Embrace

Being met at the door, Carson felt more awkward than he'd imagined he would. It all felt so wrong. This had been his home too. This was his wife. Yet he was an outsider.

A little grin came to his lips as he handed Misty the flowers. "Of course they're for you. I don't see any other pretty sheilas around." As soon as he'd said it, his eyes bounced another direction and he bit his tongue, hoping Misty wouldn't be put off by his quick flirting.

He cleared his throat and followed her inside to sit at the kitchen table as she worked. The awkwardness was just as bad, and the silence made it worse. There was so much he wanted to say, but so much of it, he couldn't dare. Not now. Not yet.

Suddenly seeing her fumble with the salad, then start crying, Carson's heart gave a leap. What should he do? He knew what he wanted to do, but would he just make things worse? Bypassing his fear, he got up and slowly went to her. He took her gently by the shoulders and turned her around to him before he wrapped his arms around her and just held her close to his chest.

"It's okay," he comforted softly. In this moment, all he cared about was her. Whether she ever took him back or not, he just wanted her to be happy again. He kissed the top of her head and just continued to hold her. "You're gonna be okay... I promise."