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I shook my head as I chuckled at her. “Alright, sassy pants, why don’t you get stretched for a run.”
“How far are we running?” she asked.
“Five, think you can do that?”
She spiked a brow. “Only five? I do at least eight every day.”
Trevor snickered. “Yeah, let’s stick to five because we are going to put you through a lot after that.”
“Bring it on,” she said as she leaned over and put her hands flat on the ground. My eyes zeroed on her tight buttocks, and I ground my teeth and turned away before I got myself all worked up.
It was going to be a long day.
Chapter Sixteen
Maggie
Ihadn’t slept much the night before. My mind didn’t want to turn off, and I spent hours going over my decision time and time again to see if this was the right one to make.
When Jake had mentioned that he wanted me to join the delivery and hinted, rather boldly, that this could be something more, I suddenly envisioned a new future for myself. No more bullshit romance column, no more trying to prove myself to my editors and their bosses. If I traveled with Safety Zone Security, I could report on real conditions, real-world problems, and solutions. I could give some credit back to those who were making a difference.
The only thing that held me back from jumping in with two feet and holding on with both hands was my mother. If I made more than one trip, I’d have to make permanent arrangements for my mother in a nursing home. I wasn’t sure if I was prepared for that—hell, I wasn’t sure if she was ready for it. Yes, she was moving from the moderate decline to the moderately severe decline stage, and it would only be a matter of time before she would require more advanced assistance.
That’s what I was dwelling over as I jogged between Trevor and Greg. I wasn’t thinking about what they had planned for me today, or how incredibly sexy they both were, and I wasn’t listening to the conversation that they were having about a client over the top of my head. Instead, my mind was playing back over a conversation I’d had with my mother many years ago.
“Maggie, sweetheart, you know how much I love you and appreciate you, but you did not need to put your career on hold just to come back and take care of me.”
“Mom, I didn’t put my career on hold for you. I am taking my career on a different path.”
She pursed her lips and regarded me cynically. “You suddenly decided that you wanted to write about garden parties, kitchen remodels, and the hottest in home design?”
I couldn’t lie to her; it was the last thing that I wanted to do, but the local architectural digest that I’d gotten a job with had an opening. The local paper hadn’t been hiring anyone at the time, not even in the obituary section. I had decided to take the position at the digest with hopes that eventually something would open at the paper. At least I would have a job. “You know that I got tired of pulling knives out of my back.”
My mom sighed. “Well, if you hadn’t married a man who was as competitive as you were, you might not have had that problem.”
“Mom, he is not the one that was stabbing me in the back.”
She crossed her arms on the table. “Newspapers, like law offices, are still boys’ clubs, Maggie. Women have to work twice as hard to prove themselves. It took me years longer to make partner than my counterparts.”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “I know.”
She took hold of my arm. “Maggie, I need you to promise me something.”
“What’s that, Mom?”
“When this disease takes my mind, and I mean really takes my mind, and you come to a point in your life where you need to decide if you should follow your career or care for me, I want you to go for the career.”
“Mom—”
She put her hand up. “Maggie, listen to me, sweetheart. I’ve lived my life, and while it has been shorter than I anticipated, I’m happy with what I had. I don’t want you putting your life on hold for me if something comes along that you honestly want to do and that can make you shine. You deserve to shine, Maggie.”
“How can I just decide to walk away from you and put myself first? You never did that to me. One of the reasons it took you longer to make partner was because you put family first; you put me first. I can’t just turn my back on you because I want a career.”
“Yes, you can, Maggie. I’m giving you permission to do just that. I know that it might be years before this disease takes over my mind and my life, but I do not want it to take yours. I want you to put me into a nice home, come to visit me when you can, and I want you to live your life. I want you to find a good man, marry him, and live your life to the fullest.”
“Mom, I can’t just park you in a nursing home and walk away.”
“I know it will be hard, sweetheart, and at times I’m not going to understand it.”
