Page 149 of Halo

“Morning,” Leah whispers, a rich gravel to her voice.

“Hmm morning.” I cover a yawn. “How'd you sleep?”

She shrugs. “Probably better than you.”

I smirk. “Dad life, I guess.”

“Yeah, but this was never supposed to be part of it.”

Her eyes drift to Grady, and when they come back to mine, neither of us says anything. We don’t need to. The worry is still there, sitting between us after a night neither of us wants to repeat.

Leah pushes herself upright, and that’s when I notice what she’s wearing.

A quiet laugh slips out. “You still have that?”

She looks down at my from our first date and tugs at the hem. “What? It keeps me warm at night. Plus, it’s good juju.”

“The pastor’s daughter believes in juju now?”

She giggles as she slips her shoes on. “Desperate times.”

Once she’s on her feet, she stretches and reaches for her purse. “I’m going to find us some breakfast.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. But I need to do something.” She shivers, wiggling her fingers. “I have too much nervous energy. My stomach's in knots, and I'm thinking a kolache is in the works.”

That does sound good.

She comes around the bed and leans over carefully, mindful of Grady between us. Her lips brush mine in a soft kiss. “I’ll be back.” Her fingers skim my cheek before she straightens and heads for the door.

I watch her go, smiling long after the door closes behind her.

Grady snuggles closer in his sleep, smacking his lips.

I pull the blanket up around us, and I finally drift off to sleep.

***

Cartoon voices pull me out of a sleep deep enough that, for a second, I have no idea where the hell I am. Squinting around the sun-filled room, I see Grady sitting cross-legged beside me, happily chewing on a small handful of sour peach rings.

“What are you doing, partner?”

He squirms, rocking to the beat of the music on the television. “Eating breakfast.”

I snort, grabbing a piece of candy and popping it in my mouth.

“Mrs. Harrison said not to wake you.”

Of course she did.

“And Mrs. Harrison gave you candy for breakfast?”

“She said I could have some just this once.” He points toward the table. “She brought kolaches too.”

A paper bag sits beside a coffee, Leah’s handwriting scrawled across the front.

Had to let Angus out and get to school. You needed the sleep. I’ll come back tonight. —L