Page 30 of The Road Back to Us

“You’re my hero,” Kara replied softly. “I heard about the bet during lunch. Kids had been making fun of me all day, and more bets were made to see if Tommy would be able to... You know.”

I nodded, my face falling with sadness because I hated this for her.

“You stood up for me in a way no one ever has. Both of you did,” Kara added, looking at her brother. “I still can’t believe he got punched twice today.”

“He had it coming,” I said, unable to keep my laugh in. “That kid is a real piece of work.”

“Yeah, he is,” Kara agreed.

“I need to go potty,” Chloe said, tugging on Cole’s shirt to get his attention.

“I’ll take you,” Kara said, reaching out her arms to carry Chloe.

Once they were out of the room, Ben turned his attention back to me, only this time, he looked worried.

“How did it go with Principal Newman?”

“Well, she was not the kind of person I expected her to be,” I answered honestly. “She was so hell-bent on following the rules that she hadn’t even noticed how many she was breaking. I tried to get her to lift your suspension, but unfortunately, you’ll be home the rest of the week because you hit Tommy. There wasn’t anything I could do about that. But I was able to get him suspended for creating an unsafe environment for Kara with the bet, and told her that I would get in touch with the school board about the underage gambling at school if she didn’t do something.”

“I don’t regret hitting him,” Ben said, meeting my eyes. “I know we’re not supposed to hurt others, but I don’t regret it. I just got so mad hearing him talk about Kara like that, I just lost it.”

“I know. I get it.”

His shoulders fell, his body relaxing as if a weight had been lifted.

“You protected your sister, Ben. No one can blame you for that. You’re so much like your dad,” I said, laughing. “He did the same thing for me so many times, I lost count. He would be so proud of you, just like I am.”

My eyes filled with tears, but before I could blink them away, Ben had pulled me into another unexpected hug as my heart tried not to burst.

************************************

The night wound down quicker than I expected, or perhaps it was the stress of the day that had finally caught up to me, leaving me exhausted.

Cole got the kids situated and in bed, giving Ben a list of things for him to help with this week while he was home. Mainly, it was taking care of Chloe and the goats while I kept my head down and got my ass in gear before I fell behind on my deadline at work.

I was thankful for the support he constantly showed, but I hated how much I felt like I was relying on him these days.

We both got ready for bed and were pulling back the blankets when I felt his gaze on me. I lifted my eyes, unsure what I would find when I looked at him.

“You were amazing today,” he said, his words so filled with emotion that my heart did that flutter thing I told it not to.

“Thank you. I appreciate all of your support with everything.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded before climbing into bed. I grabbed my bottle of lotion from the nightstand and sat down, squeezing some into my hands before applying it to my legs.

“I know that you said you’re not ready,” Cole started, but there was a nervousness in his voice that immediately made my guard go up.

I could already tell where this was going.

Please don’t do this tonight. I don’t have it in me to tell you all the reasons why we can’t be together. I have nothing left to give anyone, let alone us.

“But I was just thinking that maybe we could try. Nothing serious, but I mean, we make the perfect team, Lyric. We handled that school stuff today without any fighting—we just joined forces and took care of things. We’re raising the kids together, and everyone seems to be really happy...”

I can’t do this. I can’t break your heart again. Don’t ask for a piece of me that I can’t give. Why can’t you just accept that it was one night—we both agreed it was just sex.

“I know you’re scared,” he said softly. “I can tell by the way you’re avoiding me right now. But you can’t blame me for trying. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, and I don’t plan to ever stop. The other night was amazing, and I think we both felt something. If we just give it a tr—”

“No!” I blurted out as the lotion bottle fell from my hands and landed on the floor. “And how dare you ask that of me!”