“No pain pill, but maybe the ice.”
Saryn jumped into action, grabbing the ice therapy machine to dump out the melted ice and refill it with fresh ice and water.
“I’m going to check on Rus while I’m up!” she called out.
“Don’t let him talk you into a treat with his sad puppy dog eyes!” I cried out.
I was soon sucked into a show about the pharaohs’ tombs in Egypt. I hadn’t noticed Saryn wasn’t back yet until a sharp pain in my knee caused me to stand up and move it about a bit. The last thing I wanted was for my knee to get stiff from not using it.
“Sorry, Rus needed some extra love,” she said, coming back into the room.
I snarled my lip at her. “What?”
She attempted to hide her smile and failed. “Poor baby, he can’t say when the pain is too much. I gave him some of the roast and then a pain pill and told him to rest for a bit. We need to be sure and take him out before we go to bed.”
It wasn’t lost on me how normal this all sounded. As if the three of us had lived together for months now.
“I can’t believe I’m jealous of my dog right now,” I said with a slight pout.
A sexy smile grew across her face. “Do you need some extra special attention, too?”
Even though every ounce of me wanted to be inside her, I also just wanted her to sit down next to me so we could watch The History Channel together.
“How about you snuggle up next to me again and we learn about dead pharaohs?”
“That sounds amazing.” Once she was settled next to me and her head was against my arm, I found myself relaxing like I had never relaxed before.
“This is something I could really get used to,” she whispered.
I took her hand in mine and laced our fingers together. “I thought the same exact thing a few minutes ago.”
She looked up at me as I gazed down at her. Something in her eyes changed and she suddenly looked sad.
After a deep, steady inhale of air, she started to speak. “Tim is causing problems and I’m not even sure where to begin with telling you the lies he’s made up about both of us.”
I placed my finger on her chin and brought her eyes back up to look into mine. “I don’t care what he’s said or who he’s said it to. If people want to believe the rumors, let them. Liliana is still young enough that it won’t affect her, and who knows, maybe someday she actually will be my daughter.”
Her eyes grew wide. “You know about what he’s been saying?”
With a nod, I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “He’s an idiot who doesn’t deserve to even be called a father to Liliana. Let him get it all out of his system. He’s bound to head back to Dallas any day now.”
“But, Truitt, if parents hear rumors about you that aren’t true, they won’t hire you to build their kids’ playhouses.”
“If people want to act like that, then I don’t want to build for them. Saryn, everyone knows you’ve been in Dallas this whole time and I’ve been here. When in the hell would we have time to have an affair?”
“I know it’s so stupid, but there was a nurse at work who asked me if Liliana was really your baby. She heard it from Tim himself at a mutual friend’s holiday party. Why would he tell people such a lie?”
“Attention? Maybe he’s upset you’ve moved on, especially with me.”
She nodded and then frowned. “It doesn’t make any sense, though. He didn’t want to be married to me any more than I wanted to be married to him. Why is he doing this all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. Maybe his single life isn’t all he thought it would be.”
“Well, I’m just really sorry he’s saying all of this. He’s already cost me my job. I sort of lied to Ryan about why I left my job. Tim came in and caused a huge scene. I was devastated, and the way the other employees were looking at me, I couldn’t stand the thought of staying there. It just feels like I left Dallas to get away from him, and all the drama seems to have followed me here. If we hadn’t gone out…”
“Don’t say what you’re about to say. Don’t make what’s happening between us seem like a mistake. He’s already robbed us of enough time together, he won’t get anymore.”
She gave me a weak smile. “I don’t think it’s a mistake at all. I don’t know how to explain how I know this so soon, but I know it with all my heart. You’re the person I’ve been searching for this whole time, Truitt.”