The strain in her voice is slight, but it has him looking back to her again. His hand is almost to her arm before he can arrest himself, hand wavering in midair before he forces himself to pull back again.

"It is, but-- it doesn't have to be here."

There were so many things a smart, capable young man like Arik could be doing with his life. Of course Edgar's desperate to have the boy close; it's impossible not to.

But it's far from neutral ground. It's not somewhere he suspects Rachel will ever be comfortable coming and staying long periods of time.