“I just wanted to say—”

Janie hesitated, like she was treading on uncertain ground.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

The hurt in her voice twisted in his stomach. They had to be missing something. He couldn’t believe that Janie was guilty.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know I said I’d do better about accepting praise for my work, but I’m tired and it’s been a long day.”

She reached over and touched his arm. “I understand. But that’s not entirely what I wanted to talk about. I mean yes, what you’ve been doing here is a big deal. But I feel bad that you came here for one purpose, and you spent so little time with your family. It must be frustrating for you not to get to know them because you’re spending all your time helping me.”

Except that he was fulfilling his purpose. That’s the part she missed. The part he couldn’t tell her.