Page 37 of Free Heart
“Yeah,” I agree. “This injury is doing a number on his head.”
The sky spits more wet on us, and I feel the dampness creeping into my collar and settling into my long hair. It’ll be wet for hours. “I’m not sure if he even knows who he is without climbing.”
“I imagine he doesn’t.”
“I finally got him watching a TV show that he doesn’t complain about. It’s a KDrama of all things. I’m stressing out because there are only eight more episodes left, and he’ll blow through those today probably. Then we’ll be back at square one—what to do with all those hours?”
“Another KDrama, maybe?”
“I feel like that’d be catching lightning in a bottle twice.”
“It’s not your responsibility, you know. It’s up to him to figure out what to do with himself.”
“I know.”
Rye pats my forearm. “It’ll be better when he can get up and move around on one of those little zoomy things at least.”
“Yeah.”
Another few minutes pass without us saying much. It’s comfortable with Rye, and I get why Dan enjoys climbing with him. Eventually, though, Rye does break the silence. “He wanted me to bring weights in from the van for him.”
I roll my eyes. “He’s been bugging me about that too.”
“So I was right, and you’re not letting him use them?”
“Thedoctorsaid not to use them, not me. He said anything of weight that could be dropped on the leg was a no-go at this stage. Dan’s impatient. He wants to rush things that can’t be rushed.”
“It’s interesting, isn’t it? On the wall, he never rushes. He’s meticulous.”
“Like I said, this injury is messing with him at a fundamental level.”
We sat in silence again, the dampness making me cold enough to shiver. “What was Jeanie’s costume for Halloween?” I ask after taking the last sip of my coffee and getting up to throw away the cup.
“Vampire.”
“Cool.”
Rye smiles. “I’ll text you some pics. I was surprised Andrew sent me any of her at all.”
“I’m glad he did.”
“Me too.”
“Jeremiah went as a Paw Patrol character and Sarah Kate went as a pumpkin,” I tell him.
Rye tilts his head. “Do you miss living with them?”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“I miss living with Jeanie a hell of a lot.”
“I thought this living arrangement with Lowell was going to make seeing her a little easier?”
“I’d hoped so too, but…” Rye shrugs, obviously trying to look less upset about this than he is. “Andrew says he doesn’t trust Lowell since he doesn’t know him at all, and he won’t agree to let Jeanie stay overnight with me in his home so long as he’s present.” Rye frowns. “The thing is, I can’t blame him, really. He doesn’t trust me or my judgment anymore, fair or not, and he’s just trying to keep Jeanie safe.”
“You’d never put Jeanie at risk.”
He sighs. “I know that, and you know that, but…he’s not wrong to be concerned.”
