Chapter 31

thirty-one

This time when Fallon knocked on Savannah’s door, excitement coursed through her. She’d only left early the previous morning to go home and change for work, but she’d left with a promise that she’d be back Tuesday night. With full intentions of staying again.

As soon as the door opened and she saw Savannah’s smiling face, Fallon pulled her close. “Hi.”

“Hi back.” Savannah grinned up at her as their lips touched.

Squeaking, Savannah dragged Fallon down and melded their mouths together. She tangled their tongues, holding onto Fallon so tightly that Fallon was sure she would never let go. And Fallon wasn’t surprised that she was okay with that. She wanted to be right here in this embrace.

When a door closed down the hall, Fallon jerked back. Savannah’s eyes were wide, but the smile was still on her lips.

“If I told you that I was a little afraid of being alone in the kitchen with Brinley, would you think worse of me?” Fallon’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

“Why are you scared of a kid?”

“She asks really pointed questions.” Fallon backed up slightly, putting more space between them so that Brinley wouldn’t see anything she shouldn’t see. The one thing they had done well so far was to keep all of that out of Brinley’s sight. And they hadn’t talked about their future specifically or whether or not to talk with Brinley about their relationship, or what their relationship even looked like.

Fallon assumed they would be committed to each other but they still hadn’t defined it. And that weighed on her more than she thought it should. She wanted a definition.

But she hadn’t talked to Athena about it yet, hadn’t added that complication into the lawsuit or the working relationship going forward.

“Fallon?” Brinley squealed, excitement echoing into Fallon’s ears. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“Didn’t your mom tell you I was coming tonight? You told me the wrong day.”

“I know! I forgot I’d be at my dad’s, and he wouldn’t let me text Mom.”

“He wouldn’t what?” Savannah’s brow creased.

Brinley froze, the excitement replaced instantly by fear. “Let me text you.”

Savannah’s frown was deep, and the moment was instantly riddled with tension. Fallon looked from Savannah to Brinley and back again. She put her hand out and waited for Brinley to take it. “Why don’t we get started on your Mother’s Day gift, and your mom can make that phone call she needs to make?”

“What call?” Brinley asked.

Fallon didn’t look at her though. She looked at Savannah and nodded sharply. “To her new friend, Kevin. Actually, Kevin is my boss’s friend.”

Walking down the hallway with Brinley in tow, Fallon took a turn into the kitchen. It was cleaner than it had been the day before, the dishes put away and the counters scrubbed. “Did your mom do this or did you?”

“Mom.” Brinley sighed heavily. “Before I got home from school yesterday.”

“Hmm.” Fallon suspected that as soon as she’d left the morning before, Savannah had gone on the cleaning spree. Especially since she wasn’t clueless as to what was happening that night. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Fallon stood at the sink and pointed at Brinley. “Wash your hands. This is going to take a bit.”

Brinley grabbed the stool from the corner of the kitchen and immediately scrubbed her hands with soap, singing the alphabet song loudly twice through as if to prove her point. Fallon gave her a curious glance as she pulled out all of the food she’d stashed in Savannah’s fridge.

Savannah leaned against the entryway and watched the two of them work. Fallon threw a smile over her shoulder before quickly making a drink and putting it into Savannah’s hand. “You aren’t supposed to be in here.”

“I’m not?” Savannah asked as she sipped the drink.

Brinley shook her head wildly. “Out!”

“Go relax a bit. I’ve got this under control.” Fallon led Savannah out of the kitchen and into the living room. She turned her around next to the couch and pushed her shoulders a little, encouraging her to sit down.

Savannah didn’t budge, though. With a mischievous look in her eyes, she strained around Fallon to look toward the kitchen and then faced Fallon again. Leaning up on her toes, she kissed Fallon swiftly before moving down to sit on the couch.

“Are we resorting to sneaking around?” Fallon asked.

“For now,” Savannah replied. “Maybe we can talk about that later.”

“I’d love to.” Fallon made her way back into the kitchen.

Brinley had every single thing unpackaged and lined up on the counter, but it was definitely out of order. Probably because she had no idea what order it was supposed to go in. They hadn’t even really talked about what exactly they were making.

