“I respect that. Although, what would happen to Conor if, God forbid, something happened to Lainey?”
“Oh, Lainey already took care of that. Getting kidnapped lit a fire under her to make a will, and she named me as his guardian. And since Jade and Brian are going to be hisgodparents, they’re the backup if something happens to both of us.”
“Do the O’Briens know that?”
“I don’t think so, but honestly, I think as long as they still got to spend time with their grandson, they wouldn’t be mad. They love being grandparents, but they’re getting up there in age. It would take a lot of energy to raise him. A lot more than a day of babysitting.”
“That’s a good point.”
“What about Ruthie?” he asked. “Does she have godparents?”
“I don’t think so. We haven’t really talked about it yet.”
“Dude… it sounds like there’s a lot of things you haven’t talked about. Have you told her about your “consulting” work?”
“No.”
I hated admitting that out loud.
“Don’t you think that’s something you should tell herbeforeyou get married?”
“Absolutely not. I’m not giving her a reason to call off the wedding.”
My brother looked over at me with narrowed eyes, “No, just a reason to divorce your ass.”
“Look, I’m giving my notice this week. I’ll have to do two more jobs, tops, and then I can make a clean break. She won’t even have to know.”
“Are you listening to yourself? You don’t think she’s going to notice if you’re gone on two jobs?”
“Well, we signed a six-month lease, so she’s going to be in Haven Springs for at least six months. When I’m gone, she won’t know if I’m in Lancastle or Baghdad.”
Adam shook his head in disgust. “I’m telling you, bro; that’s a mistake.”
Probably, but what other choice did I have?
Chapter Fifty-Six
Jessica
I got to the bakery a half hour earlier than normal. I loved that once Ruthie and I were ready, I could just leave—no having to wait around for a ride.
My work hours were going to be lean this week, since all my appointments for the wedding were in the afternoons.
Lainey said I could come back and work on scanning recipes in the evening while she and Kristy baked croissants, those beautiful, delicious tulip cookies, and other items I hadn’t attempted yet. I decided since I wouldn’t need someone to pick me up, that I’d take her up on that.
I didn’t even ask my parents.
I wanted to be able to financially contribute to the wedding costs—even if it was miniscule compared to what Alan was paying. I wasn’t going to be able to do that without working.
As I got started on a batch of cinnamon rolls, I realized how much I missed Alan. Not that I didn’t like my job—I loved my job, but it wasn’t the same without him here.
I’d actually cried before I left him at Brian’s house last night. He’d brushed my tears away with his thumbs and kissed my forehead before promising, “I’ll be back before you know it. And we’ll video chat every day.”
As I sat down to nurse Ruthie, my phone rang with the video call ringtone, and I broke out with a wide smile.
“Hey,” I said softly when I answered and set the phone on the side table.
He looked like he was walking through a parking lot. “Hi, beautiful! I just got my rental car, but I thought you’d be feeding Ruthie around now, so I wanted to call and tell you good morning.”
