Page 57 of When In Doubt

“What does that mean?”

“She’ll tell you when she’s ready, but you need to be careful.”

“Elsie, you’re killing me here. Is there something I need to know?”

Elsie steps forward, taking hold of my hands. “Look, I think it’s really great that you have feelings for her. I know you’re a good person, and I know your mom would raise hell if you put one foot out of line.” She’s right about that. “Just take it easy, alright? Be gentle with her,” she says with a soft smile.

I wince, wanting to know more, but sensing that this is all she’s going to tell me. “I can do that.”

Freya startles awake as I turn the engine off, looking around to get her bearings. She nodded off about two hours after we left Elsie’s and stayed down ever since. She frowns at her apartment steps before looking back at me. It’s still daylight out. We stayed for lunch with Elsie, but after yesterday, I’m not surprised she needed the rest.

“Hi,” I whisper.

“Hi.” She matches my tone. There’s no need to be quiet, but something about the moment feels fragile.

“I didn’t want to wake you. You seemed tired.”

“Yeah, I guess I was kinda wiped.” She gives a chagrined smile.

We sit in silence, just looking at each other. It feels like something’s shifted. Maybe it was sharing the room, maybe it was the way she looked at me when I took her to Elsie’s, but I feel like maybe I’m not the only one in this. Maybe.

“Okay, well, thank you again. So much. It was really great having you there.” She unbuckles her seat belt and goes to slide out. I follow suit, meeting her by the tailgate. “Where is everything?” She frowns at the empty truck bed.

I scratch the back of my neck. “At the store?” I say sheepishly.

“You unloaded it all?” Her voice comes out a little squeaky and I almost laugh. I can’t tell if she’s pissed or not.

“Uh, yeah,” I say carefully, “you were asleep.”

“How did you get in?”

I tug at the cuffs of my shirt. This is possibly where some line-crossing happened. “I got the store keys out of your purse.”

“You went through my purse?” She crosses her arms.

“You’re making it sound way worse than it was. I just opened it and grabbed the keys.”

She eyes me with a hard stare that has me squirming. “Okay, then.”

“Okay.” I breathe a sigh of relief.

“But, I thought your mom would have raised you better than to go looking through a lady’s things,” she says with a prim smile.

“I think my mom would have been madder if I’d shaken you awake to make you unload tables with me.” I smirk. “You want to call her and ask?”

She narrows her eyes, but I can see the glint behind them. “I suppose not.”

“Exactly.” I take a step closer. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to go pick up my son, and you need some more sleep.”

Her face morphs into something softer. She pulls in a deep breath, like she’s gearing up, then it happens. She moves into my space and rises up on her toes, wrapping her arms around me in a tentative hug.

It takes a second for my brain to stop short-circuiting, but once I’ve got it together, I pull her into me. Her body is soft and warm from sleep, and I can’t not notice how her head molds into the crook of my neck.

I’d happily stay like that for hours, breathing in her scent. But almost as soon as it happens, she pulls away.

“Thank you again.” She takes a step back and I swallow a groan. “For everything.”

“Anytime.”