Page 46 of Unsteady in Love

“You got a good one, Alex. Enjoy him, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I know,” she said with her hand to her heart. “Talk soon.”

After disconnecting, and with the sun setting, Atticus and I played in the backyard. During the day, it was too hot, and I had to get his doggy energy out as best as I could with the little amount of time I had before I made a lonely dinner for one. Not long after eating dinner in front of the TV, Holden FaceTimed me.

“Hey,” I answered, trying to be chipper and failing miserably.

“Hey, back. What’s going on?” His mouth turned down at the corners.

“I want to talk to you.”

“Great because I called to talk to you,” he tried to joke.

“You look good.” I smiled because he did look good. He had a little color in his cheeks after being so pale since the accident. “How are you?”

“Well, I’m a little worried after seeing your face when you answered. Cut the chitchat, Prue, and talk to me.”

“Well, you’re certainly bossy tonight. Fine, I talked to Alex, and she encouraged me to talk to you so you can tell me I have nothing to worry about,” I chuckled miserably.

“Okay, I’ll try, but I’m not going to lie to you,” he answered.

“That does nothing to make me feel better, Holden.” Jeez, couldn’t he lie to me even just a little bit? I shook my head. I had been calling this house my home, but it felt weird to call it his home too. Maybe that was part of it. “Do you have another house?”

He blinked his wide eyes. “First, no I don’t have another house. Only the one you’re living in.” He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his short hair. It was getting longer, and I couldn’t wait to run my fingers through it. “I can understand you being afraid I’ll disappear again. I did that to you once, and all I can do is promise I’ll come home to you no matter where you are. It nearly wrecked me to lose you once. I’m never going to do it again.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks with abandon. “I’m sorry, Holden. I feel like a bitch…”

“You’re not a bitch. I want you to tell me how you feel.” His voice was a soft caress. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy for you to go back home, but I didn’t think you would still worry I might not come back.”

I bit my lip, unsure if I should say what I said next. “If you want to talk about anything, you know I’m here. I might seem a little unstable right now, but I promise I’m not. I’m here for you in any way you need.”

He looked off for a moment, but when his gaze came back, he was determined. It was a different determination than before when he’d shut down on me. This one gave me hope. “I got fully checked out today, and the doctor said I’m healing quickly. He thinks they’ll measure me for a new leg next week.”

“That’s great news.” And it was in more ways than one. Holden had finally opened up to me and mentioned his leg. It was a step. A big one.

“He said it shouldn’t take too long for me to start therapy. They have something that’s like a crutch but not. I don’t know, he said a lot of words I didn’t understand. We’ll start with that and then my new leg.”

“I know you’re going to kick ass. It’s just like working out, so you’ve got this.”

“But what if I don’t have it?” he asked quietly, his brow furrowed.

“You will. At first, it will be tough, but I know you can push past it.”

“I know you’re right, but…” He looked down, unsure.

“It’s going to hurt, and at first you might have to do only a few minutes at a time, but you haven’t lost much muscle. You’ll be up and going before you know it.”

“I’m glad I’ve got you in my corner.” He smiled sweetly at me.

“Always,” I vowed. “So,” I drew the word out, “when I was talking to Alex, she was trying to persuade me to visit her in Hawaii. I was thinking I might go for a few days.”

“You should. I know you miss her.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what I would have done without her help. It will be nice when she’s back.”

“When’s she coming back?”

“I’m not really sure. She’s getting married around the middle of August, and then they’ll go on their honeymoon. I think they plan to be back before Mason starts school though. Probably sometime in the beginning of September.” I shrugged. I knew once she was back, she’d be busy with Mason’s school and Luke.

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