Page 47 of True Blue

I nod eagerly.

“Yes, I got it!”

“You got it?”

“I got it!” I say, showing him the email.

Teddy’s whole face changes. His eyes go wide, his mouth drops open, and then he’s laughing, hauling me into his arms like he can’t contain it.

“You got it!” Teddy repeats over and over again, twirling me around. “You got it! You got it! Oh my God, honey! You did it!”

“What is going on?” Dawn demands.

“Indie got the offer!” Teddy says excitedly, placing me back on my feet but not letting me go. “From Bluewater Cancer Center.”

Dawn’s face lights instantly.

“Bluewater? That’s the one all the way in New Jersey, isn’t it?”

I nod eagerly, Teddy leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“Oh, Indie, that’s wonderful!” Dawn says, clapping her hands.

I freeze in Teddy’s arms.

What?

“Oh, congratulations,” Dawn says, rushing over to me and pulling me from Teddy’s arms into her own. She squeezes me a little too tightly, and I awkwardly pat her back, not used to this at all. “When do you start? When do you leave?”

“Uh,” I glance at Teddy for help. “It starts in October.”

“Oh,” Dawn’s eyes turn to Teddy. There’s sympathy in her expression. “Isn’t the distance going to be too much for you two?”

“Not at all,” Teddy grins, his arm curling around my waist. “I’ll be going with her.”

Silence.

Dawn blinks rapidly, her expression faltering for the first time.

“What?”

“I’ll be moving with Indie,” Teddy tells her, his voice proud. “We’ve already talked about it.”

Dawn sputters. “You didn’t talk about it with me!”

“I wasn’t aware I needed to,” Teddy says, frowning.

“This affects the whole family, Theodore!”

Dawn takes a step closer to him, her expression turning wounded and incredulous in equal measure.

“Your father has built that business with the understanding that one day you would step into it. How the hell are you going to do that in New Jersey?”

“He can hire someone else,” Teddy shrugs. “Or sell the business.”

“Sell it?” she repeats, her voice shrill. “That company has been in your father’s family for three generations. Passed from father to son, and you want him to just sell it?”

Her eyes flick to me for the briefest second before returning to Teddy.