34. Knox

I shiftedmy to-go cup to my other hand and knocked on Larkin’s door. I may have just been bringing her coffee, but with all the jitters going through my system, it felt more like picking up a date for prom, hoping she liked the corsage Bora, the florist, said would match her dress the best.

But when Larkin opened the door, she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

My heart instantly fell. “What’s wrong?” I asked. What had changed between our texts this morning and now?

She was shaking as she fell into my arms. I carefully held the coffee, trying not to spill it on her while hugging her back as best as I could. Her voice trembled as she began telling me about an awful call with her mother-in-law.

I set my coffee down and guided her to the couch so we could sit while she filled in the details. Every word she spoke made me hate Seth even more. I’d tried to keep my feelings neutral, for the children’s sake. But this? It was lower than I thought a person could go.

He was a coward. Worse than a coward. Because he was willing to let his children suffer just to get back at Larkin. And for Nancy to go along with it and enable his terrible behavior? Now we knew where Seth got his shitty streak.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she whispered into my chest. “I’m going to miss work. I can’t pay much for childcare as it is, and if I can’t go to work, I can’t even pay for this house. Just when I thought I was finally getting my life together.” She broke down into sobs, her whole body shaking with the force of them.

I held her on the couch, wanting to punch Seth, wanting to talk sense into his parents, wanting to take all the worries off this woman who held so much weight on her shoulders and didn’t have the support she deserved.

As her breathing evened, I promised, “We’re going to figure this out.”

She looked up at me. “We? I’m surprised you’re not running away from this mess.”

I tilted my head down, pressing my forehead against hers. All her makeup was in streaks down her face or staining my shirt, her eyes were red and puffy, and yet I still thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

“I told you,” I said, “I’m showing you how a man should treat you. And believe me, a man doesn’t run when things get hard.”

She broke down in a fresh wave of tears, holding on to me like I was the only thing keeping her upright. She didn’t know her own strength.

“Look at me,” I said. And she did, eyes red and puffy. I put my hands on either side of her face, using my thumbs to wipe away her tears.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she admitted, fresh tears streaming in the black mascara tracks down her cheeks.

I kissed her lips. “Like I’d let you go when it took so long to find you.”

“But how is it going to work?” she asked, looking up at me. “I need childcare.”

“Give me a day,” I said. “Give me a day to figure it out. I have today off for picking up that shift on Saturday—I’ll watch the kids while you’re at work.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I feel like you’ve already done too much.”

Larkin amazed me. She was going through all this and still thinking about me, not wanting to take advantage of me. “You’re so used to being strong for everyone else. When are you going to let someone be strong for you?”

She searched my eyes with hers, and she was about to answer when Emily came down the hallway, dragging her blanket with her, her hair a mess atop her head.

“Hi, Mommy. Hi, Knox.”

Larkin quickly wiped her face and went to pick up her daughter. “Are you okay to spend the day with Knox today?”

Emily grinned. “More pranks.”

Larkin let out a tearful laugh and set Emily on the couch. “I’m going to apply some fresh makeup. Will you listen for Jackson, Knox?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

While Larkin went back to the bathroom, I looked at Emily with a smile. I hadn’t been planning to spend the whole day with her and Jackson, but honestly, the day off looming in front of me without Larkin and her family made me realize how empty my life had felt before. “What do you usually do first thing in the morning?” I asked Emily.

She looked up like she was thinking. “I get dressed, Mama does my hair and brushes my teeth, and then we eat breakfast.”

“Perfect. Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll start cooking.”

“Good idea.” She nodded and hopped up from the couch, leaving her pink fuzzy blanket on the cushion. As she flounced away, I had to wonder—how could anyone want to miss out on this?

And then an even worse thought came to mind: if I couldn’t help Larkin find a solution, I could be missing out on this too.