“No, and if you could, would you take over bathing and feeding me until we can hire a CNA.”
Her head whipped around. “Oh, honey. No. What happened?”
My throat hurt. “It’s not a thing. Don’t make it a thing.”
“Was having him help you bathe too awkward? He seemed pretty matter-of-fact about it when we talked this morning.”
“You talked about it?” My humiliation was complete.
“Sure. I thanked him for helping. I offered to take over shower duty if he wanted me to, but he said he was fine with it.”
“He said that this morning?”
“Yes.” She studied my face. “What are you hiding from me?”
“Nothing, okay? I just don’t want to take advantage. Can you help me tonight?”
“Of course, but I’m sure that Alastair is making it well worth the Taggarts's while to help you if you need it.”
I put down my book. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Ariel and Taggart and Stone are doing us a huge favor here. Of course Alastair wants to reciprocate with a generous donation.”
“Oh my God. It just keeps getting better and better.” I got up and went inside to my—Stone’s—room to lie down. Whiplash wasn’t a strong enough word for the push-pull Stone exerted on my emotions. To think he might only be helping because my dad offered to support the sanctuary…
Molly said he was fine with giving me showers. Knowing how he affected my body, Stone still wanted that intimacy? What about the rest of it? What about what he'd said the night before?
“Wait.” Molly followed me inside. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing.”
“Not nothing. You’ve been unhappy all morning.”
“All right. If you want to know, I don’t need my dad buying friends for me.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She folded her arms and faced me angrily. “This better be the pain talking or the pills or postconcussion syndrome because everyone here is trying to make things as easy for you as possible. We’re your friends. No purchase required.”
“But I don’tdeservethat. I crashed my cart. I ran off a cliff somehow. It’s entirely my fault I’m where I am now.”
“Then let’s get things straight.” She leaned forward, ready to let me have it with both barrels. “It’s not only about what you deserve. What about what we deserve? Obviously I’m not equipped to see where the ledges are or how to talk you off them because I nearly lost you. Have you thought for one second about how that would have affected me?”
“Oh, Molly…” Hearing her say the words was like running full-tilt into a brick wall. “I’m—”
“We all nearlylostyou.” She drew herself up like a queen of old and poked me hard in the chest. “And you don’t get to tell us how to feel about that.”
She left the room. Maybe she left the house. It seemed awfully silent after our argument. I napped off and on until dark. No one came to my room or called me for supper.
I didn’t feel hungry anyway.
I didn’t feel a thing.
Chapter Nineteen
Stone
After weeksat sea level in California, working with the dogs exhausted me. It could have been the altitude or the exertion I wasn’t used to, but I was also likely depressed. Morrigan stuck close by my side later when I grabbed a bite to eat and lay down for a quick nap.
Either I forgot to set the alarm on my phone or I’d turned it off and gone back to sleep, but it was past dark when I opened my eyes again.
