“It’s been a while since I last traveled,” Amelia said.
“Did you used to travel commercially?”
“Yes. There were no private jets in the budget for us.”
“It’s the best way to get somewhere in a hurry,” he said. “Which is why we’ll use the jet.”
“Riding in style,” Amelia said with a huff of laughter.
“It is that,” Ben agreed, then he heard her yawn audibly over the connection. “I should probably let you go so you can get back to sleep. We can talk more about this later. If you need details about the tests and such, maybe we can set up a time for you to talk more with Julian.”
“I might have more questions. I’m not sure. I mean, I’m going to do the tests regardless of what they are. He could probably just tell me about them on the plane. Or is he not going with us?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be with us, so you can ask him any questions you might have then.”
Ben really hoped that these tests gave her some answers. Answers would bring treatment, and treatment would hopefully bring relief from the pain. He wanted that so much for her.
Ben wanted to talk more, but recalling how tired she’d looked at the school earlier, and remembering she’d been dozing when he called, he knew he shouldn’t keep her up.
“Goodnight, Amelia,” Ben said. “I hope you have a restful night.”
“Thanks. You too.”
After the call ended, Ben set his phone on the end table and stared out the window at the darkness beyond.
When he’d returned to Serenity, he definitely hadn’t thought he’d find himself drawn so strongly to Amelia once again. Because he’d known, even before Amelia had reminded him, that Serenity was not his home.
But could it be?
He could work from anywhere, really. And there was an empty house on the property. Annie had moved out of her home to live with Cole after they’d gotten married, so it was just sitting empty.
His mom and dad would be thrilled if he decided to move back to the estate. But was he ready to commit to that yet?
He just wasn’t sure.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Amelia thought she might hear from Ben on Saturday, but he didn’t call or text. She hadn’t just sat around and waited for him to contact her, however.
She’d spent the morning and part of the afternoon trying to get caught up on the things that had slipped during the week because of the pain she’d been dealing with.
Having pain and fatigue as a constant presence in her body, she’d learned to spread out her housework across the week. When her pain had been at its worst that week, she hadn’t done her laundry or vacuumed the carpet.
Though she wished she could do everything she’d missed, she settled for just doing her laundry. She even managed to get it folded and put away before she met up with her mom and Layla at their favorite café in town.
Though the testing was uppermost in her mind as they had coffee together, Amelia didn’t tell them about it. She didn’t want to get their hopes up. As it was, she was struggling to keep her own hopes in check.
The next day, when she got to church, she looked around for Layla and Grant. She usually sat with Layla when Grant was at the firehouse, but she didn’t always do that when he was there. He preferred to sit closer to the front, while Amelia didn’t.
Sure enough, when she spotted them, they were down near the front of the sanctuary. Her parents also sat in the same row, closer to the podium.
“Hey, Amelia.”
Turning, she spotted Ben standing just behind her, with Luca a few paces behind him. “Hey.”
“Are you sitting with Layla?” he asked.
“No. She and Grant sit at the front when he’s here.”
