As she was locking the safe, her mind filled with thoughts and uncertainty, her phone began to ring. She quickly replaced the painting over the safe and pulled her phone from her pocket.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that the caller was Julia. She had a mother’s premonition that this was the moment.
“Hey, Mom!” Julia sounded breathless, but Vivian could tell that she was smiling. “I only have a second, but I wanted to tell you that we’re on our way to the hospital.”
“Oh my goodness!” Vivian gasped, a smile of joy spreading across her face. “The baby is coming?”
“It sure feels like it.” Julia laughed nervously. “Do you—could you meet us there?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can—give me ten minutes,” Vivian assured her warmly. “Chin up, Julia. It’ll all going to be great. You’ve got this.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Do you need someone to watch Macey?”
“She’s already with Hazel and Samantha.”
“Perfect. You concentrate on taking nice deep breaths and I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too. See you soon, honey.”
Julia hung up, and Vivian clasped her hands, squealing a little with excitement. She already had grandchildren, but she felt just as ecstatic every time a new one arrived. She felt thrilled for Julia and Cooper—and especially for Macey, who had been bouncing off the walls, eager to meet her new sibling.
Vivian raced to put on her shoes, grabbing her purse just before dashing out the back door. Her heart was pounding withexcitement as she backed her car out of her driveway and steered it in the direction of the hospital.
Life is filled with endings and beginnings, she thought, her heart aching happily.And the beginnings help us cope with the endings. I may have lost my husband and the first love of my life, but we’re about to welcome a whole new person into our family.
Smiling and bursting at the seams with eagerness to support her daughter, Vivian made her way to the hospital, ready to meet her next grandchild.
CHAPTER TWO
Dean Owens stepped through the front doors of the hospital as they parted automatically in front of him and Noelle Calhoun, his fiancée. He was full of excitement for Julia and Cooper, but as soon as he smelled the familiar, sterile scent of the hospital, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The sight of the white walls leading off into long corridors made him feel a little claustrophobic.
He’d spent entirely too much time visiting doctors during the past several months, in his opinion. When he’d first been diagnosed with early onset osteoarthritis, he’d felt as though his life would never be the same, and the weight of that feeling had made him dislike being in hospitals ever since, especially since the results of his tests weren’t always good as he navigated trying out new medications and physical therapy treatments.
Come on, Dean,he thought as he followed Noelle toward the elevator.Your reason for being in a hospital is a happy one this time.
He smiled, thinking of the bundle of joy that was about to be born upstairs. He still didn’t know the gender of the baby, since Julia and Cooper had decided to keep it a secret until the birth. He was bursting with excitement to meet the newest member ofhis family, and he tried to focus on that instead of the way the hospital made him feel.
He laughed as Noelle bounced up and down in the elevator after pressing the right button. She was, without a doubt, the best thing that had happened to him in his adult life, and he knew that he wouldn’t have met her without his osteoarthritis. Noelle was a physical therapist, and he had first met her when he was her patient.
They had quickly struck up a friendship, especially after Dean offered to show Noelle around Rosewood Beach, since she’d been new in town at the time. Their friendship had morphed into love at the speed of a lightning strike, and he’d switched to a different PT before asking her out on a date.
He smiled at her, thinking to himself that he couldn’t wait for their wedding. They had initially planned on having it much sooner, but his arthritis had flared badly earlier in the year, despite continued physical therapy and a switch in medications. The doctor had advised an osteotomy surgery so that he could function without pain, and so that the operation could slow the progression of his osteoarthritis.
He and Noelle had made the difficult decision to postpone their wedding so that he could enjoy it without having to fight through the worst symptoms of his arthritis. Although they both were impatient to get married, they also saw the benefit of waiting until Dean was feeling at his best.
During the first few months of their relationship, he’d struggled with pain and fatigue but then learned to manage his symptoms through rest and had reached a point where he’d felt good most of the time—until his recent flare-up. Both of them wanted him to feel that good again or perhaps even better while he stood in front of all their loved ones and watched Noelle walk down the aisle, ready to vow to love her for the rest of his life.
Noelle linked her arm through his as the elevator traveled upstairs, squeezing him in a tender hug. Dean looked down at her with a warm smile, wondering for the millionth time how he’d gotten so lucky. She’d been doing an incredible job of keeping his spirits up while he waited for his surgery to be performed. They were both holding onto the belief that he would feel excellent for their wedding and that undergoing surgery would be well worth it, and she was the cheerleader in their situation, making sure they both stayed optimistic about everything they were facing. He felt incredibly grateful for her, and he bent down to kiss her cheek just before the elevator doors opened.
They stepped into the hallway, and the sight of nurses and doctors hurrying past, clipboards held closely to their chests, made Dean’s stomach knot up again. Despite his best efforts to stay optimistic, he still harbored doubts that the surgery would be worth it. There was a chance it would go badly, or that even if it went fine, it would end up not resolving the pain and fatigue he was experiencing. The thought of postponing the wedding and getting their hopes up for nothing felt like a punch in the gut.
“You nervous?” Noelle asked him, squeezing his hand. She seemed to have some kind of internal barometer that sensed his moods—she always knew immediately when he was troubled.
“Nervous?” he echoed, surprised she’d pinpointed his thoughts so exactly.
