Page 38 of Follow Me
He kissed it and set it on the dresser.
I feel like I failed you and I’m helpless to fix this.
He wouldn’t ask her about coming home, though. He’d promised to let Niall, Doyle, and Doug do their thing.
So far, they’d made steady progress with her, and he couldn’t fault them a damn bit for it.
If it meant Mal could survive this and find a permanent recovery, Kel would keep agreeing to it as long as it produced healthy, sustainable results.
Even if it grated on him that she’d be calling them Sir instead of him right now.
He opted for jeans and a short-sleeved button-up shirt for tonight, even though they’d told him casual. He’d probably keep tonight short, unless Mal specifically asked him to stay. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his emotions in check, and the last thing he wanted to do was start crying or something and make her feel like shit.
Or worse, lose his shit.
Her car was already parked in front of June and Scrye’s when he arrived ten minutes early, along with two other cars he assumed were Doug’s and Niall’s.
As he walked up to their front door, Niall and Doug stepped out and intercepted him, immediately making Kel’s heart pound with worry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Niall held up a hand. “She volunteered to us she weighed herself before coming here, despite not needing to weigh in until tomorrow, an’ she’s maintained.”
Relief whooshed out of him, nearly making him sick. “That’s good, right?”
“It’s feckin’ excellent, but don’t make a big deal about it, eh? We don’t want her beatin’ herself up if she has a setback. She’s goin’ to start takin’ classes with June again. There might be a little adjustin’ to her diet as she burns calories, so don’t panic. We’re on top of it.”
“Why are we doing this out here?” Kel asked.
Niall and Doug exchanged a glance and Doug spoke. “She’s seeing me for a session tomorrow.”
“Okay?”
“How areyoudoing?” Doug asked.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Both men crossed their arms over their chests and gave him nearly identical Dom scowls. Which was pretty impressive, considering Doug was a slave.
“You haven’t set up another appointment with me,” Doug said.
“I’d rather focus on her.”
“Well, I believethat,” Niall drawled. “It’s easy not to do yer own work when ye focus onher.”
“What do you want me to say?”
Doug reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “We want to know when your explosion is finally going to hit so we can help you through it. You haven’t hit bottom yet. Not really. We want to make sure we’re ready to help you up when you finally do.”
Kel stared at them in disbelief. “You don’t think I’ve hit bottom?”
Both men shook their heads.
“You’ve been in survival mode,” Doug said. “How’d you spend today? Doing something physically intense and draining, right?”
Kel glared at him, finally dropping his gaze when he realized both men had his number. “I’mfine,” he mumbled. “I want to get Mal on solid footing,thenwe can worry about me.”
“That’s what you’renotunderstanding,” Doug said. “Ifyouaren’t on solid footing,shenever will be. Youfeedoff each other, goodandbad. She wants to fix you and can’t and feels guilty, like she’s lettingyoudown. That meansyoufeel guilty because you’re not fixing her. You two are cycling around each other and it’s keeping youbothstuck, in some ways.
