“You had a moment,” I reminded her. “You’re allowed. Besides, I’m glad she looked after you.”
“You still don’t like her.”
“Eh,” I grunted. “She’s growing on me. Kind of like a fungus.”
“Mean,” she accused me, but it lacked any heat. Then, she added, “Thank you for coming.”
“Where else would I rather be? Hmm?” I pressed a kiss to the skin behind her ear. “Do you need anything else, or do you just want to lie here for a while?”
“Can we just…be for a bit? We had to talk about Maddy today. A lot of things came out, and I feel all kinds of stupid at the moment.”
Not willing to touch that currently, I simply said, “You’re not stupid. And I have no problems lying here with you for a while. If you want me to get you naked and do some naked cuddling, we can do that, too.”
That got me a little laugh.
We were still cuddled together when the guys got home. Jake dropped in first. He took one look at us and had me scoot Frankie over, then he settled on her other side. When Archie and Bubba got there, they brought food, someone fed the cats, and we all took turns sitting with her and coaxing her to eat.
Jake got her to eat a couple of pieces of chicken, and she finally let me strip her down and get her into some sleep shorts—my old boxers—and a tank top before I cuddled her back up in the bed. By unspoken agreement, the guys carried her television back in there from the living room, and Jake dug up some action movies to watch.
Halfway through the second one, she let out a real laugh and a groan. I caught Archie’s look as he studied her from where he sprawled on the floor. He gave me a nod, and I let myself relax further. Some days were not going to be all fun.
I texted Rachel after Frankie fell asleep.
Me: She’s better. Sleeping now. Thanks again.
While I wasn’t expecting much more than a passing acknowledgement, Rachel did me one better.
Queen Bitch of the Universe: Good. Let me know if she needs anything. Thanks for telling me. Ur not so bad for an asshat.
Lips pursed, I debated my response, then went for it.
Me: From the biggest bitch I know, I’ll take that as a compliment.
Queen Bitch of the Universe: That’s how I meant it. Take care of my girl.
Me: Always do.
Jake eyed my phone as I clicked off the screen, and I gave him a shrug. She really was growing on me.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t need a shot or something if it turned out to be toxic.
Frankie’s bad dreams came back, but we kept chasing them away.
It was a long night.
Chapter Seven
A New Kind of Normal
Frankie
By Sunday, we were getting on each other’s nerves. Okay, correction, they were getting on my nerves. When I said I was gonna drive over to Mason’s to talk to Marsha, I suddenly had four offers for company. I kind of felt like an ass when I didn’t want them to go with me. If anything, I just wanted to breathe a little and kind of figure out what I was going to do for work.
It had been a month, and while they might not have noticed it, the sharp decline in income versus the steep increase in spending had been a sock to the wallet. I still needed to transfer my payment for my car to Maddy’s account, something I hadn’t brought up because I really didn’t want to talk about Maddy.
Especially not after Friday’s session with Erin. In fact, better to not think about it at all.
“Guys,” I said. “I’ll be fine. I can drive. I know it’s a little awkward to get the seatbelt on and to start the car, but I can handle it.”
“Of course you can, babe,” Archie offered in a soothing tone. He’d already snagged his keys. “But you don’t have to.”
I closed my eyes for a beat, fisting my temper. “I want to go on my own.” Despite my attempts, it came out snappish. Touching my tongue to my teeth, I sighed at Archie’s frown, Jake’s worried eyes, and Coop’s guarded posture. No surprises there. Intellectually, I got it. They just wanted to help.
They had been helping.
Even my heart got that. But fuck, I needed some space.
“Okay,” Ian said, shocking me. “Call if you end up needing a hand? Even if it’s just to start the car so