Page 106 of Just My Luck

Holy hell,this bed sucks.

I stared up at the ceiling of the small room in Bax’s cabin, wondering how Sloane and the kids had managed to live here for so long. The wood-planked ceilings were drafty, there was a weird stain in the corner, and the mattress was like sleeping on a pile of rocks.

I missed the couch. I missed my bed, waking wrapped around my wife and pulling her pliant body into me.

My fingers dragged across my eyes as I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I sat and sighed, soaking in the moment before pushing to my feet and getting on with the day.

Another day surviving without them.

When I walked into the small kitchen, Bax was in his recliner. He glanced my way and scoffed. “You’re walking around like a beaten dog.”

I nodded.Accurate.

Bax shook his head. “Damn shame. I thought you had more fight in you.”

My attention turned to him. My brows furrowed.

He raised an eyebrow and lifted a shoulder in dismissal. “One bump in the road and you’re giving up.”

Bump in the road? Sloane’s ex-husband was actively trying to dismantle her life, and he thought it was a bump?

I shook my head. “It’s complicated.”

Bax crossed his arms. “Doesn’t seem all that complicated to me. You love her, don’t you?”

I stared at the old man. “I do.”

“And the kids?” He gestured toward me.

My arms crossed in defense. “Like my own.”

Bax scoffed and pushed himself to standing. “Ah, see. I knew it. You love them, so it’s up to you to work it out.”

“It’s not that simple. My past conviction, I—” I exhaled.

Bax swatted the air. “Don’t come at me with that. People make mistakes all the time. Few pay their penance, but you did. Water under the bridge.”

My shoulders slumped, defeated. “I wish it were that easy.”

“Nothing worth having was ever easy.” He pointed a finger in my direction. “That I know for a fact.”

I stared at the peeling linoleum floor. The truth came out in a whisper. “She deserves more.”

Beside me, Bax placed his hand on my shoulder and stared down at the same spot. “Then you give it to her, son.” He sighed. “I can venture a guess who made you feel so unworthy, and it’s a damn shame.”

Bax’s clear eyes bore into me. “You’re good for her. You light her up. The kids too.” He circled a finger around his head. “You figure out how to wrestle the demons in here, and I’m betting you’ll realize it too.”

I swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to do that,” I admitted.

“Gotta square up with the past if you want to have a future.” After two heavy thumps on my back, Bax swiped a muffin off the counter and returned to his recliner.

I sucked in a breath.

Maybe Bax was right.

I needed to get my shit together. I owed it to Sloane, but I owed it to Ben and Tillie too.

The air-conditioningin the library hit me as the automatic doors opened. I walked past the main circulation desk and up the stairs toward the children and teen section. Emily sat behind a desk, doing something on the computer.