Mom spoke up. “I volunteered in the evenings, after school. And once I met your dad, I picked up extra volunteer shifts on the weekends until he was discharged.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well,” Dad said. “I knew I wanted to get to know her better, so I left my number inside that get well soon card for her to find, with her name on the envelope.”
Mom laughed lightly. “I was so confused at first, but there it was, Rob crossed out and Linda written under it.”
“Wow,” I murmured. “And you called him?”
“I did,” she said. “I was so nervous.”
“How old were you both?”
“I was seventeen. Your dad was twenty.”
“Wow,” I said again. “How did I not know this story?”
“You never asked,” Mom said simply. “And since he was older than me, my dad wouldn’t let us date until I turned eighteen. Which I hated at the time, but looking back, I think he was being very reasonable.”
“And then what?”
Dad smiled and squeezed Mom’s hand. “And the rest is history.”
“So you fell in love with each other while Mom was looking after you and you immediately assumed I’d fall in love with Micah?”
“Immediately? No. But when he called us, I could hear the fear in his voice. I hung up the phone and said to your dad, ‘If he had to get hurt while we were away, I’m glad he has Micah. He must really care about Asher to take care of him like that.’ Was I right?”
I chuckled and nodded slowly. “I don't know how he feels. I really like him, but he’s not sure he’s going to stay in town after this episode of the show finishes filming.”
Mom pressed her lips together tightly. “Well, if he doesn’t, he’s a fool.”
Chapter 32 - Micah
After work, Max flagged me down as I passed the production trailer. “Have a minute?”
“Sure thing.” I stepped inside.
Max walked around and sat behind his desk. He gestured toward a chair. “Join me.”
“Uh-oh,” I said with a soft chuckle. “Am I in trouble?”
He shook his head and laughed, rolling his eyes. “Obviously. Why else would you be called into the principal’s office?”
“Alright, alright,” I said, understanding his joke as I sat down. “What’s going on?”
He patted a small pile of papers on his desk. “Contract time.” He rummaged through the stack as he spoke again. “The studio asked me to talk to you.”
Butterflies filled my stomach. “Oh. Am I—”
“You’re in here somewhere. Ah-hah. Here we go.” He pulled out a stapled-together stack and passed it to me. “We want you to stay and finish out the season with us, but if you need to move on, I totally understand.”
“I want to stay,” I said without hesitation.
Max grinned. “Good. Jake and I really like having you around. How are you liking Port Grandlin?”
“I love it here. It’s a great little town. Everyone’s nice. Friendly. Helpful. I have everything I need right here. I’m going to be really sad to leave when the final episode wraps.” That was truer than anything I’d said out loud in months. Just the thought of it had my stomach turning sour.
“Well, you don’t have to leave.” When my eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Max kept talking. “You know, I’m starting my own production team. I can’t see myself leaving Jake to head back to New York or LA, so when I was given the opportunity to work here permanently at the end of the first reno, I jumped on it.”
