Kade: I’m not going to be at work today.

Hummingbird: For the last time, you don’t work for me.

Kade: I work for your customers. They pay me with cookies and candy.

Hummingbird: I’ll let them know that they can save their sweets and put away their cameras.

Kade: You’re going to miss me, right?

Hummingbird: Nope. I’m glad you finally found something else to do with your time.

Kade: Hannah is sick, but once she’s better I’ll come back to work.

Hummingbird: I’m so sorry to hear that she’s not feeling well. She didn’t look well Saturday night. Do you need me to bring you something?

Kade: You know what, I have an idea. On your way, can you pick up crackers, please? We’re out of those.

Hummingbird: I’ll bring crackers and chicken soup.

I didn’t reply to her text but pulled out my computer to order flowers for Hannah. She told me on Saturday that she’d love to receive flowers one day. It seemed like a sick girl could use some cheering up in the form of daisies.

“How are you feeling, baby?”

Hannah shook her head and rested it back on the pillow. I grabbed the thermometer and moved her legs cautiously before I rose from the couch. Gently, I tugged on her ear, pulling it back. Inserted the thermometer into the ear canal, turned it on and removed it as soon as it beeped. I kissed her right after.

“Ninety-nine-point-nine,” I read out loud. “The fever is finally going down, pumpkin.”

I alternated between two different medicines to keep her fever down. The doctor told me to worry if it rose higher than one-hundred-and-two. After Alicia dropped her at my apartment, Dr. Hawkins did a house visit and diagnosed her with a viral bug.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay.” Her little voice was barely audible.

“Do you want more seltzer?”

Hannah nodded. “Am I going to go back to Mom’s in the evening?”

“No, Pumpkin. You’re staying with me until you feel better. You know I love to take care of you.”

Alicia hated to care for the girls when they were sick. When I was out of town, she sent them to her parents. I loved to care for my girls, and they didn’t need to know that their mother had zero interest in nursing them back to health.

“Will I be okay for my party?”

“Yes, and the invitations were delivered earlier,” I assured her because she was still afraid that no one would come to her party. “Jax handed them to your teacher, and he’ll drop by the academy later today to give them to your ballet teacher.”

When I called Jax to cancel our practice and explained to him about the party, he offered to deliver the invites. He knew that I couldn’t trust Alicia.

While Hannah watched television and took a nap, I emailed back and forth with Duncan, the band’s manager. We were working on the schedule for the upcoming tour. I remained by my kid’s side until the bell rang.

When I opened the door, the most beautiful woman in the world was standing right in front of me. My heart beat faster whenever she was around.

“Hey, beautiful,” I leaned forward, kissing her cheek and grabbing the tote bags she carried. “I was wondering if you’d be showing up with my order.”

“Because we didn’t charge your card?”

“Sort of.” I moved away from the entrance so she could step inside. “It’s been several hours since I placed my order, and there hadn’t been any text from my bank that I had a new charge. Nor a call to ask about my request.”

“Today’s delivery is free,” she said, showing me a bouquet of balloons. “We aren’t delivering what you requested.”

“I can see that.”

“Hannah prefers balloons.”

“You remembered.” My heart pounded hard against my ribcage. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also thoughtful and sweet.

“You brought more than the crackers.” I shot up an eyebrow staring at the bags I held.

“Yes, and be careful with the yellow bag,” she warned me as she handed me the bags. “The soup is still hot, and I don’t trust the containers I used. It might spill.”

“You had time to make soup?”

“Yes, we closed early, so I went home to make some chicken soup.”

“Thank you,” I bent over to kiss her cheek, but she ducked before I reached her and walked toward the living room.

“Let me say hi to Hannah, and then I’ll help you serve the food.”

I marched to the kitchen and set everything on the counter.

“She looks so sad,” Sadie entered the kitchen.

“Understatement of the year.”

“She said that her mom brought her last night.”

“Alicia doesn’t like sick kids,” I stated, focusing on the groceries Sadie brought and not the anger boiling in my veins.

Sadie opened the cupboards. “Where are your bowls?”

