Page 9 of Forever We Embrace: The Later Years
I peel Rosalie’s sticker from the screen, but instead of throwing it away, I press it beside the title of the log.
By the time Luca comes home, the chart has gained three more stickers, one line of Samuel’s uneven handwriting, and a red circle James insists marks a rule that needs to be reviewed. I’m clearing abandoned cups from the island when the front door opens.
Luca leaves his coat over the banister and sets his bag near the stairs, but his attention stays on the noise coming from the den. Rosalie is explaining the cookie trade to Luther, and Samuel keeps interrupting to insist that his jumps counted as work.
“Is Ember House in trouble?” I ask.
Luca’s hand pauses on the strap of his bag. “Funding is tight, but it’s manageable.”
The answer comes too quickly, and he keeps his face turned toward the den. I wait without filling the silence. After a moment, he looks at me, then toward the doorway where the children could appear at any time.
“Nicholas is helping Blossom and me build a broader plan,” he says more quietly. “He doesn’t want to write one large checkand leave us dependent on him. He’s looking for several funding sources, including survivor-run groups that already support housing programs.”
“How long do you have?”
Luca’s fingers tighten around the strap. “I said it’s manageable.”
I hold his gaze, but I don’t ask again with the children only one room away. He knows I heard the deflection. When I take the bag from his shoulder and place it beside the stairs, his fingers brush mine and remain there for a moment.
“We hired someone new too,” he says. “Josie. She’s still training, but she listens well, and she asks good questions. Blossom likes her.”
“That should make the intake load easier.”
“Once she’s trained, it will.” Some of the tension leaves Luca’s shoulders as he glances toward the den again. “Blossom had her observe in the garden this week. Maya showed her a dandelion chain, and Josie asked before touching it. She hasn’t tried to rush anyone into speaking.”
I remember the name because Luca says it with relief, not because it gives me any reason for concern. Before I can return to the funding question, Samuel calls for Luca from the den, and Luca squeezes my hand once before going to him.
I follow a few minutes later with my tablet tucked beneath my arm. Rosalie has taken over the center of the rug with a stack of wedding magazines, James is building a ramp from two books and a couch cushion, and Samuel is demonstrating what appears to be the same jump he used to justify the cookie.
Luther sits on the floor with his back against the couch, one knee bent while Rosalie spreads pictures across his leg. He looks up when I enter and pats the space beside him.
I sit close enough that our shoulders touch. His hand finds the back of my neck again, fingers resting there while I reopen the chart and try to repair the damage.
“You know the log is useless now,” he says.
“It was useful until you interfered.”
“It had a dinosaur on it before I walked in.”
“That was evidence.”
“Of bribery?”
“Of organized resistance.”
Rosalie looks up from the magazines. “It was a trade.”
Luther’s mouth shifts against my temple as he presses a kiss there. “You heard her.”
I move my tablet out of his reach before he can close it again. James abandons the ramp long enough to point at the sticker beside the title.
“That one should stay.”
“It’s already staying.”
Rosalie smiles, satisfied with the concession, then returns to flipping through the wedding pages. Samuel tries another jump from the couch cushion and nearly lands on Luther’s leg. Luther catches him around the middle and sets him on the rug.
“No more jumping near people.”