“I see you got started without me,” Fallon commented as she moved to the sink to wash her hands.

“This looks complicated.”

“It’s more complicated than the last dish I taught you to make.” Fallon grabbed the carrots and plopped them in front of Brinley with a cutting board and knife. She showed her quickly how to chop them before she started on the rest of the items.

“Do you think my mom’s mad?”

Fallon frowned. “Mad about what?”

“Because of what I said about Dad?”

Shaking her head, Fallon gave the only answer she could. “I don’t think she’s mad. Worried probably.”

“I hate worrying her.” Brinley sliced very carefully through the carrots one after the other while Fallon spread out the crust for the mini potpies they were making.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a parent’s job to worry.”

“I don’t like it when she worries about me,” Brinley confessed.

“I don’t think I’d like it either.” Fallon moved on to the next item.

They worked side by side, making conversation about school and work. Brinley avoided any other hard questions, thankfully. Fallon wasn’t sure she was ready for them. As the meal baked in the oven, they cleaned the kitchen again, top to bottom.

“What are we doing next?” Fallon asked, her hands on her hips.

Brinley shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Do you want to sit at the table for dinner tonight?” Fallon glanced at it, really hoping that Brinley would say no. There was a ton of paperwork stacked on it, and she recognized the folders from Athena’s office as well as Kevin’s. Savannah probably shouldn’t just leave that lying around where Brinley could read it all. Brinley was smart enough and old enough to be able to understand a lot of what was in there.

“Yeah! That sounds fun.” Brinley immediately started clearing all the papers, but Fallon stopped her with a gentle hand on her wrist.

“Let’s separate out what we know we need to keep, what we know we can throw out, and then what we have questions about.”

They worked together quickly, and Fallon could hear Savannah on the phone with Kevin, her voice mumbled, but she caught enough words to know that she’d finally made the phone call she should have. Peeking out into the living room, Fallon suggested they clean there first while Savannah was gone.

With rags in hands, they went to work on their big surprise for Savannah. Brinley kept furtively sending glances in Fallon’s direction. Then she finally asked, “Are you my mom’s girlfriend?”

Fallon’s pulse beat hard in her right temple. “I’m here to help you make Mother’s Day special.”

Brinley narrowed her gaze. “But are you her girlfriend?”

She’d hoped that she had gotten out of answering that one, but Brinley was persistent if anything. “I’d like to be.”

“You haven’t asked her?”

Fallon laughed lightly. “No, I haven’t.”

“Why not? Doesn’t she like you?”

“She does.” Fallon sprayed the coffee table and scrubbed it quickly. “What do you think?”

“I think she likes you.” Brinley moved slowly as she put things away one at a time rather than taking several items at the same time. Fallon wasn’t going to comment though. How often was it that a kid cleaned without complaining? “I think she really, really likes you.”

“What makes you say that?”

Brinley eyed Fallon seriously, looking her over, judging her. There was something going on, like Fallon was being put under the spotlight and Brinley was judging if she was worthy of not. “Because she smiles whenever you’re around.”

“Oh.” Fallon hadn’t been expecting that. Though she didn’t find it entirely true. Savannah had definitely not smiled when she’d been around on far too many occasions. “What do you think about it all?”

“About what?”

“Me and your mom.” Fallon moved slower now, wanting to catch every nuance from Brinley, the changes in the conversation.

Brinley shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay if you’re too nervous to say. I get it.” Fallon straightened her back, hating the ache that started in the small of her back. “Or if you’re too scared.”

“I’m scared of what my dad will say.”

“Ah.” Fallon could easily understand that one as well. “I’ll admit that I’m a little scared of what he might think and say, too.”

“You, scared?”

Fallon nodded firmly. “Oh yeah. I’m scared of lots of things. Snakes for sure.”

Brinley shivered. “Snakes!”

“Yup.” Fallon looked up to find Savannah staring at the two of them, a lot of concern and warmth at the same time. Fallon raised a questioning eyebrow in her direction. “Done with your phone call?”

“For now.” Savannah slid her phone into her pocket and held up her drink. “I came back for a refill.”

