Page 163 of Contentious

“Relax and recharge.”

“You mean chill. That’s the word for it now.”

“Oh, thank you for letting me know that,” Cresley said.

Ty rolled his eyes at Carson. “How does she not know this stuff?”

“It’s a mystery to me, too.”

Cresley dug a fingernail into Carson’s back. “I can hear you two.”

Ty’s giggle was the best sound ever after the events of yesterday. “Is there food in this house?”

“I think we’ve got grits and beans and lizard tails in the fridge.”

His eyes bugged. “What?”

“You don’t like those?”

“You don’t really have lizard tails in your fridge!”

“You’d better go check.”

Ty took off out of bed and ran for the hallway.

Chapter Thirty

Carson eased onto his back, moving carefully and absorbing the now-predictable blast of pain that came with any movement. “He’s pretty confident he can find his way around for someone who’s never been here before.”

“He’ll find his way. How are you really?”

“Pretty sore today.”

“I’m sorry.”

He cupped her face and stroked her soft skin with his thumb. “Not your fault.”

“I’m taking a couple more weeks off from work,” she said. “My team is rearranging my schedule as we speak to make it possible for me to be with you and Ty until we’re all back on our feet again.”

“You’re not doing that because of me, I hope.”

“I’m doing it for all of us. We can’t just go on with our lives like nothing happened and think it’ll all be fine. It doesn’t work that way. We need time and space and quiet. We need some peace.”

“Yes, we do, and if you and Ty need some time to yourselves, I’d totally understand.”

“You would?”

“Sure I would. Whatever you need is fine with me.”

“What if I needed you here with me to help me figure out the way forward for Ty the way you did just now, answering his questions with so much care?”

“I was flying blind with that.”

“You did great.”

“Really?”

When she smiled at him like that, he felt like he was staring directly into the sun. “Yes, really. You explained things to him in a way he could easily understand and didn’t get impatient when he kept asking hard questions. I wish I could’ve recorded it.”