Feels like Home (Lake Fisher 2)

“I would have kept him forever if they’d let us.”

“Do you think Aaron is going to let us take the kids?” she asks.

“If we can keep the cat alive for thirty days, then yes, I’d say there’s a good chance.”

She freezes. “What? What does the cat have to do with anything?”

I laugh. “Call it a test run.”

“He’s testing us with a cat?” she says, her voice a little loud, so I shush her. “He’s testing us with a cat?” she whispers vehemently.

“Thirty days with the cat proves we can take care of something.”

“It’s a fucking cat!” she says with a little growl to her voice.

“It’s still a commitment,” I remind her. “If we end up with the kids, we’re committing to a lifetime. Cats don’t live nearly as long as kids.”

“I can’t believe that dickwad felt the need to test me.”

“Why didn’t you and Aaron ever date?” I suddenly ask. I’ve always wanted to know the answer to this but never found the right time to ask.

“Eww,” she says, and she pretends to gag. “That would be gross.”

“So you never had any feelings for one another.”

She shakes her head. “Never ever, and if you keep talking about it, I’m going to throw up.”

I get quiet.

Suddenly she admits, “I was jealous as hell of Lynda for a while, though. Not going to lie.”

“Why were you jealous?”

“She took away his time. Before her, I had all of it. After her, I had to share. I didn’t particularly like that, in the beginning.” She makes a fist in my hair which forces my gaze up. “Then you came along and I had someone to love, too, and it became easier. Lynda became my second-best friend, after Aaron. We talked about everything.”

“When your light got dim, y

ou pushed her away as well. And Aaron, too.”

She nods. “She was pissed at me for a while. She eventually gave up on trying to reach out to me, and I still feel bad about that.”

“Aaron never gave up,” I remind her.

“No, he never did. Even when I was at my lowest, he didn’t stop calling or reaching out to me. He refused to accept my silence. It was damned annoying, to be honest.”

I know how annoying it was because when he couldn’t get hold of Bess, he’d call me to find out what was going on. I’d talk him out of flying to us, because I didn’t know what Bess would do if he showed up, and he’d eventually give in as long as I kept him updated on situations. He used me like a lifeline to Bess, and I was okay with that.

“He doesn’t want Lynda’s brothers to have the kids,” I tell her. “I know that much. He says they’re assholes.”

She snorts. “Lynda’s brothers are assholes. The one with the mustache hit on me at the funeral.”

“Shut up,” I say. I stare at her. “For real? What did you do?”

“I ignored him, and he finally went away.”

“You should have told me. I would have punched him in the face.”

She looks down at me and rolls her eyes. “We weren’t exactly talking right then.”