Page 87

Story: Silver Lining

“I bought out Veronica. The mortgage is paid off. I used to make good money.”

“Credit cards?”

“I’m not stupid. None. My credit is…well. Intact. I try, Stewart. I try to keep everything straight. Not have a single thing that Veronica can pick at. It’s bad enough being who I am. Once she starts saying I am irresponsible with my finances, I’ll have nothing left. I’m not delusional. I can’t pay Jean. I can’t pay for the coffees she brings. I just pay for the groceries and my phone bill and my medication and…child support.”

“Electricity? Water?”

“Has been minimal since I don’t heat the house. The council tax is crippling, though. That’s due again in March.”

I liked that he talked about this, brutal as it was, because I needed to know. To understand.

“So I need to get a job.”

“No. You need to be the guy who comes and sleeps in my bed at night. The rest? That is on me. I need to work harder and do this. People do this every day. They work full time and look after their kids, and I need to get it all sorted out. I don’t want Phinneas to go to preschool, not for the first week or two. He needs to bond with me again, and then figure out how we learn to—”

I kissed him.

“Stop,” I said. “Stop thinking so hard. One day at a time. First, you’ve got a meeting tomorrow. You tell Gun Larsen all of this. She will have thought of something, and we take it from there. Secondly, we get the kids here first. Then, and only then, do we figure things out.”

“We,” he said flatly.

“We.” I sounded stern, but I meant it. “I will have your back. Whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“You will need time with the kids, and I will give you space. But anytime you need a hug, I will be right here.”

“And if I need sex?”

He made me laugh. Funny how I loved that.

“That will be available too. I will have to go do some more research.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“I think so too. But for now?”

“What?”

“Go to sleep, Dyl. I love you.”

He rolled into my arms, reached out and turned off the light.

“Thank you,” he whispered again. “Thank you for being…so bloody brilliant.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

Truth. One that made me snort. Brilliant? Probably not. Smitten? One hundred per cent yes.

“I think I’m so in love with you that I have no idea how to cope on my own anymore.”

Wow.

“You don’t have to cope on your own. Neither do I. So there you have it, Mr Scotland.”

“Mr Scotland.” Another snort.

“Go to sleep.”