The Half of Us (Family 4)

Jason squeezed Abe’s wrist before releasing him. He beamed at Angela, thrilled she’d finally seen the good in Abe.

“Th… that won’t be necessary,” Abe said, looking back and forth between Jason and Angela, no doubt confused about the sudden change in attitude. “Like I said, CSN Henderson isn’t far, and I have the time.”

“Thanks, Abe,” Jason said. He reached his hand out again, but Abe stepped back. With the table between them, Jason could no longer reach him, which bothered him unreasonably. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything is fine,” Abe said, his voice stilted. He jerked his gaze toward Angela and then returned it to Jason. “I’m sure Kris will want to hear the good news. I’ll let you go so she isn’t kept waiting.” He tipped his chin toward the door. “Thank you both for making the time for this meeting.”

Chapter 6

ABE WAS rinsing out his soup bowl when his doorbell rang. “Just a minute,” he called out as he turned off the faucet. He grabbed a towel, dried his hands, and tossed it onto the counter before walking toward the front door. “What can I do for—” He froze midsentence when he opened the door and came face-to-face with Jason. He couldn’t help the needy lurch in his belly or the tingling across his skin as he remembered how good Jason’s touch had felt. “What are you doing here?” he said, his voice strained.

“I’m not that early, am I?” Jason asked. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, glanced at it, and then looked back at Abe. “It’s a quarter after seven and we said seven thirty.”

Abe gaped at him for several seconds and then gathered his mental faculties, such as they were after that afternoon’s fiasco, and said, “We didn’t say anything. I left you a message three days ago and I didn’t hear word one from you until you sent me a text this afternoon while I was working announcing that you were coming over at seven thirty.”

“I’ve been at the hospital all week. One doctor in our group is on vacation and another has the flu, so we were scrambling. I got in touch with you as soon as I was off work.”

The conversation was surreal. Abe stared at Jason, waiting for him to acknowledge the other issue, the one that mattered more than how long it took him to respond to Abe’s call or how arrogant and rude it was to assume he could text that afternoon, have Abe drop everything to see him, and then, without Abe’s agreement, show up on his doorstep uninvited.

When Jason didn’t say anything else, Abe threw his hands up and said, “That was before I met your wife. I’d say that kind of thing is a pretty obvious game changer.”

“Look, I know Angela was a little rough at first, but she warmed up at the end.” Jason put his hand on Abe’s shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.

Abe’s jaw dropped again. He rolled his shoulder, dislodging Jason’s hand. Did Jason actually think his wife’s demeanor was the issue?

“I get that you’re upset about how she acted during the meeting, but can we talk about this inside?” Jason asked.

Yes, apparently that was exactly what he thought. “That’s not what I meant,” Abe said.

Jason stepped forward and squeezed his large frame between Abe and the doorway. With Abe’s surprise at the situation and Jason’s strength and bulk, he was able to walk right in.

“I know I said we could grab a bite, but do you mind if we stay in instead? I’ve had a long day and I want to relax.”

Though he wasn’t normally one to yell, Abe lost his patience. “You’ve had a long day?” he said, raising his voice.

“A long week, actually.” Jason rubbed his fingers over his temples, bringing Abe’s attention to his eyes.

They did look a little red, and there were dark circles under them. Abe had instinctively begun to reach for Jason, wanting to stroke his cheek and ease his tension, when he realized what he was doing and stopped himself. “I’m sorry you had a hard week, but I need you to leave.” He crossed his arms over his chest and tucked his hands under his arms to prevent them from visibly shaking. “Please.”

“Leave?” Jason said disbelievingly. “But we have plans.”

“We don’t have plans!” Abe threw his hands up again. “You texted me out of nowhere, announced that we were getting together the same night without asking if I was free, and then showed up even though I didn’t respond. It’s Friday night. What if I was already busy?”

Jason knit his eyebrows together, ran his gaze up and down Abe’s body, and then said, “Are you busy?”

He should say yes, but he didn’t like lying, not even white lies. “No. But that isn’t the point.”