Page 22 of From the Embers
While I had been sitting outside, lost in a sea of pain and reliving flashbacks of the night of the fire, Eason had done it all. He was a good dad who had a daughter of his own; it shouldn’t have been a surprise that he knew how to put a baby to bed.
Madison wasn’t his daughter. Though he loved her and cared for her as if she were.
I clicked the button and switched the screen to Asher’s room. He wasn’t reading. A dozen action figures surrounded him while a fireman and dinosaur fought so fiercely that it would have made Tyler Durden proud.
He wasn’t crying that he missed his father as he’d done so many times over the last few weeks. I was unsure what questions he had asked about Rob in heaven, but whatever Eason had answered quelled his curious soul at a time when I was so distraught that I hadn’t even been able to soothe my own.
Eason hadn’t dropped everything and raced up to Prism that day when I needed him the most out of responsibility or duty. He was there because, whether I realized it or not, Rob had been right.
Eason was one of the best.
I set the monitor on my lap and turned my attention to the man casually sipping his beer beside me. “What do you want to do with your life?”
Twisting his lips, he shifted his eyes from side to side. “Is that a serious question?”
“Completely.”
“Music,” he stated, those two syllables lighting his entire face.
“Yeah? I noticed you haven’t replaced your piano yet.”
He chuckled. “Pianos aren’t cheap. Right now, I’m focused on the little details like a job, a place to live, furniture, and maybe buying more than a funeral suit, three pair of jeans, and a pack of shirts.” He pointedly smoothed down the front of his plain black tee.
I took another sip of my wine and then twirled the stem of the glass between my fingers. “And what if I could take care of three out of four of those things for you?”
His mouth tipped in a wry smile. “As nice as it sounds, I think I’m going to take a pass on more handouts. I’m all maxed out.”
Resting my arm on the back of the cushion, I turned my upper body to fully face him. “Things at Prism are worse than I thought. Nobody knows what the hell is going on. We have no product. No reliable manufacturer. Suppliers I’d had in my back pocket before stepping down to raise the kids won’t even return my phone calls.”
“Damn,” he breathed. “You have enough on your plate. That’s not the kind of shit you need to be dealing with right now.”
“Actually, it’s exactly what I need to be dealing with right now. Because if I don’t, Prism is done. I need that company, Eason. My family needs that company.”
He raked a hand over the top of his hair. His blond fuzz was still too short to style from his hospital buzzcut. “Shit. Okay, what can I do to help?”
There it was.
The reason why everyone I loved—Rob, Jessica, Asher, Madison, and Luna—all adored Eason Maxwell.
“Move in,” I said bluntly.
He started to open his mouth, probably with some smartass comment about already living there, but I cut him off.
“Permanently. The pool house is yours. I’m going back to work full time. And if it works for you, I’d rather not hire a stranger to keep the kids, rocking their lives all over again. They could stay here with you and Luna during the day. When I get home from work, I’ll take over and keep Luna too. You can go out and play shows or just lock yourself away and write. Whatever pursuing music looks like for you, nights and weekends, and it’s all yours.”
Quite proud of myself for thinking of a solid plan, I stared at him with a smug grin, waiting for his excitement. A hearty laugh. A celebration. Maybe another round of beer and wine.
All I got was a dull expression that teetered on the line of annoyance and skepticism.
“Why?” he asked.
“Why what?”
“Don’t do that,” he rumbled. “Don’t act like you and Jessica haven’t spent years hatching plans to get me to quit playing. You used to tell my wife I needed to quit wasting my time and get a real job.”
My back shot straight. “I…” Truthfully, I was unaware he knew about that. Dammit!
He stood up and peered down at me, his dark gaze soulful and sad. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. And if you need help with the kids, I will never tell you no. I love them and would do anything for them. But let’s not pretend my music will ever be good enough in your eyes.”
I shook my head vehemently. “It was never about you being good enough, Eason. You’re amazing, and not just because of the way you sing or play, but the feelings you evoke in a three-minute song blows my mind. And trust me, I’ve heard them all. Because each time you produced a new demo, Rob had it playing in our house twenty-four-seven. I was worried about her.”
