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My bed had never felt lonelier.
MacKay
I slept like shit. Which wasn’t exactly a shock, but my neck and back were killing me as I hauled myself off the couch.
Cash and Faith were in the kitchen. I knew he had questions about me and Faith but there wasn’t much to tell him beyond what I had the night before. We were sort of friends, mostly work associates going forward.
Faith had seemed surprised Cash was going to the stadium to play football, but I knew where his head was at. He had a job to do. It was also an excellent distraction and a way to release pent up aggression. He couldn’t lose his shit at home, but he could take out a defensive back.
“Morning,” I said. It seemed too ambitious to call it a good morning. They both looked rough around the edges.
“Morning,” Cash said.
“Hi,” Faith said softly to me.
“Thank the Lord Marigold is still sleeping,” Cash said. “I’m going to scoot out of here before she wakes up. Poor kid is clingy right now and I can’t be late.”
“Do you know what?” Faith asked as she moved toward the coffee maker, wearing the same clothes she had the night before. She paused just briefly to give her brother a side hug. “I love you,” she told him. “Just so you know.”
“I love you, too.” Whatever Cash had been about to do was put on pause when his phone rang. He instantly answered it. “Sweetheart, is everything okay? How are you and the baby?”
Faith and I both tensed up and watched him.
Relief appeared on his face immediately, which made me sigh in relief. Faith blew her hair out of her eyes and reached up into the cupboard for a coffee mug, revealing the skin at the small of her back. I wanted to kiss that patch of bare skin and work my way around.
Which made me an asshole. Or a guy who liked to be kicked repeatedly. How many ways could Faith tell me she didn’t want me?
I figured I could take at least a few more.
Cash ended the call and bent over for a brief second, letting out his breath. “Damn. That scared me for a second. I don’t know why. It’s not like Sera would be calling me herself if something was really wrong.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I’m going to crush some skulls on the field today and enjoy it.”
I turned to Faith. “You can take a few days off of work, you know. If you want to go to Louisiana or if Cash needs you here.”
She nodded, clearly relieved. “Thank you. I’d really like to go see Conway with my own two eyes.”
“Marigold can go to Louisiana with you today,” Cash said. “My assistant can book your flights. I want to leave Marigold there at least a week with Mom and Dad so I don’t have to worry about her. Sera doesn’t need that added stress either. Maybe she can even stay until the baby is born. I’d leave her with Sera’s sister, Helena, but she and Chad and the kids are actually in Florida this week.”
“Right. Of course they are.” Faith looked at me. “Is it okay if I come back to work Wednesday?”
“That’s totally fine. You can work remotely too while you’re traveling back,” I said. “Now that the launch event is behind us, we’re not as busy anyway.”
“What about school?” Faith asked Cash. “Marigold just started kindergarten.”
“She knows how to tie her shoes and write her name, that’s going to have to be good enough for now. I don’t think she’ll miss too much and I don’t really have a choice. I’m gone every weekend for the next three weeks.”
“Do you want me to quit my job?” Faith asked, looking like she wanted to do anything but that.
I knew how much she loved the job. And she was great at it. But it showed how much her family meant to her.
“What? Of course not. No. We’ll sort it out. The older kids can stay here, I’ll just need someone to stay at the house with them on the weekends. During the week, I’m usually home by five.”
“I can stay with them,” I volunteered. I didn’t know much about kids, but Cash was one of my best friends. I owed it to him to help out if I could.
“Are you sure?” Cash asked, looking a little leery of my babysitting skills. “They are teenagers. They can go to Toni’s if that’s easier.”
“I can handle a couple of teenagers. I think. Just feed them and make sure they don’t die, right?”
Cash nodded. “Basically.”
