Page 13 of Wait For You

My sobs weren’t big and dramatic. They were slow and soft and sounded as weary as I felt.

Adam murmured soothing sounds while he held me securely against him. One palm began to move in slow passes up and down my back. His touch eased the tension spinning madly inside. Gradually, my sobs and the tears wicking up from my throat slowed. I could take a deep breath, and the shivering and trembling finally stopped.

I honestly didn’t know how long he held me in Quinn’s office. I felt a little sheepish, but my anxiety was dissipating. I scrambled inside to find my composure. I took a few deep breaths and finally lifted my head.

Adam still held me close, and I loved the feeling. He was warm, and I could’ve stayed here forever in his arms. He lifted a hand, swiping the tears off each cheek with his thumb. My heart felt cracked wide open.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently.

It didn’t escape me that he didn’t ask me what happened. Instead, his question put the control in my hands. I didn’t feel like I had to explain.

I contemplated it for a moment. While I didn’t want to tell him about the relentlessly badgering process of having my ex use the custody situation as yet another way to make me miserable, I did want to explain some of it.

“Rich is filing for shared custody. This should be good because, until today, he has been demanding full physical custody. But he wants shared legal custody and for me to keep physical custody. That means we have to make decisions together, and he wants us to attend co-parenting classes. Together! I don’t want to be forced into that with him. I also know he doesn’t really want custody. He just wants to make my life a living hell.”

Adam quietly absorbed what I’d shared, his expression calm. After a beat, he nodded, just barely. “Rich is a fucking asshole, but you already knew that. I know you’re a fighter, Tessa, because you left and divorced him. Just remember that. If you ever need anything from me related to this, I’ll help however I can. All you have to do is ask.”

That was all he said. Yet I was instantly calm. A part of me had surrendered already. I would have these moments when I felt like I couldn’t control my anxiety, but then I would remember that the one thing I could control was my own response. I had already done the hardest part. I’d left.

That was the wildest part, the paradox of getting caught in this dynamic. When I felt like I was falling apart and weak and at the mercy of someone else, the experience of that helped me become stronger. The strength I got from that carried me through. I just had to remember to reach for it.

I took a slow, steadying breath. “Thank you,” I said, my voice soft.

Adam nodded. After a few beats of quiet, he dipped his head, surprising me with a kiss. This comforting kiss lingered. A moment later, he eased his hold on me and stepped back. Every movement was purposeful and deliberate.

“Should I walk you to your car?”

At my nod, he turned, opening the office door and gesturing me through. I wanted him to reach for my hand, but he did one better. He placed his palm lightly on my waist, and his touch was like a hot brand.

I felt protected with every step. He walked me to my car, opened the door, and waited until I buckled up.

“Call or text anytime.”

Chapter Eight

Adam

That evening, I found myself turning on the TV to watch the weather report. More specifically, to watch Tessa.

My lips curled at the corners the moment they announced, “And here is Fireweed Harbor’s very own Tessa Hensen with our evening weather report.”

Tessa smiled at the camera and began reporting the weather. I didn’t pay much attention to the details, but she was perfect. Toward the end, there was an educational segment that had started since she had begun doing this forecast. Tonight, I learned the difference between two types of clouds.

After they shifted away from the weather, the next segment discussed this summer’s fishing season. My thoughts zoomed right back to this afternoon.

I wanted, to the point of cold fury, to do something about Tessa’s ex. But I knew there was nothing I could do beyond trying to be there for her. Today, I’d resisted the urge to walk back into the attorney’s offices to talk to Colin Blackthorn. He was a friend of sorts. I also wanted to talk to Quinn about it.

But I knew Tessa wouldn’t likely appreciate me doing that. I imagined she was accustomed to having so many details of her life orchestrated by her ex. I was accustomed to managing things and solving problems. Yet I also knew well how to stay out of the way. In my own family, Kenan and I had played the peacekeepers for the most part. We adopted that role differently.

Restless, I entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, only to discover what I already knew. It was almost empty.

I lifted my phone and called in a take-out order from Fireweed Winery. I tossed my phone back on the counter and glanced around. Kenan and my other brothers helped me build this place.

My house was bigger than I needed, but I was too practical not to consider resale value even though I didn’t intend to move. The house was just beyond the main downtown area of Fireweed Harbor along one of the bluffs that overlooked the harbor. The kitchen was to the back, beyond the open area living room. With it being summer, the sun was just setting even though it was already late evening.

The light-colored hardwood floors gleamed under the late evening sun as it slid down toward the mountain range. The flooring shifted to tile in the kitchen area with a bathroom and laundry area at the back. Stairs led up to a loft, where I had an office. That area also had a view with the desk built into the railing along the upper floor. The main bedroom was on one side upstairs, and a short hallway with two more bedrooms was on the other side.

I began to pace with restless energy buzzing through me. I could always work, I told myself. I had the desk upstairs and did work there, but I worked as much downstairs on my laptop on the sectional in the living room area or on the island in the kitchen.