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“Get your Sophie back,” he declared. “You’re going to need it.”
She frowned and turned to look at him. “What does that mean?”
He glanced at her quickly. Then he looked at the road. “All the things that I love about you that make you Sophie. Your spunk. The fighter in you that allowed me to make Russack Landscaping a success even when we were both too tired to go on.”
She gazed out the window trying not to cry while she listened to him listing all the things that made him love her.
“The ability to push through even when the pain is bad.”
She laughed at Josh. “You’re talking about me giving birth to Heath.”
“I am. You were hurting so much. You just wanted to quit. I know you were tired and he was big.”
“He had a big head,” she agreed.
“Like me.”
She gazed at him. “Like you.”
“I held your hand. You squeezed it so hard I thought you had broken my knuckles.” A tear rolled down Sophie’s cheek at his words. “This will be no different. I’m hiring a manager to work with me so when I’m not there he can take over.”
“What?” She didn’t understand where this was coming from.
“You heard me. I don’t want to be tied to the crew or the office, while you go through this. We can afford it and you know it. He or she will go with the crews or manage where they are from the office, so I can be where I need to be supporting you.”
“How did you know I would need this?”
He shook his head at her. “I was just preparing in case. I won’t let anything happen to you Sophie.”
She reached over and laid her hand on his leg. “You might not have a choice, Josh.”
She could see his hands on the wheel tighten until his knuckles were turning white. “You will not think of anything but getting better.” Josh glanced at her quickly. “Do you hear me?”
She nodded. Then she removed her hand from his leg, so she could wipe her tears away.
Chapter 5
Sophie
Telling her parents about the cancer was harder than telling anyone else. Sophie had an older brother too. She was the baby of the family. She was everyone’s little girl. Her Daddy’s Princess. Her brother’s little sis. She asked her mother if they could have dinner together Friday night. She even invited Ross and his wife over.
Her brother Ross had three kids, all boys. He needed a girl to spoil so, as he had spoiled her, Ross spoiled Ally. Sophie loved watching her brother with her daughter. It reminded her of her relationship with him.
“Are you sure about this, Sophie? Maybe you should have waited until you know more about what is going on?” Josh was setting the table for dinner.
“No, let’s get this over with. If they see me, they will know something is wrong. I invited Kai, Roman, Heath and Hannah too. We’ll get this out in the open at once. I’ll tell Micki tomorrow. We’re having lunch together at the diner.”
He went to the stove where she stirred a pot. He kissed the top of her head then went to the silverware drawer. He glanced over his shoulder. “What about Ally?”
“I’m skyping with her tonight. Our usual Friday night mom and daughter deal before she goes to bed,” she explained. “I’ll tell her then.”
He nodded. There was nothing else to say. He wal
ked by Sophie his big hands full of silverware, “You already told Kai, didn’t you.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Josh. Their eyes met. “This morning on the phone.”
Two days down, possibly three to go until they knew how bad this was going to be for Sophie. “I expected you would.”
