AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He almost cried when she said that. He was shaking inside, and he didn’t think anyone could see it, but Ally could. She knew what he was feeling without being told because she was feeling it too.
“Thanks, Ally,” he told her when they hung up.
“They’ll be right here so you can leave when the paramedics do. John Overly picked up Alexander since he’s allergic to the puppies but I would have watched him for them if not for that.”
She grabbed his shoes by the front door and took them to him. He slipped his arm around her shoulder and hugged her. Before releasing her, he kissed her head. “You’ve been wonderful since all this happened and I’m sure they appreciate the offer of you watching him.”
She nodded but she couldn’t speak. Words would have choked in her throat. The firemen brought the gurney through the front door. “Honey, would you grab a sweatshirt or my jacket from the bedroom?”
“Sure, Dad.”
Ally slipped out of his arms and headed down the hall to her parent’s bedroom. When she returned she had her Dad’s UC Sweatshirt that Hannah had purchased for him as a Christmas present. He had an Alabama one too that Heath had bought one year as a Father’s Day gift while he was a student there.
He slipped it on from his squatting position on the floor where he caressed Sophie’s head.
“I don’t like this,” she informed him.
“I’m not surprised,” he replied to his wife who was feeling better the more fluids she received. “You’re going to the hospital.”
He knew Sophie. She hated doctors and hospitals. Other than giving birth to their children, she had never been to the hospital herself. She was always healthy. This was going to be tough on her, being sick. Josh was going to have to do something he never had to do
before with Sophie. He was going to have to put his foot down when it was necessary.
She scowled at him.
Chapter 11
Sophie
By the following Friday, she was weak, down ten pounds which on Sophie’s lean frame was a lot. She was also going to the office for the first time in nearly three weeks. She had been existing on doctor’s appointments for follow-ups, bloodwork and fluids. She needed to do something different or lose her mind.
The puppies were going with her. Josh wasn’t too keen about that but wouldn’t tell Sophie no. She drove her old Ford while he drove separate in case she wanted to go home. He offered to take her and have Ally or one of the guys follow him and bring him back to work but Sophie refused. She wanted some independence.
The crew was starting to arrive when they got to the office. The change in Sophie was even more obvious to them who hadn’t seen her in weeks. They all said hello. Some of the men hugged her. She fought off the tears that threatened her. If they asked, she told them about her cancer. She got a few, I’m so sorry. Others, offered to pray for her.
Then Miguel walked inside with her. She thanked him for Marcy’s casserole dish and the rice pudding. The sweet pudding was the only thing she had been able to eat in the last week. Josh went to the store and found more but it didn’t taste like Marcy’s.
Chemo had changed the taste of food. She had an acrid taste in her mouth. Nothing tasted good or the same anymore Josh but kept encouraging her to eat. He bought protein shakes. Those went down okay but still didn’t taste right.
“I’ll have Marcy make you more pudding,” Miguel suggested.
“Thank you.” He gave her a little hug and a kiss on the cheek which surprised Sophie. “And thank you for helping out Jagger. Ally said you and Sam have been great.”
“After I behaved badly and quit. I know you, Sophie. You want to point that out too,” he replied with a sheepish grin.
She smiled at him. “Oh, I do. You’re a man now not the eighteen-year-old, kid we hired. You have a family to support.”
He hung his head as he spoke, “Marcy pointed that out to me. She’s never been afraid to put me in my place.
“You’re a great worker and a valuable employee, Miguel. Get your temper under control and listen before you blow your cool.”
“I’m working on that,” he replied. Sophie patted his back. “You’ll be fine, right Sophie?”
“I’ll be fine,” she promised.
She looked great compared to how she was earlier in the week. Miguel released her, and Sophie went to her desk. Jagger arrived with Ally. Coincidence, she was sure, but she saw how he smiled at her daughter. Like a big brother would, she recognized that reaction as her own brother Ross looked at her that way and she was relieved.
Her daughter had her own case of hero worship going for the older man. Sophie rolled her eyes at the ceiling and buckled down while Jagger got things moving for the day.
