Chapter 16

Rose awoke to the sound of Seth’s voice. Yawning, she sat up, her brain slowly clearing of sleep.

Seth’s shoulders were tense as he spoke to someone on the phone. “Yeah, you’ll have my answer soon, sir. Yeah. Yeah, I understand. Bye.”

He seemed not to realize she was next to him. She began to rub his shoulders, concerned, but he pushed her hands away.

“I need to take a shower,” he muttered. “I’ll be back,” he added in a gentler voice.

Rose heard the water turn on next door, and as she made breakfast for herself and Seth, she frowned. Who wanted an answer from him? He hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort lately.

Rose gave Callie a bite of bacon. “It’s just one thing after another with us, isn’t it?”

Seth returned twenty minutes later, his hair wet and looking a little less dazed. They sat down to eat, not speaking, and Rose decided not to press him until he felt ready to tell her what was going on.

Seth set his plate down on the table, smiling when Callie tried to nose another p