Reggie laughed, and the baby in Ev’s arms gurgled as she snuggled in close.
Ev always felt closer to Heaven whenever she held a baby, more so than any other time. And she leaned down and pressed her lips to little Savannah’s forehead. “I love you,” she whispered, feeling that same love for the baby, for her, for Trace, for Kassie and Reggie, and for everyone from God above—and oh, what a blessing that was.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE
Joey got into her car outside Cake Bites and started it to get the heater blowing. She’d gotten two calls during her morning shift, but she’d just been promoted to baking manager, and she didn’t want to abuse any of her privileges. Her teeth chattered as she tapped with frozen fingers on her phone to get the message to play.
“Hi, Joey,” a man said. “This is Dalton Best.”
Before he even said another word, Joey’s heart plummeted to the soles of her feet.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he said, and at least he sounded sorry about it. “The leak in the kitchen is bigger than we thought, and we have to dig up the plumbing in the front yard.”
Joey stared out the windshield, wondering if she’d ever be able to move into the basement apartment she’d found.
“I’m afraid it’s not going to be ready by this weekend like we thought, as we have to turn water off to the whole house and dig around to find the problem. The weather is an issue, as I’m sure you know, and I’m not even sure of the timeline of when we’ll have things functioning again. Will you please call me when you get this so that we can talk? Thanks.”
The message ended, and Joey’s phone started to tell her when the call had happened and give her options for what to do. She tapped numbly on the seven to delete the message, and the voicemail system went immediately to the next one.
“Hi, Joey. This is Dalton again. I just got off the phone with the excavators for the plumbing company, and they said that they’ll be able to come out and start digging on Monday, but then they won’t be working Christmas Eve or Christmas. But they think once we find the problem, it will go fast. I’m thinking you still might be able to move in, and maybe we should set a tentative date for January fourth? Of course, we’ll prorate the rent you’ve already paid and make sure that everything goes toward the days you’re only living here. Just give me a call when you get this. I know you’re probably at work.”
Another beep. More options. Joey deleted the second message.
She honestly wasn’t sure what to do. She felt like crying, but to her surprise, no tears came. She flipped her car in reverse and pulled out of the parking spot and then onto the road, simply driving aimlessly.
Before she knew it, she had pulled into Adam’s drivewayin Dog Valley. Suddenly, she felt too hot, and she reached to adjust the air. She hadn’t been playing the radio, and the silence screamed through her ears.
She hadn’t called or texted Adam that she was coming, and she struggled to remember if they’d made any plans for that day.
Sometimes, Adam texted to say he would be down in Coral Canyon, and he would pick her up for lunch. Sometimes, she grabbed something and met him at his house. Sometimes, they planned to meet somewhere. Her brain didn’t seem to be functioning properly, as Joey could not bring anything forward in her recollection.
Perhaps they hadn’t planned anything. She frowned, because that made no sense. Of course they’d planned something. If they didn’t plan to get together during the day, Joey wouldn’t see him. She didn’t work Wednesdays at Pork and Beans, and so they often spent all afternoon and evening together then—her baking and Adam doing whatever she asked of him.
But today was Tuesday—one more week until the first concert at Rising Sun Ranch on Christmas Eve—and Joey suddenly remembered what they’d planned to do that day.
She cursed under her breath as she dove onto her phone in the console. She hadn’t even remembered putting it there, but she tapped quickly to dial Adam, praying with everything inside her that he hadn’t left yet.
“Hey,” he said when he answered. “I’m so sorry I’m running late.”
“Where are you?” she asked. “Please tell me you’re not down in Coral Canyon.”
Because they’d planned to get lunch on Main Street and go Christmas shopping today.
“Not yet,” he said, and something scraped on his end of the line. “In fact, I might be another forty-five minutes or so,” he said. “Because the consultation with the stage setup crew just barely ended, and I haven’t even left my house yet.”
“Oh, good,” Joey said. “Because—guess where I am?”
“Where?” he asked, and his garage started to open.
Joey turned off her car and stood halfway from the car, raising her hand as if Adam wouldn’t be able to see her parked in his driveway. “I got some bad news,” she said, everything inside her trembling. Of course the tears would come the moment she stood in front of Adam.
He lowered the phone as he walked toward her. “Bad news?”
“It feels like everything in the world is conspiring against me moving out.” She dropped her head and looked at her phone, tapping to end the call.
“What do you mean, baby doll?”
