Stevie tossed and turned for hours that night, hardly getting comfortable long enough to even think about falling asleep.
She had told herself, a million times on the way home that she wasn't going to get upset... She wasn't going to be mad- not at Lindsey, not at Evee, not at anyone. But of course, like a lot of other things, that was a lot easier said than done.
So, since nothing seemed to help her find any rest, she decided to crawl out of bed early- only a little after six and head downstairs for a cup of coffee.
It wasn't until almost eight- after she'd written in her journal for awhile, watched some of the morning news and even swept the kitchen floor before she finally found herself stepping through the back door of the restaurant.
She was the only one there so far, which was exactly how she liked it some days... She liked the quiet- something she really wasn't accustomed to anymore.
She didn't like to admit- she actually hated it and she never would out loud, but the truth was, sometimes, on the rare occasion, Stevie missed their life before.
She adored Everleigh- more than she adored anyone else in the entire world, but she also really loved her time with Lindsey.
At a certain age, after you've raised your children to be half decent adults and then you've retired, you sort of expect smooth sailing from then on out... They started over right before they were calling normal, everyday life quits and traveling the world.
And she didn't regret raising her daughter, not for a single second, but that didn't change the fact that she felt like she was running out of time with her husband.
Pressing on the ball of dough with one hand, Stevie used the other to toss a little more flour down.
They were having the kids over for dinner later that night, so to keep her mind occupied, she decided to make some cookies and listen the radio for awhile.
"I thought I'd find you here." His voice caused her lips to turn up softly as she tilted her head to one side.
"There's my favorite guy." Her head fell back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"You should really lock the back door when you're here all alone." He raised a brow as he stared down at what she was doing.
Rolling her eyes playfully, she let out a little laugh. "Oh, please." She shook her a tad, knowing very well that he was just overthinking things.
She had been doing this for years and nothing had ever happened before... She was fine.
Lindsey left a couple of soft kisses on her shoulder, setting the two coffee cups down next to her. "Did you sleep at all last night?" He leaned back into the counter crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her continue to roll out her dough.
"Do I ever sleep anymore?" She half smirked, giving him a subtle wink. "No... not at all." She let off a gentle shrug and a simple shake of her head.
"Don't work yourself up over what happened last night, Steph." He brought the cardboard cup up to his lips to take a drink. "There are kids out that are doing a lot worse." Lindsey really believed that they had it pretty easy... He knew some parents that really had reason not to sleep at night.
Closing her eyes softly, she tried not to roll her eyes, but it was hard. "I don't want to think about it, okay?" Stevie left the house to escape the drama, but it felt like the drama just followed her.
Lindsey cracked a little smile, knowing full and well that he had already annoyed her. "All alone..." He lingered in soft voice.
Nodding her head, she glanced up from her task for a brief moment. "Yeah, Elise isn't opening until later-"
"Good enough for me." He cut off her light rambling as he reached out to take her hand in his, slowly pulling her in close.
She had flour everywhere, but that didn't bother him.
Stevie let out a contagious laugh as she felt him wrap her up in his warm embrace. "After all these years, you still get to me." She bit down on her lower lip as she slipped her arms around his shoulders.
"I know that you're worried." He whispered, hand sliding up her back before it slowly traveled back down.
Chuckling lightly, her head stayed pressed to his chest. "It's hard not to." She admitted as her deep brown eyes fell closed once more.
She could feel him swaying her back and forth, rubbing her lower back to make her feel better the only way he knew how. "Think of all the things we've been through together." He was so soothing sometimes... not all the time, but most of the time. "We'll make it through this too, baby." He had been assuring her of that for fifty years and he was right every time, thus far.
With a faint nod, she left a lazy kiss on his arm. "I believe you." She really did, even though it was kind of hard to sometimes.
~~~
Pushing open the front door with a tray of cookies in one hand, Stevie instantly took in the sound of loud conversation coming from the living room.
She had spent a couple more hours at the restaurant, even hanging around for the lunch rush that arrived right after Lindsey had left.
In a weird way, it all made her feel young again and that's what she really enjoyed about it. There was always someone who needed her there, whether it was her staff, or an old customer that just wanted to chat, which is what she loved most.
"Here, let me help you." Levy greeted her in the foyer, holding out a hand to take the cookies and her purse.
"Thank you, honey." She cracked a soft smile, leaning to one side of the doorframe to prop herself as she slipped out of her shoes. "Everyone's here already?" She wondered as she readjusted her white silk blouse.
Levy raised a brow softly, nodding his head as a light laugh escaped him.
"Did your dad pick up dinner?" She wasn't expecting everyone so early- she thought she still had a couple of hours to figure out what they were having.
"Kash picked up take out for everyone." He assured as he led the way into the kitchen.
It was chaos, like it usually was when they had all the kids at home. Everyone was gathered around the island, pouring wine, eating cheese and crackers, and talking so loud, it was shocking the neighbors didn't hear their conversation.
And while everything seemed so distracting, Stevie's eyes instantly fell on her oldest son.
He was sitting at the table, talking to his father and cradling a cup of much needed water. He looked so old... Really old and really tired.
It was horrible- a mothers absolute worst nightmare to see her child like that.
With a racing heart, she glanced over at her husband with a pair of soft, almost sad eyes. "Where's Everleigh?" She couldn't even look at Crosby, it was too hard.
Lindsey sank back in his chair as he let out a gentle sigh... He knew that she didn't want to acknowledge him- she wasn't ready. "Ev went to Lauren's a few hours ago. She said that she'd get a ride home in a while." He shrugged a shoulder, almost like it was no big deal.
She stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to cry or scream. "Lindsey," the whole room went quiet... everyone knew what that tone of voice meant. "Go pick her up."
