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“Baby,” I called.
“Hm?”
“Need you to focus on me for a second.”
She blinked and I watched a tear escape down her cheek.
I quickly swiped it away then left my hand cupping her face.
“I need you to tell me what you need from me right now.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
“He loves you,” Zane announced. “Not Easton, your father. Or maybe Easton does, too. I don’t know, these assholes drop like flies.”
My eyes shifted to my boss. “Read the room.”
“I did, the vibe sucked ass. Bottom line takeaway is that Charlie Michaels gave up the woman he loved to keep Nebraska safe. He did it knowing he’d never get that woman back and one day he’d lose Nebraska, too. And that is the very fucking definition of being a father. Sacrifice. The rest, the details, those don’t mean shit. I’m a man who loves his children and his wife. Of those three I couldn’t tell you who I love more and that’s the God’s honest truth. That man was fucked from the beginning in a no-win situation. Now, Maddon, that fucker will be handled accordingly.”
“Zane’s right, honey. That’s the bottom line I have to hold onto right now. I need to see this through with Maddon, then we’ll deal with the emotional fallout. I just don’t have it in me right now.”
I was going to give her that play but only because my heart was thumping in my chest so hard I was courting a broken rib.
We.
We’ll deal.
Us.
Fuck yeah, I’d give this to her knowing when the time came she’d let me help her through the rest.
“Whatever you need.”
“Whatever I need,” she whispered.
“Speaking of Maddon,” Theo interjected. “Garrett made some calls.”
Nebraska shifted to get off my lap. My first instinct was to keep her where she was, where I wanted her, where I could keep her close and make sure she was good. But this wasn’t about me, it was about her and what she needed. While a drama was in progress and she was under fire she’d let me comfort her. While business was being discussed, no way.
Once she was back in her chair the change happened.
She didn’t slip back into the woman she was the first time she was in this room. She wasn’t in full freeze-out mode, but neither was she who she was with just me, or me and Smith.
She wasn’t Dove.
She wasn’t my Nebraska.
She was somewhere in the middle.
That was good enough for now. In time she’d get used to the rest of the team and relax.
“Did he get anything?” she asked.
