Page 105 of The Taste of Deceit

She nods against my chest, but another wave of tears hits her before she can say anything else. I don’t let go. I just keep one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist until her breathing begins to slow.

“Come on,” I murmur. “Let’s get you into bed.”

She doesn’t argue.

She doesn’t say anything at all.

She lets me guide her out of the bathroom. By the time we reach the bed, she’s exhausted. She sits on the edge of the mattress, staring blankly at the floor while I kneel in front of her and slip her shoes off.

“Lie down for me, Baby Girl.”

She does.

I pull the comforter back over her before walking around to my side of the bed. I climb in behind her.

The second I wrap an arm around her waist, she scoots backward until she’s pressed tightly against my chest. She reaches for my hand without looking, lacing our fingers together and holding on so tightly it almost hurts.

I don’t mind. I kiss the back of her head and rest my cheek against her hair, slowly rubbing my thumb across the back of her hand.

“You don’t have to carry this anymore,” I whisper. “I’m here.”

She doesn’t answer.

Her shoulders begin to shake again, silent tears soaking into the pillow beneath her. I hold her through every one of them, tracing circles against her stomach and pressing soft kisses into her hair whenever another sob catches in her throat.

Eventually, the shaking eases. Her grip on my hand loosens little by little as exhaustion finally overtakes grief. Her breathing evens out, and the room falls quiet except for the occasional hitch in her sleep.

I don’t close my eyes. I lie awake behind her, holding her against me, wishing I could go back a month and spare her from every second of this.

Epilogue

One Month Later

“Your daddy lasted all of two minutes with that secret,” Mama says through the phone, and I can’t help but laugh.

“I still can’t believe he told you.”

She lets out an amused huff.

“Sarah Eileen, that man has never kept a secret from me longer than he absolutely had to.”

I smile as I lean against the kitchen island, tucking the phone between my ear and shoulder while I absentmindedly straighten a stack of mail.

“I guess I should’ve known.”

“You should have.”

There’s a smile in her voice.

“He came inside after talking to Luca and said, ‘Well, I reckon I oughta tell you somethin’.’”

I laugh again.

“That sounds exactly like Daddy.”

A comfortable silence settles between us before she speaks again.

“So, have y’all picked a date yet?”