Page 116 of Secondhand Smoke
Barrett almost lost his hold on her hands, his fingers going numb with the rest of his body and brain.
“They, uh . . . Us. Hmm, right, okay,” he rambled, blinking rapidly. It took him an embarrassingly long time to regain any comprehensive thought.
Nell stared to the side as he tried to figure out how to respond.
Because how was he supposed to respond?“Oh, that’s splendid news. So glad to be a part of the family.”
Obviously not. Clearly, this was not splendid news. Not when his girlfriend was crying in his arms about it.
It wasn’t a surprise, though, right? What was he expecting? Her pastor father to welcome him with open arms and look past literallyeverythingabout him? Dream on.
“So, guessing it wasn’t . . .”
“Wasn’t great, yeah.” She sighed. “He kicked me out.” She avoided his eyes, staring at Sandra on the wall instead.
Oh.
Right.
Now that partdidsurprise him.
These were the parents who’d freaked out when she left the house for too long without them knowing. Parents who would rather watch her every hour of every day if she let them.
And now, they just kicked her out. Left her to fend for herself.
Because ofhim?
Come on, he wasn’t that bad, was he?
“I don’t have anywhere to stay, and you’re the first person I could think of.”
He could smell the apology about to follow that.
Instead of letting her get to that point, he smiled and pulled her into him, her face in the crook of his neck. He smoothed the back of her hair. “I think I have room for one more in my bed.”
There was a small puff of air on his neck as she laughed softly, then pulled back. “Are you sure it’s okay? What about Ron?”
“I’ll talk to Ron.”
She opened her mouth, her lips turned down in worry. But after a few moments of what looked like contemplation, she closed it and seemed to accept that she had no other choice.
Well, that wasn’t true. Any of the other guys would let her stay with them, but despite the shittiness of the situation, a small unspoken part of Barrett was dancing giddily at the chance to live with his girlfriend even temporarily.
Standing up, he leaned in to brush his lips softly on her forehead. Her eyes closed, and when he pulled away, he could see the exhausted lines under her eyes.
“Why don’t you lie down, get some rest? I’ll talk to Ron, and we’ll get everything figured out, okay?”
She sighed but did as he suggested.
Barrett slipped out as she began to take off her jacket and shoes.
He took a deep breath and walked back out to the kitchen.
He’d hoped that Ron had returned to his own room and he could procrastinate this conversation, but it was too good to be true.
Ron stood in the kitchen, mug in hand with freshly brewed coffee, arms crossed, and a stern quirk of his brow.
“I’m starting to wonder what kind of lessons you’re giving that girl.”
