Page 137 of At His Beck & Call

Henry’s cancer treatment was brutally hard, and I had days when I didn’t think I could get through it. Watching my son so sick and powerless to help him was awful, and I wouldn’t havebeen able to survive without Oliver, Bethany, and Anne to help me.

But we did it. And if there was any doubt in my mind about my son’s strength, it’s been obliterated by how he tackled the whole thing. He was such a trooper…

James is still a part of our lives, too, of course, but Oliver’s presence has changed my relationship with him entirely. I almost never see him. If I do have to speak with my ex-husband, Oliver is always with me, and James is visibly cowed by his presence. I have to admit, I kind of love it…

Each day that passes loosens the chokehold James once had on my life, and there are times now when I realize I’ve gone days without thinking about him. Oliver’s relentless support in that regard has been amazing, even when he had his own issues to deal with.

After leaving AGS, Oliver was in a period of limbo, unsure what to do next. He waited almost six months, spending most of his time with Henry and me. But eventually, he felt the need to get moving with his career again, and he’s been working tirelessly to set up his own law firm, a process that has been more challenging than either of us could have realized.

Thankfully, we have had a lot of help along the way.

As soon as Oliver left AGS, Adelaide quit too, insisting that he couldn’t possibly manage without her. That prediction turned out to be correct. She has been a rock, helping us get the firm off the ground and keeping all the balls in the air. She’s the best, and I don’t know what we would’ve done without her.

It wasn’t a huge surprise to Oliver that Noah was the one who let the managing partners know that Oliver and I had been sleeping together. Oliver was pissed for a long minute about that one, but he got over it.

I glance at the clock again, pulling myself out of my thoughts as I realize I really do need to get up. Henry’s first day at his newschool is my focus today, and it’s the cherry on top of a hard but successful year.

He’ll be attending the best private school in New York, and I couldn’t be happier. Henry’s education has been patchy at best since his diagnosis, and I have no doubt it will be transformed now that he is able to focus on learning without being sick any longer.

He’s cancer-free. I still can’t wrap my mind around that, but the doctors have assured me that he’s doing great, and with the right diet and an active lifestyle, that will only continue.

Speaking of which, I need to stop them from putting chocolate chips in the pancakes.

It’s a wasted effort, however. I enter the kitchen to find so much chocolate in the batter that I’m surprised I can even see any of the pancake mix.

I give Oliver a warning glare, but he just smiles at me happily as he dollops batter into the pan, and I don’t have the heart to be mad at him.

We all sit together at the breakfast table, eating pancakes as Henry babbles excitedly about school.

“Will you bring Truman when you come and get me?” he asks eagerly. “I want to show him my new school.”

Oliver nods as Truman, hearing his name, jumps up onto the stool beside Henry, panting happily.

“You are not allowed at the table when we’re eating,” Oliver says to him sternly. It never fails to make Henry laugh because Truman always ignores Oliver when he uses his mean voice. I chuckle at them both as Oliver reminds Henry not to feed chocolate to the dog.

By the time we are out of the house, Henry is a little quieter, focusing on the walk to school. Oliver has told him that when he’s older, he’ll be able to walk by himself. I watch the littlepurple monster on his backpack swinging as he walks ahead of me, a smile spreading over my face.

We walk through the streets, the leaves falling from the trees around us as Truman pulls on his leash, trying to get at the pigeons. Oliver reaches for my hand and interlaces our fingers.

I never knew I could be this happy. Even during the good times with James, I never felt anything like this.

“What time is your class today?” Oliver asks as we get closer to the school, and I check my watch.

“Eleven thirty, but I’ll be done by one, so I can come and pick Hen up if you and Adelaide need to stay at the new building longer.”

“No, no, I’m not missing Henry’s first pickup,” he says, sounding a little hurt that I even suggested it.

“Alright. Well, I’ll meet you by the school gates around three, then.”

“Sounds good.”

It didn’t take long after I moved in with Oliver for him to bring up my degree. I had always wanted to return to studying law, hoping it wasn’t too late.

We talked about it a lot and decided I’d give it a try.

Going back to school has been the greatest joy of my life outside my family, and I’m so happy I made the leap. Of course, it helps to have a brilliant (and so very sexy) lawyer at home to debate with.

“That’s Ruben!” Henry says, waving manically at a little boy on the other side of the school grounds.