Page 93 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

My mother immediately grinned, kissed Gia on the cheek, and pointed at me like she’d orchestrated the entire thing.“Perfect timing.I’m leaving before I become a third wheel.”

“Mom—”

“Nope.”She breezed past me toward the door.“Have fun, you three.”

Sofia squealed and bolted for the fridge.Before I could process what was happening, she came sprinting back carrying one of my beers with both hands like it weighed twenty pounds.

“Miz Gia says you drink this and shower.”She shoved it into my belly proudly.“Then you read to me.Then we made dinner and you eat with Miz Gia.”

My throat tightened so suddenly it caught me off guard.Dinner.They’d made me dinner.Usually, after a day like today I had something microwaved from the freezer, unless mom left something on the table for me.I might also drink a beer and fall asleep on the sofa in front of the TV.

Gia shifted her weight, suddenly shy.Her fingers twisted in the edge of the apron.

“Surprise,” she said softly.“I thought maybe tonight someone should take care of you.”Her eyes lifted to mine.“You’ve been taking care of everyone else.”

I cracked the beer open mostly because I needed something to do with my hands.I took a long swallow to cover the fact my chest felt dangerously full.

“I’ll take a shower,” I managed.I bent and poked Sofia in the belly.“Did you already take a bath?”

She nodded.

“Then, time to get pajamas on.”

She squealed and tore down the hallway.

“Does she need help?”Gia asked.

“Probably.”The last time I let her choose her own nighttime wear, she ended up in a mismatched set that was too small for her.But I kept staring down the hallway after Sofia anyway, my body still stuck somewhere between obligation to go help her and showering.

The moment my body shifted to move after Sofia, Gia caught my arm.She took the beer from my hand, drank from it without breaking eye contact, then handed it back.

“I’ve got her,” she murmured.“You shower.”

I caught her wrist before she could step away and pulled her against me.The apron crinkled between us.

“You didn’t have to do all this,” I said quietly.

Her eyes searched mine.“I did.”Then, softer, “I saw what today cost you.Then you packed an entire day of work into an afternoon.That’s…too much.”She leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips.“I also heard you fixed Josh’s bathroom fan yesterday.Erika texted me.There were a lot of heart and poop emojis.”

He chuckled.

“Go take a hot shower.”Her gaze swept slowly down my body and her grin turned mischievous.“Or maybe you need a cold one.”She giggled.“Then you’ll read Sofia to sleep.After that, I’ll open the wine and we can eat.That sound okay?”

I nodded.

“Hey…” She pulled me into a hug when I started to walk away.“This is a meal.You don’t have to be good at conversation.I don’t care if you make a few grunts.Maybe you want to listen to me tell stories of barn calls gone wrong?I’ve got a lot of those.We’re still on your slow-down plan.”

“Not sure I want to be on that anymore.”I leaned in to kiss her again.

She craned back and put a finger on my lips.“Let’s start with food.”

She winked and jogged after Sofia.

An hour and a half later, I’d laughed hard at her stories that ranged from farm hands hitting on her when she was covered in cow manure to psychotic pigs.I raised my beer.“Thank you.”

She clinked her beer gently against mine.“Why don’t you take your beer into the TV room and pick a movie?I’ll do the dishes real quick.”

“I can help.”