Page 60 of Almost Home
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Sarah
Eddie’s name flashed on my screen.
“You need to get that?” Wilder said as we reached my building.
“I probably should. She only calls me every few weeks when she can.”
Wilder’s eyes narrowed. “What’s her job, again?”
“She works for the State Department. I can’t remember her title. Lots of travel and such, which she loves, of course.”
Wilder nodded. “Better get it, then.” Eyes dropping to my lips, he moved in a flash and pressed a surprisingly gentle kiss to my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Yeah.” I answered the call before I lost it but took a minute to raise it to my ear as I worked to focus through the fluttering in my chest and the disappointment that we’d had to say goodbye.
It was smart. I mean, we still had so much to discuss, including what was even happening between us or what he wanted or how we’d manage things at work, but for now, I’d talk to my sister.
“Eddie? Everything okay?”
“You realize you don’t need to answer that way every time, right? I call you all the time, and it’s always because I love you and want to talk to you, and not because I’ve been kidnapped by terrorists or something.”
I released a sigh, buckling in for sassy Ed. She had gotten all the sass in the family, but she’d been stealth about it. She’d kept it locked down until she had a chance to get free, and then she’d gone far and wide and never looked back except to call me.
And yes, at some point, I’d probably need to look a little closer at why I considered Eddie leaving home synonymous with her freedom.
Actually, no. I knew exactly why. It was why I’d left and felt weird waves of guilt and shame for not having done so years ago—decades ago.
“I love you and want to know you’re safe.”
“Completely”—she grunted like she was lifting something heavy—“safe.”
I chuckled. “Okay. Good to know.”
“Have you told the parents no yet?”
My stomach twisted. “No. They told me to let them know by mid-May, so I’m taking my time.”
She made an irritated sound, which I ignored as I slumped onto the couch.
“You got out, Sar. You need tostay gone. It’s been, what, fourteen months? Don’t go back there.”
“It’s not like I’m incapable of leaving again. I’d book a return flight. I have a life here. Friends, a job.” Sure, maybe it was temporary, but it was good. In fact, I loved it, and we’d barely gotten into more complex contracts and client relationships.
Wherever I went after Silverton, I would not be going back to Georgia.
“Yeah? What’s the job? Are you teaching?”
Woof.She spit the wordteachinglike it tasted bad. My hackles rose, but I breathed through the defensiveness, reminding myself she was supporting me in her own way, doing what she thought I needed. “No, in fact, it’s not. I’m working for Saint Securities.”
“Saint?I thought you said you were temping last time we talked?”
My pulse jumped. I’d avoided expounding on the job because the last time we’d talked, I’d been… well, I’d been on my heels a bit, knocked back by Wilder’s attention and my waterfall of feelings. “Yeah. Wilder and a friend of his from the Army are doing private security. It’s a new business, and their admin is on bed rest after like two days on the job or something, so I have until her maternity leave is over.”
What I’d do after that, I couldn’t wrap my head around. And I wouldn’t, for now.
“Wilder? He’s out?”
