Page 41 of Feels Like Falling
“Delivering banana bread and other baked goods is hardlya ruckus,Max. Lighten up a little—seriously, this is like theleastcrazy thing I’ve ever done.”
“He wasjustin the hospital and?—”
“And he’s fine. I hear you, Max, I do. But I drove, made sure he wasn’t carrying anything too heavy, and made sure he took plenty of breaks. I kept him hydrated—old man had to stop and pee every ten minutes.”
“Yeah, I know. Sheriff Kade called to ask if Grandad could please stop peeing on the fence posts around town.” I glare at her and she grins.
“What else then? His heart? Montana, he’s fine, and you keepin’ him cooped up all day every day isn’t helping any. He’s doin’ great—his doctor said so. We both needed to get out, so we ran around town and had some fun.”
“But he still needs to take it easy.”
“And he did,” she says, not backing down. “You think I would let anything happen to the man who has shown me more love and affection than my own parents?”
“No,” I say firmly even though a part of me still felt like it had been reckless. “I just wanted to make sure he was safe.”
“And you don’t trust me to do that?” she asks, her voice going up slightly at the end, hurt clear in her tone.
“Ellison…” I groan and look up toward the sky. “That’s not what I meant.”
“That’s what it sounded like.”
My head falls forward to meet her gaze, a storm brewing in the umber depths. But that’s not what I want. I never want to fight with her. Taking a step forward, I reach for her hands, lacing our fingers together.
She lets me but only barely.
“I didn’t mean it to sound like you didn’t care or that you were unsafe—but it’s just me here, you know? My parents and sisters are gone and it’s a lot. I didn’t realize how much until I saw the ambulance outside the house.”
“You have people who care about you, Montana. Jensen and Celeste, Mason and Bodhi, Archer and Bea—they all rallied for you. For Grandad. You’ve created a family here all on your own, and you need to let them help.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“But you’d do it for them,” she says with a small squeeze of my hand, and I sigh because I know she’s right.
“I will…try.”
Her expression softens just the littlest bit. “Good. And you should know Grandad had a really great day.” She smiles but it doesn’t quite meet her eyes. “You should go in and talk to him about it.”
“Are…you coming?” I ask slowly, but she shakes her head.
“I think we could all just use a night alone. I have orientation tomorrow for school anyway, so it makes sense that I sleep at home.”
Home.
I want to yell that the rental isnother home. I may own the damn thing, but it doesn’t make it mine, and being in it a handful of days sure as hell doesn’t make it hers. I want her here, in this house with me. I want it to be ours.
But I need to slow down this runaway train before she takes off for the hills. Swallowing down my frustration, I breathe out a sigh. “If that’s what you want.” A night apart would probably be good for us, but it doesn’t make me hate it any less.
Walking her to her car, I kiss her offered cheek and close the door once she’s settled. Exhaustion hits me like a tidal wave as I watch her drive down the road and away from me. It’s the kind that makes me want to drop my ass onto the dirt and wait for the sun to dip below the horizon before ever attempting to move.
It’s a fantasy for another day.
Dragging myself up the porch steps, I catch a glimpse of black fur darting around the house. That cat is gonna cause nothing but heartache, and I’ve already got that in spades. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I head inside to find Grandad and figure out how the hell I’m going to manage this new whiskered complication in my life.
20
ELLISON
It’s early as I sit in the parking lot of Blackstone Falls Elementary and stare at the brick building that I attended, once upon a time. I barely slept last night, and it had everything to do with being alone in the cottage, returning stilted texts with Montana.
