Page 108 of Always Be Mine

“I’m sorry I left, but I know Meri took good care of you.”

She pushed herself up to a seated position and pulled the cat on her lap as she powered up her cell phone and pressed the button to listen to Craig’s voicemail.

Come home.

His last words echoed in her ears.

Was Trickle Creek home?

Driving through the streets as she’d come into townhadfelt like coming home. Stepping into the kitchen and seeing Craig standing there…

She took a deep breath and with Garfield still in her arms, Lucy got to her feet and opened her door.

The lights were still on in the kitchen and when she walked in, Craig was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, an untouched bottle of beer in front of him.

“Hi.”

Craig’s head shot up and he spun so fast, the beer bottle almost toppled over. “Hey. I thought maybe you were…it’s okay if you…do you want a drink?”

She nodded, and he jumped up to get her a beer. “We have water or tea or orange juice if you’d prefer.”

“Beer’s fine.” With Garfield still in her arms, she sat across from him and accepted the drink. “I listened to your voicemail.” She held a hand up to stop him before he interrupted. “Thank you for calling.”

“I should have done it sooner. I was trying to give you your space and…”

“I could have called, too.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m sorry I left the way I did. I should have said something.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

Lucy laughed.

“You don’t, Lucy. I was an asshole.”

She smirked a little. “You were. But that doesn’t mean it’s all your fault.” She exhaled, the exhaustion from not only the long drive, but the emotional load of the last few days all coming to a head. “When I took this job, I never expected any of this. And I wasn’t ready for it.” She shook her head. “None of it.”

“And now?”

She looked to Garfield, who mewled his response.

“Am I ready for it?”

Craig nodded. “I know it’s not easy and I’m so far from perfect. Hell, I’ve screwed this up so much in such a short amount of time, that I think it takes some sort of special skill to be this messed up.”

She chuckled.

“But I’m learning and growing, Lucy. And sometimes that can be messy because I’m in completely uncharted territory here. I’ve never done this before.” He pressed his hands on the table in front of him and looked her in the eye. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And when you left the other day, I thought I’d ruined everything, and you’d never be back.”

Garfield’s soft fur kept her grounded and focused on every word. She listened carefully, hearing every word he said.

“I never want to keep anything from you again, Lucy. And I really don’t want to hide how I feel about you from anyone. Never again.” He took a deep breath and reached a hand across the table. “You know everything now.” He dropped his head and shook it before looking up again. “No. That’s not true. There’s one thing you don’t know yet.”

She took his hand and immediately, warmth flowed through her and her nervous system calmed. “What don’t I know?”

“You don’t know how I feel about you.”

Her stomach flipped. “I think I do.”

“Do you?”

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