Page 95 of Always Be Mine

He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat as he walked toward to Meri’s room, carefully averting his gaze from where Lucy’s bedroom door was ajar.

“I’ll read you a story tonight, kiddo. Let’s get you tucked in.”

It felt like a miracle that Meri didn’t protest while he helped her into her pajamas and then did a quick brush of her teeth. She was so tired, she almost didn’t notice the note left on her bed next to Garfield, who’d recently claimed Meri’s bed as his own.

“What’s this?”

Meri peered at the paper, her little lips forming around the letters as she sounded out the words.

Meri,

I needed to go on a trip.

Please take care of Garfield for me.

He loves to cuddle with you.

Lucy

“She went on a trip?” Meri gazed up at him, suddenly more awake than she had been a moment before. “Where?”

He wished he knew.

Gently, Craig took the note from her and pulled the covers back, careful not to disturb the cat, who was eyeing him as if he knew what an asshole Craig had been to Lucy. Maybe he did.

“Don’t worry about it for tonight, okay, kiddo? Get some sleep, and I’ll make sure Garfield’s water bowl is topped up.”

“But she asked me to do it,” Meri protested as she slipped under the blankets and dropped her head to the pillow next to the cat.

“I know she did, kiddo, and you’re going to do a great job, but first you have to sleep.”

Meri must have been exhausted, because she didn’t protest the way he was sure she would. He sat next to her and stroked her hair while her eyelids fluttered closed and she finally drifted off to sleep.

He took Lucy’s note with him as he backed out of Meri’s room and closed the door softly behind him. No doubt Garfield would scratch to be let out later.

He found Kat in the kitchen, not with tea, but two glasses of wine. She handed him one as he walked in.

“I thought something a bit stronger would be appropriate.”

Craig eyed the cupboard where he kept a bottle of whiskey, but shook his head and took a sip of the wine instead. Whiskey in his state would be a bad idea. He didn’t need to lose control of himself any more than he already had.

“I’m sorry, Kat.”

“For what?” She jumped up on the counter and swung her legs.

Instantly, the memory of Lucy sitting on the counter filled his head and he looked away. “For blowing up the way I did earlier. That wasn’t okay.”

“No,” she said simply. “It wasn’t okay. But I get it, and you were right. We should have been there for you. We’re the ones who should be sorry.”

Craig sank into a chair at the table and drank his wine.

They sat in silence until Kat spoke again. “You didn’t have to do that with her, you know?”

He looked up in question.

“You didn’t have to hide your feelings for Lucy,” Kat clarified. “I know why you did it,” she added quickly before he could interrupt her. “But you didn’t have to. We would have understood. In fact, I think we all would have been really supportive about it.”

Craig shook his head. “Maybe you would have been, but not the others. At least, not all of them. In fact, Iknowthat. They told me. They were worried that if I got involved with Lucy, I’d screw it up and she’d leave.”

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