Change of Heart (Fostering Love 2)

It helped that Ani ran our front office, and half the men that came in and out of there had a damn crush on her.

Where the fuck was she?

I settled down into my old computer chair and scrubbed my fingers through my beard. This was ridiculous. If she couldn’t handle seeing me at work, how the fuck was she going to be able to sit through Friday night dinner when everyone was there?

I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and called her, grinding my teeth together when she didn’t answer and I got her voicemail.

Fuck it. I had shit to do, and I didn’t have time to baby her. I hung up without leaving a message and started going through the files on my desk. I had jobs to bid or my guys weren’t going to have any wood to cut.

* * *

The week passed by slow as hell. We were busy, so there was a ton of stuff to do, but Ani hadn’t come into work all week and it was messing with my head. Every time the front door to the offices opened, my stomach churned with nerves until one of the guys passed by my office. I was getting to work early and staying late—but Ani didn’t stop by once.

It was driving me insane. I was barely sleeping, and when I did, it wasn’t deep. Part of me thought it was a good thing that she’d taken the week off; it gave us some time to get our heads straight before we had to deal with each other. But the other part was fucking dying to see her. I wanted to know where we were at. Were hostilities at a standstill or were things worse than they were before?

She needed to grow a pair and just face me already.

I walked into my mom and dad’s a little late Friday night, dragging ass. I hadn’t wanted to go to dinner. I just wanted to head home, grab a beer, and sit in front of the TV in my underwear—but I wasn’t going to be the one who didn’t show up.

I’d been where I was supposed to be that week. I wasn’t going to be the one who flaked out on family dinner.

“Hey, Mom,” I called as my mom came out from the kitchen.

“Dinner’s on the table,” Mom said with a smile, looking me over closely. “You’re late, and you look tired.”

“I am tired,” I replied, kissing her head as I reached her. “Long week.”

“Well, let’s fill you up and then you can head on home.”

I followed her to the dining room and let my eyes sweep over the table. Dad, Trevor, Aunt Ellie, Uncle Mike. I tried to keep my face blank as I realized Ani wasn’t there. I was fucking pissed. She didn’t even show at family dinner?

I stewed as we started dishing up the homemade mac and cheese. My aunt must have cooked that night because mac and cheese was her specialty, not my mom’s.

“Where’s Ani?” I asked when I couldn’t take it anymore. I immediately wanted to bite back the words.

“She had some other stuff planned tonight,” my mom said with a shrug, like she hadn’t guilted me into changing any set of plans I’d ever made that would land during family dinner.

“She wasn’t at work all week,” I said, staring at my food like it was the most important thing I’d ever seen. “She go on vacation?”

I glanced up at my suddenly quiet family and looked at their faces around the table. “What?”

“She had some stuff to do this week so she took some sick leave,” Trevor said flatly, not even looking at me as he spoke.

“Sure she did,” I said under my breath, shoveling a forkful of food into my mouth.

“What?” my mom asked, turning to me.

“Nothing.” I shook my head, then looked quickly at my aunt. “This mac and cheese is good, Auntie.”

“Thanks, honey,” Aunt Ellie said with a smile, turning to my dad to talk about…whatever it was they’d been talking about before I interrupted.

I couldn’t focus on anything happening around me. My skin felt tight, and my head was beginning to throb at my temples from clenching my jaw so hard.

“I’m gonna head out, Mom,” I finally said when I couldn’t sit there a minute longer. I was being rude, and I always stayed to help with cleanup, but I was so wound up I knew there was no way I was going to be able to stay at my mom’s for another hour to do the dishes.

“Okay, you go home and get some rest,” she said, reaching out to rub my back and making me feel like an absolute dick for pretending that was why I was leaving.

I said my good-byes and headed out the door before anyone else had stood from the table.