Page 76 of Faith
It was a little unnerving, but strangely comforting. She tipped her head back again, letting the water flow through her hair. It cascaded over her body and rinsed away the day. She let the tears come, cleansing herself from Robert and what happened. She washed her hair and her body and inhaled the now-familiar scent of Zeke.
She didn’t want to put on any of the clothes he bought her. She needed to be surrounded by him, to breathe his scent. She didn’t think he’d mind, so she pulled on a pair of panties he’d bought her, then searched through his drawers until she found a sweatshirt and a pair of lounge pants. She towel-dried her hair and ran a brush through it, then scratched a very content Gene behind the ears.
“Are you ready to go back downstairs?”
Gene chirped at her and went to the door.
“Smart cat.”
Nina opened the door, then stopped when she heard a female voice.
“She’s strong. And brave. She’s changing lives, but it’s going to take a toll.”
Nina wondered who Berkeley was talking about. Was it rude to interrupt or worse to listen?
“Nina has always been strong,” Zeke said with conviction.
“Yeah, she has been,” Monty agreed. “I just wish she didn’t have to be so strong.”
Nina inhaled a breath. She was used to negativity and dislike. Not encouragement.
“Are you sticking around for lunch?” Zeke asked.
“I should go,” Berkeley said, her voice changing.
Nina started down the stairs, not hiding her steps in hopes it would delay Berkeley’s departure.
She made it to the bottom and saw it worked. “Berkeley. I didn’t know you were here.”
“I just brought some lunch. Lorelei came by the office, and I ran out to grab stuff for everyone. I don’t know what you really like, but I got a bunch of stuff from the Italian place we order from sometimes. I know what these two like and added extra.”
“You’re going to join us, right?” Nina asked.
Berkeley shook her head. “I should really get back to the office. Lots to do.”
Nina went to Monty and poked her brother in the side. “Tell her to stay. She needs to eat lunch anyway.”
“You should stay,” Monty growled.
Berkeley stared at him for a long moment, the tension in the room climbing with each tick of the clock on the kitchen wall. Berkeley finally pressed her lips into a smile and nodded. “Okay. I will.”
Nina hugged Berkeley, the impulse to make the other woman comfortable overwhelming her. “I’m so happy to hear that. I think we will be friends.”
“I hope so,” Berkeley said. “I’ve heard so much about you over the years. It’s an honor to get to know you.”
“Oh, I haven’t done anything worthy of that. But I’m excited to get to know you, too.”
Berkeley smiled and led the way to the bags of food she brought over. She told Nina what everything was and handed over containers to Monty and Zeke without breaking her explanation.
“Whoa, what did you give them?” Nina asked.
“They always order the same thing. I have more of both, though, so you can choose what you want and they have leftovers if you don’t want the same thing.”
“What do you like?”
Berkeley’s gaze strayed to Monty before she forced it away. “I like everything. My hips tell you that.”
Nina chuckled and shook her head. “Mine say the same. Size does matter. Bigger is always better.”