“The cupboards right next to the stove.” I turned around and counted two bowls. “You’re not eating here?”

“I …” She gripped the countertop taking a deep breath.

“What happened, Little Fairy?”

“Mom called,” she breathed the last word.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be in rehab?” I stopped putting the stuff away and concentrated on her.

I wasn’t a stranger to rehab or getting clean. For the first thirty days, I had no contact with the outside world.

“Yeah, she was,” Sadie slouched.

My heart faltered as her body radiated sadness. There was this spinning down feeling dragging me closer to her. A need to fix her day, to make her smile.

“What can I do?”

“I’m concerned about her. I’m sure she went to rehab in hopes that Dad would be around for her once she got out.”

She tilted her head slightly, looking at me. “It worries me.”

“Why?”

“Because I think she still loves him. No matter how long it’s been since the divorce, or how many boyfriends and husbands she’s had. Mom still loves Dad. Once she learns about the new girlfriend …” Her shoulders sagged, her voice trailed.

“She’s going to drink more,” I finished the sentence.

“And use more painkillers to numb herself.” She turned to look at me. “I shouldn’t care. She’s an adult. But I can’t help myself.”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me. “Lean on me, Sadie. It must be hard to see her sick and unable to help her.”

“How hard is it for you?”

“The craving is there, but I remind myself of what matters. The people I might lose if I let the sickness win.”

“I’m proud of you,” she mumbled.

My heart exploded inside my chest. No one had ever been proud of me, or supportive. At that moment, I was falling for her.

It was so obvious. She never left my mind. She was never far—mentally if not physically. Sadie was becoming my one stable force. My one support in a world filled with chaos. I so desperately needed that in my life—her. And I couldn’t believe I’d only just realized it.

“But I think I hate you,” she murmured, breathing deeply, her hands grabbing my t-shirt tightly.

“Somehow, I don’t believe you. Why do you think you hate me?” I kissed the top of her head.

“Because you’re making me care about you,” she paused, her head rested on my chest. Her body fit perfectly against mine.

I held my breath and waited to hear more about her ambivalent feelings for me. She remained silent for a long time, her eyes were closed. I wanted to capture her mouth and kiss her until all her doubts disappeared.

“So, you care about me.”

“Maybe I do. But I keep wondering what’s going to happen to me when you leave.”

Her doubts pinched my heart. I experienced the pain of my sister leaving. My mother neglected us for years. The abandonment and the loss scarred me. The wounds were so deep that I couldn’t let anyone into my world or my heart. Except for this woman.

But what would I do if she left?

The answer came to me immediately, I would never let her go. I wouldn’t abandon her either.

“Not everybody leaves, Sadie,” I whispered in her ear, pulling her tighter against my body.

“Sometimes I’m the one who has to leave because the other person is hurting me.”

Those words coupled with her broken voice felt like an arrow through my heart. I wanted to keep her close to me and promise her that no one would hurt her again.

“Who hurt you, love?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You can’t believe that when you wear the scars in your heart. They matter, and I am here to hear about those battles you lost, the ones you won.”

At that moment, I came to the realization that she was broken like me. My new antidote was her. She made me feel complete. Whole. I wanted to be the one who would complete her. I stared at her lips and debated if I should kiss her, but I remembered Hannah was there with us. Thank fuck there were a few walls of separation between the kitchen and the living room.

Until Sadie and I had something substantial, I didn’t want to say anything to my girls. Everything was new to me. Too new. I hadn’t had a serious relationship with another woman since their mother. How would my girls react? I stopped worrying because in my gut I knew that Sadie wasn’t ready for us yet.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that you need time.”

“Time?” She pushed herself away from my hold.

“To come to terms with your past, and hopefully give me a chance.”

“You and I being in a relationship is such a bad idea, but I accept the invitation to have dinner with you and Hannah.”

“Hannah, come over. Dinner is ready.”

I kissed Sadie’s cheek again, aware that it might be the last time she’d let me do it. My gut told me that she was about to raise those walls higher and draw a thicker, more permanent line between us.