“Perfect timing then.” Fallon glanced at Brinley before she strode toward Savannah and took the glass from her, making sure their fingers brushed purposely during the move. “Brin has questions only you can answer,” Fallon said quietly, making sure that Brinley wouldn’t be able to hear.

“That sounds exhausting.”

Laughing, Fallon made her way into the kitchen. Savannah followed close behind. She made Savannah’s drink first and then checked on the food in the oven. It should be done soon, which left them enough time to clean the dining room table, especially because it needed to cool down a bit.

“Is it ready?” Brinley came running into the kitchen, sliding in her socks on the floor.

“It just needs to cool.” Fallon pulled the food out and set it onto the stove top. “Let’s finish the table.”

They worked quickly and efficiently, all three of them. When they were seated, food in front of them, Brinley flicked her gaze from one to the other. Fallon wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She was as curious about what Brinley was thinking as she was scared.

“Did we do all your homework right the other night?” Fallon asked, trying to break into a conversation that was in the safe territory.

“Most of it.” Brinley poked at the food with her fork, obviously unsure if she wanted to eat it or not.

Fallon said nothing as she took her first bite, ready for the flavors to burst on her tongue, ones that she was so familiar with. Savannah was also eating and watching Brinley carefully. Fallon didn’t want Brinley to feel like she was in the hot seat, the center of so much attention that she would crumble under it, so she turned to Savannah.

“And how was your day at work?”

“Oh.” Savannah frowned slightly. “I didn’t go in today.”

Fallon furrowed her brow. “Too tired?”

“You could say that.” Savannah’s cheeks hollowed slightly, a dark cloud coming over her for a brief moment before it vanished before her eyes. “I just needed a day for myself.”

“But I wasn’t here all week,” Brinley added.

“Right,” Savannah said slowly, the pink deepening into a red. They were definitely not going to talk about that in front of Brinley. “It’s fine. I just wanted a day to get some things sorted.”

“Like cleaning the kitchen?”

Savannah’s shrug was all the answer Fallon needed.

“I’m glad you had a day to yourself.” Fallon stretched her legs under the table. She could use a day like that, and perhaps when Athena went on her next trip with Monti she’d be able to manage one. She hated taking time off work when Athena was in the office and took great pains to avoid it. She always had to be there to protect and help Athena if she could.

She did that with a lot of people. And she’d have to watch that habit when she was around Savannah. Not that a little of it was bad, but if that became her entire world, then they wouldn’t be on equal footing anymore.

“Fallon?” Brinley’s voice disturbed her thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“How was your day?” Brinley sounded as though she was repeating herself. Perhaps she was, and Fallon had been so lost in her thoughts that she’d missed the question the first time.

“Oh, it was good. Calm, quiet day in the office.”

“What do you do all day?” Brinley asked.

“Mostly sit at a computer.” Fallon wrinkled her nose. “But a lot of different things. I pay bills, I find articles and papers and books for my boss when she needs them. I make appointments and answer the phone. I take notes on some of the cases she has going on right now.”

“Sounds boring.”

“It can be sometimes,” Fallon agreed. But the work she did was fulfilling, and that was all she needed. Fulfilling and easy for the most part. “I think I’ll go out with Monti sometime this week, catch up with her.”

“Who’s Monti?” Brinley asked.

“My little sister.”

“I want a sister,” Brinley mumbled.

Savannah visibly tensed, but she didn’t say anything. Fallon was tempted to tell Brinley that being a sister wasn’t all it was chalked up to being, but she resisted the urge.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, baby.”

Brinley set down her fork and sucked in a sharp breath. Her lips thinned and her face became serious. She looked directly at Fallon before eyeing her mom. Every warning bell went off in Fallon’s head. This wasn’t going to be something that she wanted to hear, was it?

“Why aren’t you and Fallon girlfriends?”

Savannah choked.

“And I think that’s my cue to clean up.” Fallon left the two of them alone and escaped into the kitchen. She did not want to be part of that conversation. Not yet, anyway. Besides, she was enjoying the moment too much. Just simplicity and family—something she’d longed for her entire life. Smiling to herself, Fallon started with the dishes and let the two of them talk. She wanted this. She really did.