Page 116 of Heal Me, Love Me

I stared down at my cup. “I thought I hid that better.”

“You really didn’t.”

I let out a breath. “That’s embarrassing.”

“It shouldn’t be.” Her voice softened. “Keaton, some days you came over and stayed here for twelve hours. You’d do your homework at the kitchen table as soon as you two got home from school, then you’d eat dinner with us and help me clean up. All before you and Rowan would disappear into his room for hours.”

When she put it that way, it sounded painfully obvious.

“I thought I was more subtle than that.” After all, I used to climb into his bedroom window for even more time with him.

“You were a child, and most kids aren’t good at hiding what’s bothering them.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

She smiled. “Come to think of it, the only thing you boys were ever good at hiding was that you were dating.”

I nearly choked on my coffee.

She laughed. “Although, looking back, there were definitely moments that should’ve tipped me off.”

“Please don’t tell me about them.”

“I’ll spare you.”

“Thank you.”

The grin lingered on her face before slowly fading. “I wanted to ask you about the stuff going on at your house a lot of times.”

That surprised me. “Why didn’t you?”

She looked down into her mug. “Because I was afraid that if I pushed too hard, you’d stop coming over. I cared about you. I still do, and I did what I thought was right to make sure you knew you always had a place where you were welcome.”

I blinked hard before she could see how deeply she was affecting me.

Yet that didn’t stop her from stepping closer and resting her hand on my forearm. “I didn’t want to overstep back then,especially after your father passed, but I feel I can speak freely now. You’re allowed to be hurt when people who should know better don’t show up for you.”

My eyes immediately began to burn. “It’s not that I expect a lot from her.”

“I know,” she agreed.

“I just ...” I took a breath. “I’d like her to care.”

The words hung in the air between us, and a second later, Dawn’s arms wrapped around my left side, avoiding my messed up shoulder. “It’s her loss,” she said quietly. “She’s missing out on knowing an incredible man.”

I took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“You never have to thank me for loving you, sweetheart.”

I had absolutely no idea how to respond to that, which was probably a good thing because the front door opened a second later and Rowan’s voice drifted into the house. “Why does it smell like cookies?”

Dawn let out a soft laugh. “Looks like you’re going to have to share now.”

The restof the afternoon passed quickly. Rowan noticed my missing sling immediately when he returned from his ride and had been nearly as excited as I was when I told him I no longer needed to wear it. We ended up eating Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch while Frank complained about Black Friday traffic and the crowded stores Dawn had dragged him through. She ignored him and kept piling more food onto our plates. Eventually, Rowan and I moved to the couch and did absolutely nothing for a while. It wasn’t particularly exciting, but it felt nice to spend some time relaxing and hanging out together.

By early evening, Rowan was sitting beside me with his arm draped over the back of the couch, while Frank and Dawn were in the kitchen debating whether to have leftovers again for dinner.

I tilted my head toward him. “Want to get out of here?”