Page 49 of Starcrossed Colorado

Geez. My kid was only six, but she had an advanced degree in guilt-tripping. “It’s just different. Okay?”

She stuck out her lower lip and glared at the window.

After drop-off, I headed to the gym to meet Elias for training. He was already warming up on the treadmill when I walked up. “What’s with you?” he asked. “Would’ve thought you’d be smiling.”

“Why?”

Elias grinned smugly. “Callum told me about your pretty new roommate. How’s that going?”

Seriously, the small-town gossip network was bad enough. But my siblings took it to another level. “Emma’s not feeling well today. Maisie’s upset that we left her at the apartment.”

“Oh. Damn.” Elias hit stop on the machine and stepped off. “Do you need to take off? We’re doing the same routine as last time, right? I can run through it myself.”

“No, you paid for me to whip your ass into shape. Let’s hit the weights. Squat rack first.”

Since the moment Emma had shown up in Silver Ridge, I had been trying to keep her at arm’s length. But there was another part of me that wanted to pull her closer. A very stupid part of me.

I had to draw the line somewhere before I did something I couldn’t undo.

Yet an hour and a half later, after returning my truck to its usual parking space, I found myself a few blocks away on Main Street picking up supplies. Laden with bags, I trudged back to the Big Blue Monster. That name had already stuck. Those windows really did look like eyes. How had I never noticed it?

I tried to be quiet as I went upstairs and unpacked my purchases in the kitchen. No sounds came from the guest room. But when I tiptoed over to check, her door was open.

Emma leaned against the pillows with her eyes closed. Her hair was damp like she’d taken a shower. She smelled like lavender and vanilla. I hadn’t been able to name the flowerbefore, but now her shampoo and body wash were in my bathroom.

Stella snoozed beside her. I didn’t want to disturb them. I was about to sneak away when Emma opened her eyes.

“Hi. You’re back.”

“Finished my morning session.” I leaned into the door frame. “Dixie is going to pick up Maisie from camp and entertain her for a few hours. I told her you’re not feeling well. Dixie said she hopes you feel better soon.” Actually, Dixie had asked me to give Emma a get-well hug for her. I figured that was a bad idea. “I grabbed some things from the market. For whenever you’re hungry.”

“You didn’t have to do all that.”

But I did, I thought. Couldn’t help myself. “No big deal. How’s your pain?”

“Not great. But not the worst. The nausea has mostly passed.”

“Do you feel like having soup? I have chicken noodle or tomato.”

“Tomato sounds good. Thank you.”

A few minutes later, I carried a tray with two bowls of soup and more saltines into the guest room. “Mind if I eat in here with you? I’d sit at the kitchen table, but seems weird for us to eat in two separate rooms.”

“I don’t mind at all. Stella, down please. Good girl.”

I clenched my teeth. Hearing her say those last two words just made me imagine myself saying them. In a very different kind of situation.

The only place for me to sit was on the bed. Which didn’t help. I placed the tray over Emma’s lap, then carefully sat on top of the blankets next to her so I wouldn’t jostle the soup.

“Didn’t know you could have such a delicate touch,” she said.

“Me? I’m like a panther when I want to be. Pure stealth.”

Emma snickered and dipped her spoon into the soup.

The lights were low, and we ate in companionable silence. Once Stella figured out there was food, she tried joining us, but Emma snapped her fingers and told the dog to stay down. “It’s not your turn, Stella. You just have to wait.”

I smiled at their interaction. Usually, the pets-as-children thing annoyed me. But not when Emma did it. “How long do your migraines usually last?”

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