Page 25 of Meant for Mayhem

She shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

“I’m going to need a lot more details,” Stevie said around a mouthful of chips. “My life is boring. No one bangs me in the back of a pickup truck, plies me with cheeseburgers at two in the morning, and I’ve never accidentally acquired a husband.”

The moment she said it out loud, tears gathered in her eyes.

“Oh, my god.” She clutched the chip bag to her chest. “He introduced you as his wife.”

Tate pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please don’t cry over someone else’s fake marriage.”

“I’m not crying,” Stevie sniffed. “I’m appreciating the romance.”

“Calm down,” I sighed. “It’s not even about me. It’s for his daughter.”

“I need far more information than you’re providing,” Tate said.

I recapped everything that had happened yesterday, except the part where I cried when he told me about Leena’s mom. In fact, I left Leena’s mom out of it altogether, keeping that information private. Mikko hadn’t asked me not to tell anyone, but trust was fragile, and it wasn’t my story to tell.

“So, what are you going to do?” Tate asked, now laying back on the reformer for some basic stretches. “Your clinical fellowship starts next week, right?”

“You’ve worked so hard for that,” Stevie added. “I think Emmy and I can both attest to the fact that children make everything harder. Wonderful, yes, but toddlerhood isn’t for the faint of heart.”

“They’re right,” Daisy said, looking at the toddler currently tugging on Emmy’s hair. “Ty and I are thrilled to have Kai with us for as long as he’s ours, but that little guy is a handful.”

“I didn’t ask whether it would be hard.” The words came out sharper than I’d intended. “You keep saying that like I haven’t thought this through.”

“No one’s saying that,” Tate replied evenly.

“Then what are you saying?”

Emmy’s expression softened. “Shannon, taking care of Lori isn’t the same thing as helping raise a toddler. Lori’s an adult. You love her, sure, but it’s still a job, and she understands that. A kid... that’s different.”

“I know that.”

“We know you do,” Daisy said. “That’s exactly why we’re worried.”

I crossed my arms. “Because you think I can’t handle it?”

“No,” Emmy said. “I think you’d throw yourself into it so completely you’d forget about yourself.”

The room fell quiet.

“You’ve spent months taking care of Lori,” Stevie said. “Before that...”

“My dad,” I finished for her.

Stevie nodded. “You’ve always had someone who needed you, whether or not they deserved it.”

“You’re the first one to help,” Emmy said. “We love that about you. But helping others doesn’t have to come at the expense of your own life.”

Tate leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees. “What do you want?”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

A year ago, the answer was easy.

Denver.

My fellowship.