“You’re spoiling me.” Her lips lifted into a sweet smile.
I took a quick shower and for once, my dick was in resting mode. Not that he wouldn’t be ready in a moments notice if Terra joined me, but he was quite satisfied from the night before.
I’ve met other men who often felt like their wives didn’t do anything at home but spend their money. Whenever I took over household or kid duties, I was reminded that Terra’s job was harder than mine. Getting myself ready for work, and then kids up, fed, backpacks filled, and off to school was a feat.
“Where’s mommy?” Lanie asked as I helped her with her backpack.
“She’s sleeping in today.”
“Is she sick?” Noah’s little face looked up at me.
“No.” I supposed that was a lie, but I was certain he meant did she have a cold or flu. “She just deserves a break, don’t you think? She’s always running around doing stuff for us. We should give her some time off every now and then.”
When they were all dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed, fed, and ready for school, I told them to wait by the door while I let their mom know we were heading out.
Terra was in the shower when I reached her. Hot water sluiced over her skin and I wanted to get out of my suit and join her.
“Can you join me?” she asked.
“I wish. The kids are waiting for me to take them to school.” Even so, I reached out and tweaked her nipple.
“Then you’ll be back? I can wait.”
I wanted to. I wanted to spend a day with her, just her, more than I wanted anything else. “I need to go to work today.”
I hated how
her smile dropped, but she quickly masked her disappointment. “Yes, of course.”
“I need to get some things in order so I can take more time off for…well…”
“I understand.”
Inside, my gut was roiling.
“Really, Brayden. I understand. You can’t just stop showing up.”
“I just need to get things sorted.” As it was, I didn’t see how I could simply walk away altogether, but there had to be a way to reduce the time I was there now.
“Yes, it’s okay. I’ll call Emma for lunch.”
She was saying all the right things, but it felt like we were slipping back to our corners. I realized that the only way I could prove to her that I wasn’t reverting to old behavior was through action.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know. Thank you for last night. It was wonderful.”
Not caring that my suit would get wet, I reached in and pulled her to me. “There will be more like that in our future. I promise.”
“I look forward to it,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “The kids will be looking for you soon. I can drive them—”
“No. I’ll take them. You enjoy your day. I kissed her and then with profound regret, I left her to drive the kids to school.
On the way, I replayed the events of the last twenty-four hours, especially around Terra’s news about her cancer. On the one hand, it sounded like her doctor was optimistic about treatment, but she had a doomsday sense about her. Was it based on intuition? Fear? Her mother died of cancer, so maybe that was making her feel less positive. Whatever the reason, I needed to do what I could to make sure she got the best treatment possible.
Once at the office, instead of figuring out how to delegate my work, I researched cancer treatment options for stage three breast cancer. What she described as her doctor’s plan seemed to fit what I found online, including success rates.
“Hey Bray,” Kyle said poking his head into my office. He studied me like he was trying to figure out my mood. I supposed I acted strangely yesterday, giving him cause to wonder about me.