Casey used the guest bathroom while Abilene was downstairs. As he scrubbed his face with a cold washcloth, he had to wonder, did the Churches think there was something up between the two of them? Miah wasn’t naive, and Christine was a bloodhound about that stuff. He returned to the bedroom and shut the door as silently as he could, cheeks warming.
Abilene had returned and was leaning over the crib. As she turned, she pressed a finger to her lips.
He nodded. They might talk all night or wind up fooling around again, but either way it would be going down in whispers. He didn’t mind. And he honestly didn’t mind either way, what sort of “hanging out” this might be. If all she was after was a warm body against hers and a decent night’s sleep, he could be that.
He’d dedicated so many years to taking, he’d forgotten that it could feel this good, providing. Maybe he’d never even known it, before her.
I turned into my old man after all. The one vow he’d ever made to himself, he’d broken. He’d run off when things turned grim at home and called it freedom. In reality, it had been cowardice.
Well, fuck all that.
“How you feeling?” he asked softly.
Abilene shed her jacket and rooted through the dresser, pulling out pajama pants and a T-shirt. “Good, I think. Dazed, and still a little scared, but good. Could you turn around a sec?”
He went to stand over the crib, studying Mercy’s peaceful, fat little face while Abilene changed.
Her shyness didn’t bother him. He’d had lovers who liked to keep the lights off during sex, partly, he guessed, because he was attracted to girls who were a little bigger than average, and maybe a little more self-conscious than average. He’d been with brazen girls, too, skinny and curvy alike, but the shy ones prevailed, looking back. Opposites attracted, he supposed.
“All set,” she said.
She was climbing under the covers when he turned around. Uncertain what she might be after, he sat on the other end of the bed, content to talk. He squeezed her foot where it tented the blanket. “Anything in particular you need?”
She shook her head. “It’s just nice to have you here, with all this stuff running through my head.”
“I can stick around until you fall asleep, if you want. Maybe talk about something super boring, to help you get there quicker . . . ?”
“You could maybe stick around for the night. If you want to.”
Casey swallowed, his ever-hopeful dick growing curious about the invitation. “I could.”
She sat up, hugging her knees. “If this drama with James calms down after the meeting, I guess everything might go back to normal. You can sleep in your own bed again. I can start looking for a place.”
“You know the Churches don’t mind if you stay on for a few more weeks.”
“Yeah, Christine said so. It’s awful nice of them.”
“And I’m happy to help you move again.” If you could even call it moving. They’d gotten everything, including the baby’s stuff, from her old place to Three C in just one carload each. It had taken all of three hours from the time he’d showed up to help pack to when she’d folded the last of her clothes into the borrowed dresser.
“You get a place of your own,” he said, “and we’re going to need to hook you up with some things. Furniture, microwave, TV . . . Not that I’m one to talk. My apartment looks like a squat.”
“We can go Dumpster diving together,” she said.
“Deal.”
Neither spoke for a long moment, though both gazes lingered until Abilene bit her lip, looking away.
“What?” he asked, and gave her toes another squeeze.
“Are we . . . Did you want to do more than hang out, maybe?”