by T. L. Haddix
Chapter Fifty-Six
Haley couldn’t stand up. Her knees were so weak, she knew if she tried to get to her feet, she’d collapse into a puddle in front of Eli. So when he started shifting to get comfortable, she slid off his lap and onto the bed beside him.
“We still need to sit down and talk about certain things,” he told her as he finished putting Fido on and rolled his pant leg down. “I’m sure you have questions.”
Haley shrugged and rubbed his arm. “Not at the moment. I knew from what you’d said it hadn’t been a pleasant relationship, but after talking to Sophie, I think it was a level of Purgatory all to itself. I don’t want to make you go back there just to satisfy my curiosity. And honestly, I don’t know that I want details unless you need to talk about things.”
The smile he sent her was sad. “Purgatory—that’s one way to put it. I don’t need to go back. Don’t want to. I’m tired of her taking over my life even from the grave. I’d really like to pretend that part of my life never happened, but I had to go through there to get to here, and it has made me a better person. Maybe more in spite of the marriage than because of it, if that makes sense.”
“It does.” She laid her cheek on his shoulder. “So what now?”
He tackled her gently and lowered her to the mattress, tickling her ribs enough to make her laugh. After a very pleasant kiss, he sighed. “Now, we should probably go rescue my brother. Or Sophie. I’m not sure who’ll need it more. Noah said he was taking her to the shop, and there are sharp tools out there. We could find either of them impaled on a chisel or tacked to the wall.”
She laughed, horrified. “Oh, my God. Surely not.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t surprise me,” he said, half-joking, getting to his feet. He held a hand out to her, and Haley gladly accepted the help.
“You’re right about how she feels about him, you know,” she said softly. “It was all over her face, her body language when she talked about him yesterday. Is it true that he’s a medium?”
Eli frowned slightly. “She told you that? It’s fine that she did,” he rushed to add. “I’m just a little surprised. She’s very protective of Noah even though she claims not to care a whit for him. And yeah, it’s true. Does that bother you?”
She shook her head. “Not in the least. I wouldn’t want that sort of gift, though.”
“No, I wouldn’t either,” he admitted. “Though back in the day when we were stupid kids, I hated him for being special. I had no idea how hard that ability was on him.”
“Do you now?” she asked, stepping in to loop her arms around his waist.
Eli rested his hands on her shoulders, massaging lightly. “He barely sleeps. He paces the floors when he doesn’t think I’m awake. He has little social life outside the family. And seeing him force himself to interact with people in public… it’s been enlightening. Makes me feel even more ashamed of how I acted the last decade or so.”
Haley raised up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth. “That’s one of the reasons you wanted to work with him, isn’t it? So you could protect him, be a buffer of sorts.”
He nodded. “I think he knows that, even if it’s subconsciously. I only hope I can help. Come on. Let’s see where the kids are.”
As he led her out the door, he sighed. “And then we should probably go see Grandma and Grandpa. She called while we were driving last night, and she wants to dote on us. She’s baking cookies. And Molly’s up there, has all those cookies to herself. We can’t have that. Grandma makes exceptional cookies.”
“Aww. You have the sweetest grandparents in the world, did you know that?”
He grinned at her. “Yeah. I do. Is that okay, going to their house? Do you have plans?”
“Not at all. It sounds like fun.”
They found Noah and Sophie in the shop, as promised. She was seated at a large work island off to one side in the demo kitchen on a comfortable-looking stool, thumbing through what Haley assumed was a portfolio of Noah’s work, while Noah watched her from the other side of the island. They both came to attention when Eli and Haley came in.
Noah grinned widely when he saw that they were holding hands. “So the band’s back together?”
Haley laughed and hid her face on Eli’s shoulder. “I guess that’s one way to put it.”
“Thank God. Now that’s taken care of, let’s go get some grub. Grandma called. She’s got the oven warmed up.” Noah rubbed his hands together, stopping beside Sophie to look at her uncertainly. “She said something about spice cookies if you’re interested.”
Sophie’s cheeks flushed and she closed the portfolio. “I… okay.”
Eli winked down at Haley. “Those are her favorites,” he murmured.
It was very telling that Noah was aware of that little detail, Haley knew.
As they piled in Sophie’s rental to make the trip to the farm, Haley couldn’t stop thinking that she’d gotten very lucky. Not only today but in so many ways since that first day back in August when she’d opened the waiting-room door to lay eyes on Eli for the first time.
She was still afraid of taking things too fast, but she trusted Eli and what he’d said about enjoying the journey. And she was looking forward to finding out exactly where that journey would take them.
Also by T. L. Haddix
The Firefly Hollow Series:
Firefly Hollow
Butterfly Lane
Dragonfly Creek
Cattail Ridge
Cricket Cove
Stormking Road
Fern Valley
Snapdragon Way
The Shadows Collection:
Secrets in the Shadows
Under the Moon’s Shadow
Shadows from the Grave
Hidden in the Shadows
In the Heart’s Shadow
Deception in the Shadows
Seduction in the Shadows
Redemption in the Shadows
Writing as Mallory Love:
Capturing Colleen (Sunset Motel, Book One)
Seducing Samantha (Sunset Motel, Book Two)
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