“Where’s Jamison now?” Aidan asked.
“My sister has him,” Luke told him. “She’s bringing him to Sophie’s house.” He glanced at his watch. “She’s probably there now. She needs to head back to school.”
Aidan looked as if he wanted to protest as Luke carried Sophie out the door of the vet’s office, but he just stood at the window and watched Luke place Sophie in the front seat of his SUV.
“I can’t let you take Jamison,” she told Luke as soon as he settled in behind the wheel.
He leveled a glance at her. “So what do you suggest? Because, to be honest, my barn is barely habitable. I’m pretty much camping there.” He waited, and a thick silence formed between them. “This is where you invite me to stay at your house so I can take care of Jamison.”
“I don’t think that’s a good plan!” Her cheeks flamed pink and her eyes turned bright.
“Do you have a better one?”
“I’ll think of one.”
“How often does Jamie wake up during the night? How will you get him a bottle? I assume his crib is upstairs.”
She nodded.
“So how will you get him up and down the stairs?”
“Maybe Liz knows someone from the church I can hire…”
“You’d rather have a stranger move into your house and care for your nephew than let me do it?”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m a terrible person.” Her lip trembled and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Luke swallowed hard, put the SUV in gear and rolled down Main Street. “I don’t think you’re a terrible person. Anything but. You’ve been amazing these past few months. Right now, I can think of very few people I admire more than you. You’ve been incredible with Jamie. But I want to help. Please, let me help you.” He glanced at her when they stopped at a street light.
She bit her lip. “Okay, I guess you can stay in the downstairs guestroom. I use it as my office, but there’s also a bed in there.”
Luke revved the engine and pointed the SUV to the Jordan River Highway. He didn’t want to argue with her, but she had to realize that she was the one who needed to be downstairs. “How many bedrooms are upstairs?”
“There’s three, but one was Chloe’s studio.” She paused for a long moment. “I haven’t cleaned it out yet.”
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “That’s understandable.”
“I’ve been meaning to…”
“I get it.”
“Do you?” Her voice broke. “Chloe was all I had. I know you lost Matt, but you still have Mia, your aunt and uncle and bunches of cousins.”
Luke thought about mentioning her dad and stepmother, but decided against it when he saw the glistening tears on her cheeks.
“You’re not alone, Sophie,” he said softly.
She sniffed.
“Listen, if you really feel uncomfortable with my staying with you, I can call Liz and see if we can make other arrangements…”
“No, you’re right. It’s just…”
He wanted to hold her and make the promises that six months ago he wouldn’t have been able to keep. “The next few days will be hard, but we’ll get through it.” He shot her another quick glance. “But you’ll have to let me sleep upstairs.” He poked her thigh with his finger. “You need to be downstairs.”
