Page 68 of Pretty Nightmare

“Right.”

“I get it. So we’ll be there about forty minutes. Bring your appetite.”

I can hear her smile on the phone before she ends the call.

She seems to be in a good place right now. And there’s a part of me that wants to leave well enough alone. Just… give her time to enjoy this new stability.

But this is a chance to learn all her secrets.

And there’s no way I’m walking back from that.

CHAPTER TWLEVE - McKAY

I think about Adam the whole drive into Pearl Springs. We take his truck, so he drives. Maggie wants to sit in front, so Indie and I sit in the back. She’s stretched out on the seat with her feet in my lap. If this were the time before, I’d be harping on her to put her fucking seatbelt on.

But she’s not a little girl anymore. And if she wants to stretch out and put her feet in my lap, fuck it.

Pick and choose your battles, right?

I play with one of her toes as she and Maggie have a conversation about frogs. Which makes me smile. And when I lean to the side a little, I can see Adam smiling too. Every few miles he checks me in the mirror. Habit? Maybe. Or maybe he’s thinking about our talk this afternoon.

So… this is happening.

I don’t really know what to expect. Indie is supposed to sleep with me tonight. She doesn’t know that Adam and I have come to an understanding, so if we’re gonna get things started tonight, the offer will have to come from me or Adam.

It’s a wait-and-see game, I guess.

Pizza in town is nothing special, really. But it’s refreshing to be out and all together.

Still here.

Still alive.

Still mostly sane.

Donovan meets us out front of the little Italian restaurant. Pearl Springs only has four eateries—this place, a fast-food taco place, a Subway connected to the gas station, and a place that is only open for brunch on Sundays.

We all slip into a large half-circle booth and it’s not quite big enough for three grown men, a small woman, and a child. Our elbows are all touching. But it feels good.

Adam and I sit on the outside. Maggie sits next to Adam like she’s attached to his hip. Indie sits next to me, like she’s attached to mine. And poor Donovan is stuck in the middle.

He’s in a good mood tonight. Joking and laughing with Mags. Teasing her the way he does with ridiculous statements and helping her do the word search on the kids’ menu using a broken red crayon.

We feel like… a family.

Indie gets in on their joking. And I lean back against the booth and look across the table to find Adam grinning at me.

I lift my chin up at him. “What?”

“Nothing.”

I wait for him to say something about our talk this afternoon. But he doesn’t mention it. Probably because Maggie is here.

He looks happy. Or maybe that’s not the right word.

He looks satisfied.

And that’s kinda how I feel too.