Swear (Landry Family 4)

“I’ll be fine,” he sighs.

“Behave and I might even bring you a sandwich tomorrow,” I wink before heading to the door. Before I push it open, I hear him say my name.

“Ellie?”

“Yeah, Daddy?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ellie

I COULD PROBABLY PRY MYSELF off this couch and do something productive. I’m sure I could, actually. I don’t feel too bad physically, besides a little iffy in my stomach from anxiety.

It’s mental exhaustion that has me down for the count. If not, lying on this couch for the past three hours should’ve revived me.

Closing my eyes feels good for about five seconds, just long enough to quiet everything in my brain. All that does is allow everything to kind of reboot and start from scratch, and I have to work my way back through it from the beginning.

Besides Ford, I now have my dad to worry about. He promised this morning when I called to check on him that he was okay. There’s something in his tone that worries me.

My stomach twists and churns. I lay a hand on top of my belly button and listen to it actually gurgle. It’s gross.

Deciding to try to force myself to take a nap, my eyelids don’t touch before a knock sounds on the door.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter, throwing off the fleece blanket and getting to my feet. Stumbling to the entryway, I call out, “Who is it?”

“It’s Ford.”

It doesn’t go unnoticed that my nerves quell just a little as I unlatch the lock. He hears it and opens it himself.

Stepping inside, he does a quick once-over.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, tugging my t-shirt down.

“Just checking on you. You haven’t called me back from this morning.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you,” I say as he bends and kisses my cheek. “I got busy and I haven’t felt good today. I came home early and couched it.”

“You should’ve called,” he says, taking my hand in his. “I would’ve brought you some soup or something and couched it with you.”

“I’ll be fine. Just tired, I think.”

He leads me to the living room and sits. Before I can take a spot next to him, he pulls me on his lap. I don’t argue. Instead, I curl up against his chest and listen to his heartbeat, steady and strong.

My body relaxes, my shoulders softening, and I sink deeper into him. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight.

“I was going to make you get all dressed up and take you dinner,” he whispers. “I wanted to show you off.”

I grin against his shirt. “Not tonight.”

“I’m okay with sitting with you like this all night. No complaints from me.”

We sit quietly, the only sound coming from a talk show on the television.

“I talked to Danielle today,” he says. “She loved the idea of partnering up with Halcyon on a back-to-school fundraiser in the fall.”

“Really?”