Page 119 of Sugarloaf Ridge Lies

Another thing playing on his mind. Is this the way he deals with challenges? Turn to the bottle and spew out his fears and inner most concerns when he’s barely conscious?

“He won’t.” And if he does, which I highly doubt, I’ll deal with it. I’ll convince him I don’t want a thing from him. “Come on, you need to sleep this off.”

He takes a second to focus. I stand and hook my hand under his arm to bring him to his feet. I have no hope of carrying him, so he’d better be able to put one foot in front of the other.

Jerry drapes his arm around my shoulders, and it’s like a giant sandbag has been lumped on me.

“Nice and easy.” It’s a struggle to keep him upright and moving along the hall. Step by wobbly step, when we reach his bed,our bed, he flops onto his side, narrowly missing the corner of the bedside table.

“Shit, that was close.” I pull his legs onto the bed and angle his foot out of his work boot.

He moans and twists his body towards the centre of the mattress. “He’ll take you,” he whispers.

“What?”

“You’ll choose to be with him.”

Doesn’t he believe me when I say I love him? That I want to be a family?

I grit my teeth and pull off his other boot. “Give me some credit.”

“Not because you want to, but ’cause you’ll put the kid first.”

My heart pangs. He’s right. I’ll always put this child first. I’m not a mother yet, but I’ll protect him or her above all else. Is this what our relationship will look like moving forward? When things get hard, and it will with a newborn, will the bottle be Jerry’s solace? Will it all get too much for him one day?

“I’ll only be a disappointment, Liv. Broke and behind bars.”

“Shush.” I take the throw blanket from the chair in the corner and place it over him. Teasing my fingers through his hair, I pray when he wakes, with the mother of all hangovers, he sees that drinking is no way to escape. It only delays the inevitable. Whatever lies ahead, we’ll deal with it head on. Not by drowning his sorrows.

“I’m tryin’, Liv. I’m tryin’ real hard to be the man you deserve.”

I press a kiss to his sweaty forehead. I truly believe him. “I know. Get some sleep, ’kay?”

The bedroom door squeaks as I close it. Exhaustion eats at me, but my head is clouded by the night’s events. I won’t sleep until I’ve talked through this.

I need my aunt.

I swallow hard. She’s oblivious to the fact that Jerry and I are back together.

What will she think when I tell her how quickly things have changed? Will she think we’re rushing into it?

I clasp my hands together and look up to the heavens. “Lord, save me from the wrath of Aunt Jean.”

***

“Okay, yeah. Things’vegot more complicated, but you really care for him, don’t you?” Aunt Jean says. We’ve been talking it out for about half an hour. She doesn’t appear too fazed by the pace at which things are happening, but I can tell she’s worried about the future and how Jerry will handle it.

“I do.”

“He’d do anything for you. Sifting through ash and rubble for your necklace is next level, Livvy.” A dreamy sigh echoes down the line.

“Yeah.” I can’t help but smile. I’ll never forget what he did. That one gesture touched my heart like nothing before.

“Sometimes in life it feels like the world is against us. Everyone handles it differently. Jerry’s going through some stuff.”

“And what if I’m adding to that pressure?”

“Don’t think like that. You’re a gift and he’s lucky to have you.”

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