said after a moment.
Allison’s eyes popped open. “You did? What did he want?”
“To offer me a job. I can’t say much more than that.” Seth hedged like all the people who worked at the Marshall ranch. She was used to that type of avoidance and knew exactly what it meant. Or thought she did.
“And? Are you going to take it?” It would meanhe’d be permanent here. Her breath stopped as she waited for him to answer.
“At first, no. I turned him down,” Seth said. “I told him I can’t leave Dad during the day. He needs someone with him all the time. It’s not safe otherwise.”
“At first?” Her hopes rose a bit. “What do you mean at first?”
“Mr. Marshall said the county could get someone in during the week. A nurse paid through Dad’s insurance and Medicare.”
She sat back up in bed. “That’s good, right?”
“Yeah, but …” He sighed. “I don’t understand it, but it feels like I’d be letting him down and, if I’m honest, like I’m handing him off. Letting someone do the hard part. That doesn’t sit well in my gut.”
“Seth, you’ve been doing the hard part. Every single day. You get up early, manage his meds, clear up his confusion, make sure he eats, and make sure he’s safe. You’re doing the job of an entire team of people.”
“It’s what he needs.” Seth sighed.
“I agree,” she murmured. “But what doyouneed?”
Seth was quiet for a long time. She could hear him breathing, so she knew the connection was stillthere. She wasn’t going to push him. She’d let him think as long as he needed to do so.
“What do you think?” he finally asked.
“Honest?” She needed to know if she should say what she’d been thinking.
“That’s what we do, right? Complete honesty?”
“It is. Okay, well … The way I see it, you’ve already sacrificed a lot. You’ve put your career on hold. You’ve given up your freedom to care for your dad, which not many would do these days. And now, someone is offering you a way to keep helping your dad and reclaim part of who you are. That’s not handing him off; that’s balance.”
“And if something happens when I’m not there?”
Allison understood the guilt that was playing into his decision. “A nurse would be trained to handle it.” She leaned forward a bit. “And you’d be a phone call away. And the idea that you have to take care of your dad alone isn’t good for you, Seth. That’s burnout waiting to happen. You have too much heart to let your dad’s care fail. If you don’t think the nurse could handle your dad, then that’s one thing, but you won’t know until you arrange a meeting and see them interact.”
Seth was quiet again for a moment, but finally, he said. “I do miss working.”
Allison smiled softly, even though he couldn’t see it. “Then maybe it’s time to let someone else carry part of the load, so you can do more than survive. It is okay to have a life during this time.”
“I have you, which is more than I ever hoped for,” Seth said, his voice low and gravelly.
“You do have me,” Allison said. “I’m not going anywhere. We have time to figure out where we fit into everything. That isn’t a question in my mind.”
“I know where I want to be,” Seth said.
“And where’s that?”
“Anywhere you are,” Seth said. “What’s between us is real. I haven’t had this type of intimacy, not just sexually, but this, what we’re doing now. Talking. This is … special to me.”
