“Morning,” he said gruffly.
“Turn around,” I said.
“What?” Kevin asked.
“You need to take a shower.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. I could smell you coming before you rounded the corner.”
“No, I don’t. I can’t afford to miss anything. Phone calls and stuff. I’ve got too much to do.”
“And that’s why I’m here,” I said. “If something happens, I can be here to handle it. But you need a shower. It’s been five days. Enough is enough.”
“No. I’m going to have breakfast with my son.”
“I didn’t make you any.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“I’ll make you breakfast while you shower. And if I hear anything, I’ll come to your door immediately. But you’re showering, and that’s the end of that discussion, Daniel does not need to see you this way.”
“You don’t get to tell me what we do and do not talk about.”
“At least you still have some fight left in you,” I said. “But if you aren’t taking care of yourself, you’ll be in no shape to take care of your daughter when she comes back through those doors.”
I watched the fire recede from Kevin’s eyes as he nodded.
“Fine,” he said.
He turned around and shuffled back upstairs. The house was still a wreck, and I kept Daniel in my eyesight as I began to clean. The water ran for much longer than I expected. Thirty minutes passed by before Kevin was back down the stairs. I’d managed to clean up the living room and tidy up the mess in the hallway, and I was working on cleaning up Daniel from breakfast as Kevin walked in.
“Still no breakfast?” he asked.
I pointed to the pan on the stove.
“Eggs, bacon, and biscuits,” I said.
“Have you eaten?” he asked.
“I don’t need to eat.”
“That’s not what I felt last night.”
I slowly panned my gaze up to his eyes and took stock of him. He had taken the time to shave. His smooth skin was back, and that determined jaw was set. His eyes were hard on me and a refreshing scent was wafting from his body. His skin seemed luminescent and his arms were pulsing with bulging veins.
I lowered my gaze and wiped Daniel’s face one last time before he ran off to play.
“How much did you drink last night?” I asked.
“Before or after you went to bed?”
I just looked at him. “About a bottle and a half of whiskey,” he said.
I nodded my head as I walked over to the stove. I slid all the food onto a plate before pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge. I set it all down on the kitchen table and motioned for him to sit, and he stared at me before he made a move. He pulled a chair out beside him and pointed, ordering me to sit beside him.
Then he handed me a piece of bacon that made my stomach roll.