Page 30 of Timelessly Ours

I watch Rory climb into bed, her gray terrycloth bathrobe still on. The first yawn of the night surfacing.

Nicole has been eyeing my daughter’s bookshelf. “What are we readin’, Ror?”

Rory looks up at me tentatively and I give her a reassuring nod. Moving to her bookshelf, she pulls out a short book. Her favorite Halloween book is slightly long, and I wonder how intentional this is. If Rory isn’t quite ready for someone else to read her favorite…or if she isn’t ready for Nicole to read to her at all and therefore picked a quick one.

Either way, I secretly grin with pride. Collins' blood is naturally untrusting. Our trust is earned.

Somehow Nicole stole mine the first time she whisked Rory off my hands at Bridges one night when I couldn’t get a sitter. She sat at the bar with her, chatted up a storm, and taught her about a drink that was named after an iconic child actress, whose hair was as twisty and shiny as hers.

Like me, Rory gravitated to her each time she saw her after that.

Nicole settles comfortably on the bed and scans the book. “Wow. You’re easy. Is this like the prequel to another book?”

Rory shakes her head. Clearly not interested enough to ask what a prequel is. I bite my lip, wishing I had asked Nicole to ease Rory into the bedtime thing.

“Okay.” Nicole picks up the tiny book. “Lost Litte Cricket.” She flips the book to the back. “The end.”

Rory blinks. “You didn’t read it.”

“Sure, I did.”

“You skipped all the pages.”

Nicole feigns shock, inspecting the book. “There are pages? Where?”

Rory opens the book for her.

“Huh. Almost didn’t notice. Say, what do you like about this book? You like crickets?”

“No. They’re loud and scary.”

“Ugh, I know. When I lived with my brother, sometimes I felt like they were in my room.”

Rory’s eyes widen. “Me too. We have so many in the summer.”

Nicole gasps. “How do you sleep?” Then gently pokes at Rory’s ribs with the edge of the book, making her giggle.

“Okay. Well, you do get one book so…let’s make the best of it.” Nicole flips open to the first page and I’m not sure Rory will be sleepy enough or satisfied in the sixty seconds it will take to read that three-year-old level book.

“Actually, can I pick another book?”

Nicole’s mouth turns up on one side. “I’ll wait.”

I retire to my bedroom for a long hot shower, trying not to argue with myself. Try to rationalize that I’m not betraying a team member’s trust and putting someone’s recovery in danger by keeping my mouth shut.

I’m not one hundred percent sure if anyone—least of all her brother—will believe this was a one-off mistake. An out-of-her-mind, driven by hurt and betrayal, mistake.

But I can’t fight this urge to want to take care of her.

What could Nick do for her under his roof that I can’t? We practically have the same schedule.

I’m done lying to myself that this has nothing to do with the pull I’ve had toward her. It might have something to do with it.

But for Christ’s sake, she’s only a few years older than Angel.

Not that age is relevant right now. Neither one of us is in any shape to get involved.

This should solidify my restraint. She needs to get better. And I need to focus on keeping my fucking job.

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