Page 26 of Tart
“I felt it the other day when I picked you up,” he answered. “I didn’t know why at the time.”
“I’m just going to show you. Normally, I hide it, but whatever you think is happening here between us will eventually end. This is the quickest way to the finish line.” I grasped my dress, but he grabbed my hand to stop me.
“I don’t know what’s happening between us, Amber. I had hoped we’d be friends, but it feels like something more. Something on a deeper level than I’ve ever experienced with any other woman before, my daughter’s mother included. Regardless, the fact that you wear a brace isn’t going to make it end. I think you’ve earned the right to hold your head high after what you’ve been through, brace or no brace.”
My eyes closed, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Why is it that the one guy who could make you entertain the idea of dating always comes along at the wrong time? It’s like the universe is conspiring against me.”
“It’s only the wrong time if you continue to let it be the wrong time,” he said, one brow going down to his nose.
“It is the wrong time, and you’ll understand once I show you this,” I answered, tears filling my voice as much as they filled my eyes. One tipped over my lashes and ran down my cheek when I glanced down at my dress. His hand left mine to wipe away the tear while I pulled the material out of the way. I removed the Velcro off the top of the brace and let it fall open, leaving it wide open for his inspection. When his gaze swept across my skin, and I swear to God, if I believed such a thing was possible, it healed me just a little bit more. His face was stoic. He didn’t grimace or look away from it the way most people do. He remained engaged even as he asked his first question.
“Is it painful?” he asked, his hand hovering over the red, mottled skin.
“This part is,” I said, making a circle over the top of my knee. “I don’t know why it’s so red other than it might be infected.”
“The skin?”
My eyes closed and the tears I’d been holding back dripped down my face. “I, um, I was injured back in February. The doctors think the nerves in the knee were damaged,” I said, clearing my voice to rid it of the tears. “They asked me to come back for more tests, but I haven’t.”
“This is June,” he said, not disapprovingly, just clarifying. “Could the nerve issue be causing your pain?”
“Some of it,” I agreed, nodding. “I haven’t had time to deal with it. The bigger issue is—”
“The muscle atrophy,” he said instantly. “More like there is no muscle.” His finger went to trace a divot in the leg, but he pulled it back. “I don’t want to hurt you. It looks like it hurts. The muscle is why you wear the brace?”
“It hurts a lot,” I said, my head nodding. I captured his hand in mine instead of letting him touch it. “The brace is even hard to wear some days, but it’s the only way I can stay upright.”
“Amber, I’m not trying to sound pushy, but I think you need to see the doctor. At least address the skin issue if nothing else.”
I rubbed my temple and leaned back on the couch, my frustrations spilling over onto my cheeks. “Haylee told me tonight I can’t go back to work until I do,” I said, swiping at a tear angrily. “She doesn’t have that right—”
“No, but she’s concerned about you. Brady is beside himself. He says he hasn’t known you as long as Haylee has, but even he can see the drastic change in how you walk. From what he tells me, Haylee is out of her mind with worry.”
“Tonight has been,” I paused, looking for a word that encompassed everything, but there wasn’t one. “Hard. I’m sure that’s a lame word to use in front of an English teacher, but I can’t come up with anything else. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever think you need to apologize about something just because I’m a teacher. You can’t walk around using words like arduous and toilsome all the time. It just doesn’t work.”
Laughter spilled from my lips, and I shook my head on the back of the couch. “You always know how to make me laugh. Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he said, laughter filling his voice, too. “Besides, I think hard was the perfect choice to use. I felt it here.” He pointed to his stomach. “Because I understand hard.”
“I wish my mom were here for a hug, but at the same time, I’m glad she’s not. She’s been bugging me for months about this, and she’ll just say I told you so.”
“Moms can be like that. I am happy to offer a hug without the I told you so.”
He shifted just enough to pull me over onto his shoulder, where he wrapped his arms around me. “All the little kids at school say I give pretty good hugs.”
I rested my hand on his chest. I liked the way I fit into him perfectly, almost like he was made for hugging me. “They’re right. You give pretty great hugs.” We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then I sat up, his arms dropping from around me instantly. “I suppose I should go home and wallow in my self-pity over there so you can get some sleep. It sounds like the storm is over.”
“I’m not in a rush to go to bed. I’d rather help you sort out what to do about the bakery. What does Haylee want you to do?”
I shrugged and rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “So much more than I expected. To begin with, she wants me to get the leg treated. She says I can’t continue with it the way it is.”
“I would argue that she’s correct there,” he added, just to rub it in.
“I know, but it costs money, Bishop. Lots of it.”
“You don’t have insurance?”
