Afterthoughts: A Charity McAdams Novella (The Charity McAdams Novellas) by Elizabeth Storme Page A

whenever you’re around.”
    I try to think of some witty retort but my mind is busy replaying Ashley’s words, “ surely you can avoid seeing him for one week.”
    I guess not.
    In one fluid movement, h e takes off his coat and wraps it around my shoulders before removing his button-up, flannel shirt, revealing a tight white t-shirt underneath . Without saying a word he steps closer and starts to use the shirt to wipe at the mud on my face.
    I can feel the heat of his body and I feel paralyzed. I don’t meet his eyes as he tends to me but I don’t move to stop him or back up either. My eyes are glued to his chest and biceps and I don’t trust myself not to touc h him so I cross my arms and tightly hold the edges of the coat to create a barrier between us and to keep the jacket from slipping off my shoulders . He wipes gently and we don’ t speak for a few moments but it feel s like hours.
    “Well that’s a little better.” He stops wiping at my face but he doesn’t back up. I finally meet his gaze and I can’t bri ng myself to break eye contact.
    “ Ya know, I don’t remember you being such a catastrophe,” he teases.
    “Well things change, I guess,” I say.
    Something shifts in his eyes, it’s subtle but I see a flash of pain.
    “Yeah, guess so,” he says, before taking a step back .
    There is a moment of chilly silence before he speaks again, “Is she yours?” He nods at Maci, who miraculousl y, is still sitting by my feet.
    “No, she’s Ashley’s. I was just taking her out because Ashley is stuck in the city.”
    “ Ahh ,” he nods again. Maci wags her tail as if she knows we are talking about her. “Do you have any pets? A dog? ”
    We had always talked about getting a dog together, once we were married. Brandon had wanted a Boxer and I wanted a German Shepherd . I never stopped wan ting a dog but just never did. I’m not really sure why .
    “What are you really doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your family? Since that’s supposedly the reason you’ re in town after all this time? ” I ask, changing the subject, unwillin g to answer personal questions.
    “I just needed some air, a litt le time to think,” he explains.
    I see the flash in his eyes again and know there’ s something he isn’t telling me. I know I shouldn’t care, shouldn’t be curious, but I somehow can’t help it.
    “Is everything ok?” I ask, starting to r egret my harsh tone and sarcasm from before.
    He drops his gaze to the ground in between us and shakes his head. When he looks back up again there are tears forming in his eyes. “No, not really.”
    For a moment I feel like I am out of my body and have no control of my actions. Impulsively, I step forward and gently take his face in my hands. “What’s wrong?”
    “It’s my mom, she— she has cancer, ” h is voice breaks and a tear starts to slide down his cheek.
    I gasp softly and take the final step to close the gap between us and wrap my arms tightly around him. The coat falls from my shoulders as he wrap s his arms around me. He holds me so tightly that I feel like I can’t breathe , but I don’t even care. He starts to shake as his sobs become louder. My own tears fall onto his shirt as I press my cheek into his chest.
    I don’t know how long we stay ed like that.
    When we finally parted I ta k e his hand and le ad him to the nearby bench. We sit facing each other and I take both of his hands in mine as he starts to explain everything to me.
    “I guess she was given the diagnosis a couple of months ago but they didn’t want to tell me because I was still on set for my last project. They thought it would distract me from my work or that I would back out of the film. So, t hat’s why they wanted me to come home immediately after it finished. She is goi ng to have a double mastectomy to try and get rid of it and hopefully eliminate the chance of it coming back again.”
    I nod along as he explains, not really sure what to say. I have never