Page 47 of The Reluctant Roommate

Morgan’s breath shuddered out, and she dropped the masher into the pot. Potato splattered out over the stove, but she ignored it. She tried a deep breath, but it caught around the wooden tightness in her throat.

“Slow,” Heidi said. “Don’t force it. You’re okay. You’re breathing okay. At least, you’re not blue and at my feet yet.”

Morgan choked a laugh, and the air rushed deeper into her lungs. She took a breath. Another, and gradually the panicky feeling of helplessness receded.

Heidi broke the hug and stepped back.

Morgan stood still until she was sure she was okay. “Not blue. Is that the extent of your first-aid training?”

Heidi shrugged. “I have done it—but no, that’s not in any manual. Although it should be.”

“Thank you.” She picked up the masher again. “Can you pass me the butter?”

“Uh-uh. You don’t have a moment like that and then continue mashing potatoes. Talking to someone about whatever it is might help, and I’m the only one here. So…” She shrugged. “Talk, if you want. Is everything okay with your family?”

“Please can you pass the butter? And the milk.”

Morgan sensed Heidi’s stare on the back of her neck. She turned. “I’m not like you. I can’t talk about the bad things that easily. Admit failures, whether they’re mine or my family’s. You’re right. I need to talk about them, but I can’t do that if I’m looking at you. So, if you pass the milk and butter, we’ll have the best mashed potatoes in Denver and maybe I’ll be able to talk.”

Heidi went to the fridge then put the milk and butter on the counter next to Morgan. She rested a hand on Morgan’s arm and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “What else can I do for you?”

“You’re doing everything.” Morgan took a deep breath. Her chest no longer felt like it was cracking open. “I normally spend Thanksgiving with my parents and my mom’s sister, Linda, and her kids. Linda and I are close… That is, I thought we were. Linda was there for me when I was a teen. I’m not going home this weekend as Aunt Linda has breast cancer.”

“I’m sorry,” Heidi murmured.

“She doesn’t have health insurance, and she can’t afford the surgery. I’ve offered to pay for her. But she’s declined my offer—through my mom—and won’t return my calls. She wants to spend Thanksgiving with her kids to tell them about the cancer, and Mom and Dad are going to Vermont. Classic avoidance, I guess.”

She added a piece of butter and a splash of milk and smashed the masher into the pot, staring down at the potatoes disintegrating in the pan.

“Why doesn’t Linda want your help?”

“She wants to leave the most she can to her kids. She’s a single mom. I’ve said anything I give would be a gift, but she’s proud, I guess. Never asks for help. She’s going to have radiotherapy. I’ve been researching stage 2 breast cancer. She’d likely make a full recovery if she had surgery.”

“She can’t have surgery because she can’t afford it? I’m sorry, Morgan, but the US health system sucks bollocks. How much would it cost?”

“Surgery, plus radiotherapy, other necessary consultations and treatments, she could be looking at sixty grand or more for the first year.”

“Sixty grand! I had no idea.” Heidi stared at Morgan with wide eyes.

“And time off work. Her boss seems reasonable, but there’s always the worry that if she has too much time off work, she’ll be fired.”

“And you’re offering to fund her?”

Morgan nodded.

“Love doesn’t come with a monetary value, does it? Linda is lucky she has you.”

“But she won’t take the money.” The familiar helplessness beat in her chest again and she pressed the masher hard in the bottom of the pan. “I would rather have Aunt Linda than the money. Even if now I—”No. Now is not the time for that conversation. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“Give her time,” Heidi said. Her voice hummed low, soothing, vibrating with reassurance. “It must have been a shock, and it’s hard to think clearly in such situations. Once she’s had a chanceto talk to her kids, once the initial panic subsides a little, maybe she’ll come back to you.”

“But the sooner the better—”

“Yes. But you’re being rational. Linda is likely more emotional right now. She obviously loves her kids and is looking to their future, and that’s affecting her decision. Put down that potato masher, Morgan. Those potatoes are as smooth as a baby’s bum.”

Morgan closed her eyes and dropped the masher into the pot.

Arms slid around her waist, and Heidi nudged her hip until Morgan turned into her embrace and rested her head on Heidi’s shoulder.