“So you’re thinking it could be long-term?”
Hannah paused and the knot in his stomach tightened. “Assuming it went well, that would be up to Paige. But look, we can just forget it. Just chalk this up to crazy-pregnant-woman talk. I’ll look around for someone else.”
“No. Don’t do that.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” This could be everything Paige wanted and needed. It hurt him to say it, but…“Call her. I definitely think she’d be interested.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
Hannah now sounded very unsure, so he said it again. “I’m sure. Call her.”
Before she could ask him again if he was sure, his brother got on the phone.
“Hey, man.”
“Hey. What’s up?” The question was habit as his mind reeled around the possibilities.
“Not too much. Look, I…hang on.” The background noise of Hannah and Mitchell was cut off before his brother continued. “Hannah and Paige hit it off in some girl-love thing, and Hannah’s in a bad position right now with the baby and her assistant leaving. I don’t want to screw things up for you, but you know my wife comes first, and I’d much prefer her sitting on the front porch sipping lemonade and not worrying about anything more than what kind of cookie she wants me to make her. She comes first, above all else.”
Above all else. Like Paige and Casey came before all else to him. “You make cookies?” JT asked, trying for humor that he didn’t feel.
“I have many skills.” Stephen sighed. “Look, man, I don’t know exactly where you are with Paige, but maybe just talk to her about it. I think Hannah’s planning on calling her later today or tomorrow, but she’s worried as all hell about you and Paige and…shit. I do not want to get in the middle of…whatever there is to get into the middle of.”
“It’s all good, man. Don’t worry. And tell Hannah not to worry,” he added. “This would be a great opportunity for her.” If he still had any doubts about himself and being the man Paige deserved, maybe this was the test. What he wanted or what Paige wanted? What was best for Paige and Casey? That’s what it came down to.
They talked another minute about their work before they hung up. When he looked up, he found Simon staring at him.
“What was that all about?”
He filled Simon in on Hannah’s offer and had barely finished before his friend was shaking his head.
“You’re not as smart as I thought you were if you let her get away. If you want her to stay, you should tell her.”
JT stared across the room at nothing. He loved her. He’d never keep her from something that could make her happy. “It’s complicated.”
“It’s only complicated if you make it complicated.”
“Things are about to get a lot more complicated,” Lynn said.
They both whipped their heads around to see their frighteningly pregnant friend walking slowly.
JT stood, moving toward her. “Lynn?”
“Yeah.” She squeezed his hand and tried to smile, but it was more like a grimace. “It’s happening. At work.” She gritted her teeth against obvious pain. “I’m pretty sure my water just broke halfway down the hall. You might want to call someone about that.”
Simon stood, then immediately sat back down, his face white.
“I called my husband but his plane must still be”—she broke off to breathe—“in the air. Ouch. One of you is going to have to drive me to the hospital.”
—
Paige stood at her kithen sink, the phone to her ear.
“I don’t expect you to say yes,” Hannah said. “I wouldn’t even ask you to, but maybe you could just come out for another week and see what you think. You have more hands-on knowledge with children with amputated limbs than anyone. Having your own child here would give other parents the peace of mind only a mother could give. Just think about it. I know it’d be a lot to consider, but I didn’t feel right going to someone else without even asking you.”
She’d thought about the work Hannah did quite a bit since she’d left. Envied her a bit, if she was honest. How great it would be to have a meaningful job, a home surrounded by trees.
“I know it’s far away from California, far away from JT. I wasn’t even sure if I should call you. I almost didn’t, but he said I should so…”
“You talked to Jake?”
“Yes. I wasn’t sure this was the right thing to do, but like I said, you were the first person I thought of.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Think about it. Talk to Jake. If nothing else, you could come for a week or so. Casey could ride and you could see if it’s something you really want to do, regardless.”
“Okay.” She thanked Hannah again and hung up. He’d told Hannah to call her? And possibly ask her to move to Virginia?
“I have to tell you something.”
Paige whirled around at the sound of Jenny’s voice behind her. “Hey.” She moved to turn on the water at the sink and waited for it to get hot.
“No. I need you to stop for a second.”