Page 40 of Beneath the Scars
It’s time to get a crash course in loving Adalaide.
Chapter 22
Addie
He’s different.
Something happened during game night and Michael hasn’t been the same since. There’s a lightness to him that wasn’t there before. Maybe talking with Ryan and getting everything out in the open with my family allowed him to settle into this new relationship. He’s as intense as ever, but there’s no longer an undercurrent of worry threatening to undo all the progress we’ve made.
“Hellooooo.”
A hand waving in my face snaps me out of my thoughts. “What? Sorry. Did you need something?”
Penny’s knowing smirk teases me. “Who are you daydreaming about?”
“Who says I was daydreaming about anyone?”
“I know a besotted woman when I see one.”
I roll my eyes and grab my lunch out of the microwave. The tiny break room at the animal clinic is barely big enough for our small staff to fit in at one time, but it has everything we need to be comfortable.
Penny sits next to me at the table, pulling things from herred checkered lunchbox while I dig into the leftover pasta Mom made last night.
Her stare is penetrating, but I pretend I don’t notice.
“Come on.” She groans. “You’re not going to give me anything?”
I feign ignorance. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re an asshole.”
I crack up at that. “All I’m going to tell you is I’m happy.”
“I suppose that’s all that matters.” Penny looks like a kid whose toy was taken away.
“Izzy had her puppies the other day.”
Penny perks up immediately. “They’re coming in this afternoon, right?”
“Mm-hmm. Along with Izzy’s dad, Titus.”
“Woo, that man. He gets me every time.”
I snort. “I know. I love watching you trip over your words when he’s around.”
“Shut up.” She heaves a heavy sigh. “He’s never given me the time of day, as much as I’ve tried.”
“I’d imagine he’s got too much on his mind right now. You know his mother just got diagnosed with dementia. He had to move her into the senior living home in town because it’s progressed so quickly.”
“Aw. That’s so sad. And now he’s got a litter of puppies to take care of too.”
“The puppies probably give him a distraction in all this mess.”
“That’s true. Doesn’t he have a kid?”
I raise my eyebrows. “I hadn’t heard that. We should put together a care package for him.”
“Good idea. I’ll text Cheryl,” Penny says of our town’s biggest gossip. She might collect all the tea, but she’s also one of the first people to help anyone in need of someextra love.
