around
it, she really threw me for a loop. “And thank you for taking care
of me and Mommy, Mr. Soupy,” she whispered. Then she spun around
again and was in Tuck’s bedroom with the door closed behind
her.
Mr.
Soupy . I hadn’t missed what she’d called
him, and neither had he if the tic that jumped to life in his jaw
was any indication.
Brenden came back over to me to put
medical tape on my bandaged feet—a necessity to keep the gauze in
place. He’d gone through probably half my first aid supplies in
trying to take care of me. His eyes flicked to mine for just a
second, but he didn’t say anything.
I tried to ignore the fact that I’d
have to go stock up at the pharmacy again—and I tried to ignore
him, too, because I was confused about what was the best thing to
do with him. Instead of thinking any more about Brenden, I smiled
at Jamie. “You’re good with Tuck.”
He blushed again, returning the mop to
the closet and turning his back in what seemed to me to be an
effort to hide his embarrassment. “Yeah. Well…I’ve had lots of
practice. I’m the oldest of seven. All boys. The youngest is about
Maddie’s age.”
That explained a lot.
I figured I should say something to
Brenden, too, about how he’d been good with Maddie. He’d even
thought to use a Barbie Band-Aid, not one of the plain, flesh-toned
ones. I couldn’t seem to make myself say anything, though. I didn’t
particularly want him to be good with Maddie. I wanted him to stay
away from her, from both of us. Then I felt like a hypocrite,
because I wasn’t having the same reactions to Jamie as I was to
Brenden.
So, I didn’t say anything at
all.
After a few moments, Brenden let out a
weird grunting sound, but he finally released my feet.
I set them on the floor and pushed
some of my weight onto them—not enough to stand up but enough to
give me an idea of how it would feel. It felt like hell. I was
probably lucky I didn’t need stitches. Or maybe I did need
stitches. I should probably sit down and take a look at them
myself, but not until I’d replenished my first aid
supplies.
I tried not to let the guys see how
much pain I was in. They’d already done more than
enough.
“ Thank you—both of you—so
much,” I said. I just wanted them to leave so I could decide what
to do about the two of them. Even more than that, I didn’t know how
I felt about not knowing whether to trust them or not, and thinking
along those lines only left me confused.
“ No problem, Rach,” Jamie
said. He smiled at me again, making his dimples his most prominent
feature. “Now, about breakfast…”
I had my mouth open and was already
shaking my head to turn down whatever he was going to offer to do
because they had both already done far more than necessary, but
Brenden cut me off.
“ Why don’t you go put your
clothes on, too?” he said brusquely, in a way that made me wonder
if he was angry, and if so, why ? “We’ll all go out.”
If the chaotic events of the morning had sorted anything out, it
was that Rachel Shaw needed a keeper. She was one of those moms who
couldn’t remember to take care of herself because she was too busy
taking care of not only her own kids but everyone else around her.
That never worked. Not really. Women like that just lost
themselves, lost who they were, all in the name of taking care of
the whole world. They spread themselves too thin, and they couldn’t
really help anyone, not like that. Not if they didn’t take care of
themselves first.
Thank God my mom hadn’t been like
that. She’d always been around to help me and Dana when we needed
it, but she didn’t coddle us along. Not even when Dana was raped
and retreated into her shell of self-preservation. Mom had done
everything she could, but she’d recognized that only Dana could get
herself back out of it, and it would have to be in her own
time.
Rachel was nothing like Mom. It was as
if she wanted to put her kids in a protective bubble and keep
it, she really threw me for a loop. “And thank you for taking care
of me and Mommy, Mr. Soupy,” she whispered. Then she spun around
again and was in Tuck’s bedroom with the door closed behind
her.
Mr.
Soupy . I hadn’t missed what she’d called
him, and neither had he if the tic that jumped to life in his jaw
was any indication.
Brenden came back over to me to put
medical tape on my bandaged feet—a necessity to keep the gauze in
place. He’d gone through probably half my first aid supplies in
trying to take care of me. His eyes flicked to mine for just a
second, but he didn’t say anything.
I tried to ignore the fact that I’d
have to go stock up at the pharmacy again—and I tried to ignore
him, too, because I was confused about what was the best thing to
do with him. Instead of thinking any more about Brenden, I smiled
at Jamie. “You’re good with Tuck.”
He blushed again, returning the mop to
the closet and turning his back in what seemed to me to be an
effort to hide his embarrassment. “Yeah. Well…I’ve had lots of
practice. I’m the oldest of seven. All boys. The youngest is about
Maddie’s age.”
That explained a lot.
I figured I should say something to
Brenden, too, about how he’d been good with Maddie. He’d even
thought to use a Barbie Band-Aid, not one of the plain, flesh-toned
ones. I couldn’t seem to make myself say anything, though. I didn’t
particularly want him to be good with Maddie. I wanted him to stay
away from her, from both of us. Then I felt like a hypocrite,
because I wasn’t having the same reactions to Jamie as I was to
Brenden.
So, I didn’t say anything at
all.
After a few moments, Brenden let out a
weird grunting sound, but he finally released my feet.
I set them on the floor and pushed
some of my weight onto them—not enough to stand up but enough to
give me an idea of how it would feel. It felt like hell. I was
probably lucky I didn’t need stitches. Or maybe I did need
stitches. I should probably sit down and take a look at them
myself, but not until I’d replenished my first aid
supplies.
I tried not to let the guys see how
much pain I was in. They’d already done more than
enough.
“ Thank you—both of you—so
much,” I said. I just wanted them to leave so I could decide what
to do about the two of them. Even more than that, I didn’t know how
I felt about not knowing whether to trust them or not, and thinking
along those lines only left me confused.
“ No problem, Rach,” Jamie
said. He smiled at me again, making his dimples his most prominent
feature. “Now, about breakfast…”
I had my mouth open and was already
shaking my head to turn down whatever he was going to offer to do
because they had both already done far more than necessary, but
Brenden cut me off.
“ Why don’t you go put your
clothes on, too?” he said brusquely, in a way that made me wonder
if he was angry, and if so, why ? “We’ll all go out.”
If the chaotic events of the morning had sorted anything out, it
was that Rachel Shaw needed a keeper. She was one of those moms who
couldn’t remember to take care of herself because she was too busy
taking care of not only her own kids but everyone else around her.
That never worked. Not really. Women like that just lost
themselves, lost who they were, all in the name of taking care of
the whole world. They spread themselves too thin, and they couldn’t
really help anyone, not like that. Not if they didn’t take care of
themselves first.
Thank God my mom hadn’t been like
that. She’d always been around to help me and Dana when we needed
it, but she didn’t coddle us along. Not even when Dana was raped
and retreated into her shell of self-preservation. Mom had done
everything she could, but she’d recognized that only Dana could get
herself back out of it, and it would have to be in her own
time.
Rachel was nothing like Mom. It was as
if she wanted to put her kids in a protective bubble and keep
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