Until the World Stops - L.A. Witt Page 0,35

hit the fan, but I didn’t say that out loud.

It was funny, realizing he could be so chill and he could think so strategically during an actual crisis when the guy I’d worked with had been the kind of hothead to drive me up a wall.

Maybe it was just easier for him to handle something like this because he had some control. He could address the situation in the way that made the most sense to him, rather than have his response dictated by bean counters and higher ups who just knew what looked good on paper, not what was practical. He also consulted with me more than he ever had when we’d worked together. Maybe because we were basically equals now. I wasn’t going to pull rank on him. I didn’t have any authority over him. It seemed like these days he checked in with me out of common courtesy, as opposed to when he’d worked for me and his attitude had been that it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Was that why he was more willing to talk to me about things now? Because he didn’t have to ask permission?

I couldn’t blame him. While I was more onboard with respecting rank and authority than Tristan had ever been, it seriously did get frustrating to have to give in and obey an order when you knew damn well there was a better way.

No one was giving orders in our house. Whether we liked it or not, we were in this together, and to my surprise, we were doing okay. With him being this calm and collected, I could breathe a bit easier. If he wasn’t freaking out, then I wouldn’t either, so I let myself lean on him and take my cues from him.

Living with him right now might’ve been frustrating in ways I hadn’t expected. Making this arrangement might’ve been biting off more than I could chew.

But tonight, I had to admit…

I was glad he was here.

Chapter 10

Tristan

Casey was playing on his tablet with Tilly in his lap and I was in the middle of working on a paper when my phone rang. I closed my eyes and swore. Partly because I really needed to finish this beast of an assignment and partly because I’d instantly recognized the ringtone.

I indulged in an exasperated sigh just before I accepted the call. “Hey.”

“Hey, hon!” Mom sounded cheerful. “Are you busy?”

“Nah.” I saved my paper and closed the window. “What’s up?”

“Well, I just wanted to check in with you about travel plans for July. Has Casey’s leave been approved?”

“His—” I blinked. “You still want us to come?”

Casey looked up from his tablet, his brow cocked like you’re shitting me.

Mom laughed. “Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Uh. ’Cause there’s a pandemic going on, and—”

“Oh, everyone’s making that out to be bigger than it is.” She huffed indignantly. “You know they’ve got your father working from home now, and I can’t work at all because the state doesn’t think the store is essential?”

“It’s… It’s a bookstore. It’s not essential.”

“Not if you want to drive business to Amazon and close down all the little people, no.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

God, grant me the serenity not to tell my mom to pay attention.

“It’s all just nonsense,” Mom went on in that voice she’d used when my seventh grade English teacher had given me a D that I’d totally deserved. “It’s hurting businesses and disrupting everyone’s lives. Your sister is absolutely livid that Disney is closing. She and Derek paid a fortune for that trip, and her boys have been looking forward to it for months!”

“Wait, was she still planning on going?”

Mom tsked as if that question was ridiculous. “Of course she was! They’ve been so excited about going, and there’s no—”

“Mom, they shouldn’t be traveling! At all! And they sure as hell shouldn’t be going to a park full of thousands of people.”

“Oh, honey. They’re not elderly or sickly. They’ll be fine. And so will the two of you. In fact, this is turning out to be a great time to travel because there are so few people flying right now. I just looked before I called you, and the tickets are very cheap! Plus you’ll probably be the only people on the plane anyway.”

“Uh-huh. Aside from all the other people who don’t think it’s necessary to take precautions. And I mean, what if we pick it up on the plane or in the airport, and then we give it to