Not just wanted… ached for it.
I’d dreamed of it late at night, imagining what it would feel like to belong to someone again. To have a home that wasn’t just a place to sleep but a place to be.
But I’d never expected it to happen like this.
When Samuel pulled into the driveway, no one moved at first.
Then Adam sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Come on, let’s get inside.”
Kai was out of the truck first, opening my door before I could even reach for the handle.
I didn’t fight it… I was too drained, too overwhelmed. He helped me out, keeping a steady hand on my lower back as we walked toward The Foundry.
I’d only just considered staying in Medford and not running off again.
But I wasn’t expectingthis.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Kai
Sadie satat the worn wooden table in the back of The Foundry, a blanket draped over her shoulders like she might shatter if the air touched her wrong.
She looked better than she had in the hospital—color back in her cheeks, eyes a little brighter—but I still wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t keel over if she so much as blinked too fast.
So, I watched her. Like a damn hawk.
Samuel was on his usual bullshit, acting like her personal chef, fixing her a plate of food like she couldn’t possibly be trusted to do it herself. He set a steaming bowl of soup in front of her, followed by a thick slice of buttered bread and a side of fruit.
“You’re going to eat all of this,” he said firmly. “No arguments.”
Sadie opened her mouth, maybe to argue anyway, but he leveled her with a look that shut her down instantly. Instead, she sighed and picked up the spoon, swirling it through the broth.
“That’s what I thought,” Samuel murmured, softer now. His hand hovered near her shoulder for a moment, then gave in, settling there in a brief squeeze. “Scared the hell out of us, you know.”
She winced. “I know. I didn’t mean to?—”
“We know,” I cut in. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you did.”
Adam, always the one to break the tension, leaned against the counter, peeling an orange with methodical movements.
“I dunno, Sadie,” he drawled. “You should probably fake fainting more often. Never seen three grown men trip over themselves like that.”
Sadie huffed, breaking off a piece of bread. “I didn’t fake faint.”
“Sure, sure. But if you did, you could probably get Samuel to feed you by hand, me to carry you everywhere, and Kai to?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I muttered, though my lips twitched despite myself.
Sadie glanced at me, something knowing in her gaze. “Kai to what?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t, not with the way my chest felt too tight, too full. Instead, I reached for the tea Samuel had also placed in front of her, because of course he had, and tested the temperature against the back of my hand before nudging it toward her.
Sadie raised an eyebrow but accepted it, wrapping her fingers around the cup. “You’re all acting like I died.”
Samuel’s jaw ticked. “You collapsed, Sadie. Just… went down like your legs stopped working. What did you expect?”
She hesitated, breaking off another bite of bread, and for a second, I thought she might finally tell us how she was feeling about all of this.