Page 69 of Love in the Storm

“My palms are sweating.” Lyric shook her hands in the air, trying to dry the stickiness.

Asa reached for one of her flailing hands and lowered it to the table. “You don’t have to impress anyone here.”

Lyric’s gaze darted around the small restaurant. The Basket Case wasn’t a classy place, but locals loved it.

“Stop it. You’re making me nervous,” Asa said, still holding onto her hand.

“I want them to like me.”

“Mom already decided she likes you. Jacob is going to like you too.”

Her heel tapped rapidly beneath the table, and he removed his hand from hers and pressed it to her knee. “What can I do to help with the nervous bouncing?”

Lyric turned to him with a smile. “I really shouldn’t be nervous, but this is important. I know it’s important to you too.”

She had no idea. It was extremely important to him, but he also had a certainty about the situation that she didn’t. He knew his mom and son, and they would love Lyric. “I’m not worried.”

She took a deep breath. “So I shouldn’t be either.”

“Exactly.”

“Okay.” The tension in her leg melted away, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. “It’s really nice to trust someone.”

“You trust me?” Asa knew she didn’t have many people in her corner, and that was because trust had been broken on one side or the other. Trust was always a fickle thing when an addict was involved, and knowing it was something they could talk about was a good sign.

“Of course. You’re super dependable. I bet you’re the best dad.”

Asa turned his cheek and smelled her hair. She’d washed it right before dinner, and it smelled like citrus. They’d been packing all day, and he was happy to smell something besides cardboard. “I’m not the best, but I want to be.”

“You’re like the iconic super dad in movies.”

“Are you trying to say I have a dad bod?” Asa joked.

“Not at all!” Lyric lifted her head and smiled up at him. “I bet you’ve always been Mr. Do-Gooder.”

“I would say you’re wrong, but then I’d be lying.”

Lyric chuckled, but the cheerful sound quickly died. “I wish I could say the same about myself. I really do.”

The hurt in her voice had his throat constricting. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Don’t think like that. I thought we were leaving the past behind.”

“We are. I just think I need to explain some things to you.” She looked down at her hands in her lap. “My memories of that time in my life feel like they belong to someone else. I hate her–the girl I used to be. I knew better than to do the things I did. I did them anyway, and my life spiraled for a long time. Things were so bad that I thought that’s the only way my life could be–bad. It was hard to hopefor a better tomorrow when each day was a complete disaster. It was painful and scary.”

Asa couldn’t imagine how hard it might be for her to talk about the past. That was one reason he hadn’t asked her to do it. All he needed to know was that she was dedicated to staying sober, but hearing her talk about her past gave him a better understanding of why she was here now and why she’d chosen the new path.

She looked up at him with her brow furrowed. “I just want you to know I’ll never make those mistakes again. I learned my lesson, and I paid the price. I’m not going back.”

“We don’t have to talk about it if it’s painful for you to relive, but I’m glad you told me.”

“I’d like to talk about it more with you. Maybe in pieces because it’s tough sometimes, but I think you deserve to know about me. It wouldn’t be right if we blocked out that topic of conversation.”

Asa smiled. “You know how happy it makes me to hear that you want to share things about yourself with me?”

Lyric playfully slapped his chest. “Stop saying all the right things.”

“I mean, there’s so much I don’t know about you. Nothing about us has been traditional at all. I mean, you’re meeting my family on our second date.”

Lyric winced. “It might be a long time before youmeet my family. If ever.” She shrugged. “That’s a leftover wound from the dark days.”

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