Page 58 of A Brother At My Back

“You think everything is okay?” she asked as I dried her through a towel and she sounded both fragile and hopeful.

I lied to her, and it killed me to do it, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. She didn’t need the truth right now, she needed to believe. “I think everything’s fine and she’s off getting her rocks off with that bloke.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said and she sounded like she didn’t believe me. She leaned up and kissed me softly and said, “You’re a terrible liar, but thank you. You’re right for doing it.”

I smiled and said, “Guilty, but then again, I hate to see you hurt.”

“I love that about you, too.”

I felt a sudden warmth radiate out from my center at her words.

“The more I get to know you, the more time I spend with you… I really think I’m starting to love everything about you,” I said evenly.

“Except my job,” she murmured and I smiled.

“Hard to love that,” I said.

She nodded and looked a little sad, “There are some days I loved my job, but they haven’t come in a while.”

“So why don’t you quit?” I asked, and held her close. She looked up at me and her expression was sad and a little bit torn.

“The money, for one. Honestly, I don’t know what else I would do.”

“Well,” I said and kissed her softly, “Nothing has to change right now, or even soon.”

“Seriously?” she asked and bit her bottom lip, giving me a skeptical look.

“Truly,” I told her.

She hugged me close, resting her head on my shoulder and I held her back, smoothing a hand over the towel over her lower back and her bum.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“For not lying, but for not forcing me to choose or make a change right now.”

“I will never force you to do anything you don’t want to. That’s not how I want any of this to work.”

“But you want it to work?” she asked and that fragile hope was back in her voice.

I didn’t lie one bit when I said, “More than anything, Wahine. More than anything I’ve ever wanted before.”

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