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Cringing at me, she pulled a couple of napkins from the canister and laid them between us. “You okay?”
In a gulp, I sucked back half the bottle and nodded. “Yeah. I, uh. That’s quick. I figured it would take you a couple of days to pull all your paperwork and stuff together since you never finished unpacking.”
She ripped off the edge of the grilled cheese and shrugged. “I have everything important like that in a folder in my room.”
I nodded back at her slowly as I tried to think of some way to change her mind. “Okay.”
Even though I knew the truth about what my mother did to us, in my head, Faith leaving me would only ever be because she didn’t believe in me enough to take care of her.
That house wasn’t just some place for us to live. It was me finally proving to both of us that I was man enough to give her the life she deserved. I hated keeping the truth from her like that, but that wounded kid in me was hellbent on doing it on his own. “I just thought you’d want to wait for a day when I can come with you.”
Chewing as she stared out the window, she shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. I know I suck at math and stuff, but I trust Jason, and it’s not like I have a choice in the loan rates.”
For the second time in my life, she was throwing a wrench into all the plans I made. So, I tapped my fingers against the table as I worked out something else. “Sounds like you got things all figured out.”
I guess something in my tone set off an alarm in her, because her chewing ended as her eyes opened a little wider. “Are you mad? Because if it’s that big a deal, I can reschedule.”
My quick temper wasn’t really a secret to anyone. I never lost it on Faith, not once. Still, I think all those fights I got myself into as a kid left her a little wary. So, I grabbed her fingers and brought them to my mouth to ease her worries. “No, baby. I just get a little irritated that I have to miss out on important stuff like this.”
Her foot moved between mine, rubbing the toe of her little slip-on shoe up the side of my calf. “As long as you don’t miss out on move-in day.”
I tapped her hand with my thumb before pulling my fingers off her. “Nothing in this world can keep me from finally getting to come home to you. Nothing.”
She quickly rattled her fingernails on the table, giving me that innocent, lips-turned-in smile as she dragged them back to finish her sandwich. “Thank you.”
I missed out on all the big milestones of my life with her, and I wasn’t going to let one more pass me by. So, as Faith sat there and tore her grilled cheese to shreds as she daydreamed about the house I bought her, I thought out a dozen different ways to hand her the keys.
34
Really Good News
Faith
To have a few minutes to myself after an afternoon of constant introductions, I waited at the other side of the door on the top of the stairs and caught my breath for a second before I opened it.
I stepped out of the staircase onto the Intensive Care Unit, and Dom rushed at me from the nurses’ station. “You snuck up on me.”
Already reaching for me, he jerked his head in the opposite direction. “I was watching the elevators for you.” I shoved my hands in my pockets because I knew he’d be grabbing them if I didn’t. So he turned around, laying his hand on my back instead as he led me down the hall. “Let me introduce you to the day crew.”
One youngish, dark-haired woman peeked up from her desktop when Dom tapped his fingers on the counter. “This right here is Kim. She’s the charge nurse the first half of the week.” His thumb flipped up at us. “Kim, this is Faith Bennett, our new Speech Pathologist.”
Her eyes quickly traced Dom’s arm around me before she smiled and launched her hand over her screen. “Nice to meet you, and welcome.”
Dom zig-zagged his finger through the three other staff behind the counter as we shook hands. “Then we got Mark from Respiratory. And Michelle and Amy, who are both nurses, too.” They all smiled at me, but every gaze was on Dom’s hand sliding around to my shoulder. “Everybody, this is Faith.”
A jingle started in his chest pocket, and he held up a finger. “Can you guys entertain Faith for a minute? I have to take this.” Sliding his hand down my back as he left us, he winked at me. “I’ll be right back, baby. Don’t go anywhere.”
Mark gently cleared his throat and arched his brow at the contraption he was putting together. “So, where are you from, Faith?”
My hands clasped at the counter’s ledge, and I beat my thumbs together as I shrugged back at him. “Here, actually.” I tipped my head toward the staircase Dom paced in front of. “Doctor Vasser and I went to high school together.”
Sharing a glance with one nurse leaving the station, he curled in his lips and jerked his eyes. “And you came back here to…”
“Um.” Though Dom had already made it fairly obvious we were a couple, I motioned to the window that pointed toward Dad’s house. “My father still lives here, so I moved back to be closer to him.”
The charge nurse leaned back in her seat, pushing it away from the desk. “Married? Kids?”
Just as I heard the squeaks of Dom’s sneakers coming down the hall, I wiggled my fingers in front of my face. “No. Not married.”
