Page 96 of Falling for Brody

She just couldn't.

It didn't matter how much she felt for Brody. She cared about him. A lot. She cared about him more than she wanted to admit to herself, but she'd already uprooted Chip and brought him to a new town.

Yes, he was happy, but there was so much that was changing.

She didn't want Chip's head spinning like her own was.

She wanted him to feel grounded and sure of their new life before...

She didn't want Chip to think that she was replacing his dad.

He loved Charles as much as she did.

How much change could she put Chip through so soon?

Rhea got up and headed into the shower. She needed the hot water to chase her own pain away before she could sit in Brody's truck with him all the way back to Fallport.

She had to find a way to explain it to him. She didn't want to hurt Brody when all he'd done is shown her how good he was. How amazing he was.

She turned on the shower and stepped in before she checked the heat and regretted it. It was hot and punishing against her skin, but she wasn't about to jump out again. She fiddled with the dial until she felt it hit the right level of heat. It hurt, but she didn't feel it all that much, her heart hurt more.

* * *

Brody lookedover at Rhea and wanted to kick himself in the ass.

She was asleep in the passenger seat of his Tahoe,

She looked worn out.

And he knew he was part of the reason she was suffering.

He'd intended to be a support for her, and he'd ended up making her uncomfortable.

"I'm a fucking asshole."

He hissed when Rhea shifted in the passenger seat, her eyes fluttering open.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "We should be back in time for you to pick up Chip from school."

She sat up in the chair and hid a yawn from him.

"You can go back to sleep if you want. You looked like you were getting some rest."

He saw her looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"I slept a little. It's good. You could probably use some sleep. I can drive the rest of the way."

He flexed his hands on the steering wheel and kept his gaze on the road ahead. "I've got this. You should relax."

There was a moment of quiet before she spoke again. "It's kind of hard to relax when you sound like you're ordering me to do it."

"Is that what I sound like?"

She shrugged. "A little. But it could just be me trying to get my head on straight before I get back. I might be strung a little too tight. I'm trying not to let this affect Chip. He doesn't have any idea that they're suing me for custody, and I don't want him to worry about what's happening."

Brody continued to drive listening to the 90's music on the Satellite station.

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