“She’d like to see you,” Travis said. “Both of you.”
Maggie and Aaron followed Travis to the room, sending Courtney back over to her grandmother who smiled at them kindly from her chair. They found Lacey propped up on the hospital bed with a sleeping baby wrapped in her arms. She smiled up at them as soon as they entered.
“Isn’t he beautiful?” she whispered, looking down at her sleeping baby. They stepped up to the side of the bed to gaze down at the tiny infant.
“He’s perfect,” Maggie responded softly.
“Thanks to you.” Lacey smiled up at her.
“You did the hardest part,” Maggie insisted.
“We were talking about names,” Travis spoke up, stepping up beside his wife.
“We’d like to name him Aaron,” Lacey said, looking over to Aaron.
“I don’t know what to say,” Aaron replied. Maggie smiled over at him reaching out to take his hand. “I’m honored.”
“I was wrong about you,” Lacey told him earnestly. Aaron was speechless. Maggie could see him trying to swallow back tears as he bowed his head modestly.
“Of course we considered naming him Maggie,” Travis joked, lightening the mood.
“I think Aaron is much more fitting.” Maggie smiled over at him.
“That’s what Lacey said.” He shrugged as he lifted a bottle of water to take a drink.
“Maybe the next one will be a girl,” Lacey said lightly, causing Travis to choke on his water as quiet laughter filled the room.
“We’ll leave you two to figure that out,” Maggie said. “In the meantime, try to get some sleep,” she advised Lacy, who looked completely exhausted.
“Yes, Dr. Maggie,” Lacey said with a sleepy smile.
~∞~
Lacey’s parting words hung heavy in the air on the silent drive home. Maggie knew she needed to have this conversation with Aaron, she just wasn’t ready for it. Aaron had shared so much about his past with her and she had told him very little about herself. She tried to reason with herself that she hadn’t intentionally kept anything from him, but she knew it wasn’t true. She knew that to share with him her past meant to include him in the decision about her future. She also knew that after the time they’d spent together he deserved to be included.
She hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep until Aaron was waking her.
“We’re home,” he said softly as he pulled to a stop in her driveway. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she stumbled from the truck. He crossed around quickly to help her into the house.
He guided her to her room without a word and when she plopped down on the bed he pulled her shoes off for her.
“Will you stay?” she asked as she swung her legs onto the bed and struggled to keep her eyes open.
“If you want me to,” he said softly.
“I want you to,” she yawned. He kicked off his own shoes and climbed into bed beside her.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about medical school,” she mumbled almost incoherently as she drifted off into sleep.
“We can talk tomorrow,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and cuddled against her side.
Luckily Maggie wasn’t awake long enough to worry too much about tomorrow.
17
Maggie woke slowly the next morning. The first thing she noticed was that she was alone in bed, and she wondered if Aaron had gone home. Then she realized that she could hear something outside. She climbed out of bed, stretching out her sore muscles as she walked to the balcony. She looked out into the backyard and saw several large trucks with cherry picker baskets positioned at the front of the orchards. Aaron was standing below with a group of men gesturing out toward the fields. The harvest was beginning.
Maggie felt a wave of sadness as the implications sank in. Then she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to start work today at Ms. Brandy’s antique store. She quickly scrambled toward the bathroom to shower and change.
Maggie was dressed and out of the house in record time. She couldn’t be late for her first day of work. She regretted that she hadn’t said goodbye to Aaron, but she did leave him a note. A small part of her was grateful for the excuse to put off the inevitable conversation that was coming.
One thing Maggie realized above all else last night was that she still wanted to be a doctor, wanted it more than anything. But she wasn’t ready to say goodbye. She’d been foolish to think that she could have a reckless summer fling and walk away unscathed. She’d been foolish not to realize that she would fall in love.
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Maggie exclaimed as she walked through the door of the shop. Despite her mad dash she still hadn’t made it on time.