He dropped his hands when he sensed her coming back and watched her walk across the room and turn out the light before she climbed in bed.
The instant the covers were over her, he reached to her and pulled her into his arms, face to face.
She hooked a leg over his hip and pressed deep.
“Faye?” he called.
“Yeah,” she answered quietly.
“No way in hell no matter how pissed you get I’m sleepin’ on the couch.”
“We’ll see,” she replied, still quiet.
“We won’t. We work it out before we sleep or you suck it up. You do not sleep without me.” He paused then finished, “Ever.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, pressing closer.
This meant she was done with the conversation.
It also meant she was giving in.
Then again, she always did when it was important.
He pulled her even closer knowing one thing.
He wasn’t falling anymore for Faye Goodknight.
He wasn’t halfway there.
He was gone.
Chapter Fifteen
Potatoes
I locked up the library and moved to the steps, on my way home.
It was Wednesday. It had been a week and a day since they released Malachi from the hospital.
As seemed to be the case since Chace came into my life, this time had not been uneventful. Not even a little bit. It had been eventful and busy.
But surprisingly, Malachi settled in with Mom and Dad relatively well. He had some issues with Dad and the first night I left, he got agitated, very much so, so I didn’t want to leave. But Chace and Dad took me aside and told me something I knew logically but didn’t like all that much. This being that I was doing him no favors hovering when he had to get used to his surroundings. So I left with Chace. And I didn’t like that either.
Chace took me home, poured me wine and he stretched out on my couch and watched some game. As he did this, his lips were tipped up because I was pacing and fretting, something he thought was funny, something I did not. Then I called my parents an hour after we walked through my door only to have Dad tell me Mom was reading Malachi The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and all was fine.
It took two days for Malachi to settle with Dad.
It would be the weekend before he let Chace in.
This was on Saturday when Mom and Dad were at Liza and Boyd’s for Jarot’s official ninth birthday party. It was decided it was too soon to introduce Malachi to Jarot and Robbie, much less a bunch of other kids, so Mom and Dad, Chace and I were taking turns looking after Malachi and going to Jarot’s party.
I had another volunteer look after the library for me in the afternoon and Chace and I were taking the first shift. They were leaving the party early and we were going later.
By this time, the bruising around Malachi’s face was gone, he was getting around on his leg very well and the bandages were off his hands because Dad decreed, “They need air.” That didn’t mean Mom didn’t gunk them up with Neosporin three times a day. They were healing really well and within a couple of days he had no problems holding the Kindle Dad bought him even with one arm in a sling.
He loved it. Mom downloaded a shed load of books on it and he was always in a chair or on the couch, eyes glued to it but his fingers hitting buttons, testing it out, seeing what it could do. He messed it up a couple of times so Mom and I had to sort it but he learned from what he did and by the weekend, he knew more of how it worked than I did my Nook.
Chace had noticed his fascination with this so on Saturday, while I was at work in the morning, he’d gone and bought Malachi a portable Nintendo and a few games.
Although Malachi no longer got visibly anxious around Chace, he still held back from him. So when we got to Mom and Dad’s, I gave him the game but told him Chace bought it. Then, not knowing much about it, I fumbled my way around showing him how to use it.
Obviously, and fortunately, I fumbled too much. This meant Malachi got impatient and gently pulled it out of my hands and carefully wandered to Chace, handing it to him.
I tried not to cry as, without a word or making a big deal of it, Chace crouched beside him and explained how to load the game cartridge and use the Nintendo while Malachi stood close, head bent, eyes riveted to it. Then Chace handed it to him and, get this! He leaned into Chace as his thumbs tentatively moved over the game.
It… was… awesome!
As I deep breathed, Chace let him do this, watching him test out the game then he slowly straightened, guided Malachi to a chair and sat him in it, Malachi’s head bent to the game the entire time.