“Yep.” Cal nodded matter-of-factly.
Max burrowed deeper into the pillow. “That’s good.” He sighed with contentment. “I want to stay with you forever.”
I looked over at Cal, my heart close to bursting. “You will, honey,” I whispered.
I wasn’t sure if he heard—he was already fast asleep.
****
“This is awesome.” I sighed in contentment as I sat at the nail spa next to Sophie later the next morning. She’d surprised me by coming to pick me up. Cal had practically pushed me out the door, which struck me as odd, but I wasn’t complaining.
Time to myself that involved a foot rub? Yes, please.
“Tell me about it,” she agreed with a sigh. “My ankles are so freaking swollen, but my toes can at least look pretty.”
“You look great,” I assured her.
“Right.” She snorted, her hand moving to her belly. “I feel huge.”
“You’re gorgeous.” Axel’s voice rumbled from his seat toward the front of the salon, where he somehow still managed to look tough despite the location.
“We’re taking you to lunch after this,” she informed me.
“Oh, that’s so nice, but I don’t know if I should be gone that long. Cal’s got all three kids.”
“He can handle it,” she assured me. “It was his idea.”
“Really?” I asked dubiously.
“Really.” She nodded. “Mad’s with my mom, so we have time,” she added.
“Okay. Hopefully the house is in one piece when we get back,” I replied dryly. Now that Max was out of school and the younger kids were still being kept out of day care, the three of them together could be a handful for one person.
“Thank you for this.” I sighed. “I have to admit I’ve felt a bit claustrophobic, between not having a car and not really being able to go anywhere, anyway.”
“I’m sure.” Sophie nodded in sympathy.
“I’m thinking about leaving the hospital,” I divulged for the first time, sharing what I’d been thinking about for the last few weeks. “With all the change Max and Emmie have gone through, I feel like I should be home with them. Iwantto be home with them, all three of them.”
“Have you talked to Cal about it?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I think he’ll be fine with it. It’s more my own peace with it that I’m grappling with. I worked so hard to become a nurse. I love it. I just love my family more,” I explained.
“You’re an amazing mom.” Sophie smiled. “You have great instincts; you should trust them.”
“Yeah, well, I also married Tim.” I grimaced.
“And did that ever feel right to you?” she countered.
“No,” I admitted.
She shrugged. “My point exactly.”
“I can’t wait until this is all over,” I grumbled with frustration, my thoughts turning to Tim. I hated the fact that he occupied even a fraction of my head space. “I wanted to see if there was something I could do to draw him out,” I shared. “Cal didn’t like that idea much,” I added dryly.
“Yeah, I can’t see you being bait going over well with him,” she replied with a snort. “The guys will sort it.” Her voice lowered as she leaned toward me. “Axel hasn’t shared much but I feel like things are heating up. Maybe they’re making progress.”
I nodded. I’d noticed the same. More phone calls, more meetings. Cal had been mum on the details, only sharing they’d gotten a license plate from Tim being dumb enough to drop the flowers off himself. I felt there was more to the story but I didn’t press. Ironically, I was okay with not knowing every detail, for now at least.
