“I’m going to learn to crochet.”
I yank back the new shower curtain, which sadly isn’t see-through—and squint at Bluebonnet. “What?”
“Instead of going for a drive, will you take me to a craft store?”
“Sure. Yeah.”
“And we don’t need to take Dallas’s truck.” Her gaze drops, then snaps back up. “Sorry for bothering you.”
She’s out of the bathroom before I can assure her that she’s always welcome in here while I shower. Always. But maybe saying that out loud would sound creepy. The last thing I want to do is scare her away. Or sound like I’m making light of things when she’s hurting.
I wrap up the shower and get mostly dressed. Then I walk out to the living room and toss my T-shirt on the back of the sofa. “Crochet, huh?”
“Maybe it’s silly, but I need something to do. Something that will keep my hands busy.”
“It’s not silly.” I rub her back as I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I can’t wait to see what you make.”
Her gaze slides up my chest. “You should put a shirt on. I don’t even want to know what happens if I take you into a craft store wearing only jeans and boots.”
She gives a weak smile, and besides the disappointment from my wife asking me to put a shirt on, I’m happy. Her smiles are few and far between these days. Understandably.
“I have one right here.” I tug the shirt over my head.
But instead of watching like she’s been doing since our wedding night, she looks down at her plate and continues eating.
Chapter 29
Bluebonnet
Dr. Monroe has been very understanding, but I can’t avoid people forever. I’ve been hiding in the cabin and taking drives with Parker, but the last three days, we haven’t even gone for drives because I’ve been crocheting. Or trying.
I’m not very good.
Parker’s in the shower, and I’m changing out of my sweats and baggy T-shirt. I’ve lived in one of his shirts this past week. But tonight, I’m going to the mess hall for dinner.
Because of me, he hasn’t eaten in the mess hall either. Parker needs to be around people. My grief is only dragging him down. He’s not even singing in the shower. And he hasn’t all week.
I want to hope it’s just because of what happened, but there’s a nagging fear that he regrets his choice now that he’s not saving me from being a single mom. He’s said he’s not going anywhere, but I hate seeing him sad.
He steps out of the shower, and a water droplet falls from his hair. It lands on his shoulder and glides down his chest toward the waistband of his jeans. I shouldn’t stare. It’s rude.
When the droplet disappears, I snap to. “Hi. I got dressed. Figured we could eat in the mess hall tonight.”
“Yeah. Sounds good. Make anything new today?” He glances over his shoulder as he walks into the bedroom.
“Another dishrag. I need to find something new to make because we rarely dirty dishes here at the cabin. Normally. This week has been the exception.”
“Maybe Ava wants them for the kitchen. She’s always cleaning.”
I’m shaking my head even though with his back turned, he can’t see me. “No. They don’t even look square. I can’t give them away.”
He tugs on a shirt, then walks up to me. “They don’t need to be any certain shape to clean a dish. She’ll love them.”
“I’ll think about it.”
When he leans down, I back up. “Give me a second. I need to brush my teeth. Then we can go.”
I haven’t kissed him since we found out the news. This is the first time he’s initiated, and I shouldn’t have pulled away. But I do need to brush my teeth. That part wasn’t a lie.
