wasn’t close to anyone but Beth and Dan. Of the guys at work, he was probably closest to Than and Trent, but not close enough to be able to spill his guts about what was going on. Still, he wouldn’t be spilling his guts to Alana Jensen either. He just wanted to get her comfortable enough to spill hers.
~*~*~
Well, that certainly hadn’t gone as planned. Alana tossed her phone onto the daybed and paced over to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and shoved it under the tap, cranking the handle to start the flow. As water filled it, she replayed the conversation she’d just had with Justin. She was usually so good at reading people. According to everything she’d seen of Justin, the idea of talking over his feelings should have sent him running in the opposite direction. But the reverse had happened, and now she had to meet with him face to face.
Not at all what she’d planned. She sat down at their small dining table and propped her elbows on it. Squeezing her eyes shut, Alana tried to ignore the growing ache in her head. She still had work to do after putting Caden to bed. Thankfully, he’d been happy to play some games on his tablet while she’d called Justin.
With a sigh, she pushed back from the table and went to the tiny bedroom of their one bedroom apartment and sat down on the mattress next to Caden. When he looked over at her, she signed that it was almost bedtime. His brows drew together, and he gave a quick shake of his head before pleading his case for staying up...again.
Not in the mood to argue, Alana let him know he had thirty more minutes and then it was bedtime. Though she had things to do, she curled up next to him on the mattress and watched him as he played his game. It was one of two luxuries she’d brought with them from their old life. The other was her laptop that she knew she’d need in order to support them. She just hoped that neither of them stopped working anytime soon.
She looked around the sparsely furnished room and couldn’t help remembering the home they’d come from. Caden had been just five years old when they’d left, but she was certain he must have memories of Florida even though he never spoke of their home there. The spacious and beautifully decorated rooms. The toys his father had allowed her to buy for him. The swimming pool where he learned to swim.
When they’d fled their home, she’d been limited in what she could take. But he had his tablet, and along the way she’d picked up a bucket full of Legos. Now that they were settled in one place, he also had all the books he could want from the nearby library. It didn’t seem to bother him that his mattress sat directly on the floor instead of a bedframe. Nor did he seem at all concerned that his clothes were put away in plastic drawers instead of a real wood chest of drawers.
When they’d moved into the apartment ten months ago, Alana had given him the bedroom since she’d be staying up later than him most nights and needed to be able to work without keeping him awake. Though she did keep her clothes in a set of plastic drawers in his room, she slept each night on the daybed in the living room. It had been left by the previous occupants and she’d put it to good use once she’d replaced the mattress. It wasn’t much, their little apartment, but it was theirs.
Since they’d moved around for the first year or so, finally putting down roots had been a blessing. She’d used up all the money she’d saved before leaving Florida, so it had been necessary for her to find some work and she really could only do that once they had settled down somewhere. Plus, she’d needed to start teaching Caden, and homeschooling while they hopped from town to town had been challenging. Since setting up their home in Minneapolis, Caden had thrived with his schooling.
And things had actually been going very well. Though the church hadn’t been part of her life when she’d left Craig, she’d made friends with
~*~*~
Well, that certainly hadn’t gone as planned. Alana tossed her phone onto the daybed and paced over to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and shoved it under the tap, cranking the handle to start the flow. As water filled it, she replayed the conversation she’d just had with Justin. She was usually so good at reading people. According to everything she’d seen of Justin, the idea of talking over his feelings should have sent him running in the opposite direction. But the reverse had happened, and now she had to meet with him face to face.
Not at all what she’d planned. She sat down at their small dining table and propped her elbows on it. Squeezing her eyes shut, Alana tried to ignore the growing ache in her head. She still had work to do after putting Caden to bed. Thankfully, he’d been happy to play some games on his tablet while she’d called Justin.
With a sigh, she pushed back from the table and went to the tiny bedroom of their one bedroom apartment and sat down on the mattress next to Caden. When he looked over at her, she signed that it was almost bedtime. His brows drew together, and he gave a quick shake of his head before pleading his case for staying up...again.
Not in the mood to argue, Alana let him know he had thirty more minutes and then it was bedtime. Though she had things to do, she curled up next to him on the mattress and watched him as he played his game. It was one of two luxuries she’d brought with them from their old life. The other was her laptop that she knew she’d need in order to support them. She just hoped that neither of them stopped working anytime soon.
She looked around the sparsely furnished room and couldn’t help remembering the home they’d come from. Caden had been just five years old when they’d left, but she was certain he must have memories of Florida even though he never spoke of their home there. The spacious and beautifully decorated rooms. The toys his father had allowed her to buy for him. The swimming pool where he learned to swim.
When they’d fled their home, she’d been limited in what she could take. But he had his tablet, and along the way she’d picked up a bucket full of Legos. Now that they were settled in one place, he also had all the books he could want from the nearby library. It didn’t seem to bother him that his mattress sat directly on the floor instead of a bedframe. Nor did he seem at all concerned that his clothes were put away in plastic drawers instead of a real wood chest of drawers.
When they’d moved into the apartment ten months ago, Alana had given him the bedroom since she’d be staying up later than him most nights and needed to be able to work without keeping him awake. Though she did keep her clothes in a set of plastic drawers in his room, she slept each night on the daybed in the living room. It had been left by the previous occupants and she’d put it to good use once she’d replaced the mattress. It wasn’t much, their little apartment, but it was theirs.
Since they’d moved around for the first year or so, finally putting down roots had been a blessing. She’d used up all the money she’d saved before leaving Florida, so it had been necessary for her to find some work and she really could only do that once they had settled down somewhere. Plus, she’d needed to start teaching Caden, and homeschooling while they hopped from town to town had been challenging. Since setting up their home in Minneapolis, Caden had thrived with his schooling.
And things had actually been going very well. Though the church hadn’t been part of her life when she’d left Craig, she’d made friends with