AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Had she? I mean, I had found her looking at me a couple of times, but did she do it more often than I knew?
He slapped my arm. “The woman is into you, so don’t back down too far.”
“I won’t.”
We talked for a couple more minutes, and then I showed him out. In the foyer, I heard voices upstairs, and I climbed the steps and peered into the master bedroom.
Emmy was now in a nightgown and on her knees by the air mattress. Very methodically, she was placing each stuffed animal in a line beside the bed.
“How is it going?” I asked, and Tonya smiled before she yawned.
“Good, Emmy is going to set up the Beanie Babies, and then we are going to read a book before bed.”
“Do you want me to read?”
“No, Tonya.”
I winked at Tonya as she grinned. “Okay, then Tonya, it is. I’ll leave you all alone.”
I set the cot that Hunt had brought over in one of the other bedrooms and added my sleeping bag. For a few minutes, I looked over the rest of the house, checking things to see the extent of the workmanship, and then I went back to check on the kids. They were sound asleep, and I took a couple of pics and sent them to Nolan.
I didn’t expect her to call me, but I was glad that she did. She sounded much more relaxed than she had this afternoon, and I was happy to hear that Lauren was on the road to recovery.
As I lay down on the cot, I thought back on what I’d told her earlier today. I was in love with her. As much as I hadn’t wanted to admit it to Hunt, I was all for moving this along.
Now, if only Nolan would accept the fact that we could make this work. I was pretty sure the kids and I proved that today.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nolan
The following day, Lauren’s color was better, and she seemed like her usual self. As she ate, I pondered a few things. I hadn’t called her father last night, because quite frankly, he didn’t care. I’d send him a text message later that she’d been in the hospital, but I knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t want the details. He’d just want to know if she was okay. She was—now.
I still had to call my parents and let them know, but I didn’t want to do that until I figured a few things out. One of those was to speak with Lauren and get her opinion on something.
“Lauren, what would you say to not going back to Grandma’s?”
“What?”
“What if you stayed here and didn’t go back.”
“What about school?”
“You only have two weeks left. Maybe we can get your teachers to send you the work, and you can do it from here, then we can send it back for grading.”
“Would they do that?”
“I think the better question is, would you want to do that?”
“I’d love to stay here, Mom. I love Grandma and Grandpa, but I love our new house, and I’ve already made some friends here.” She frowned. “Although they might not like me as much now.”
“Oh, don’t you be silly. They are going to want to know all about your trip in the chopper.”
“But I don’t remember that.”
“They don’t know that. Maybe Wes can give you some details, and you can share them with kids who ask.”
“Isn’t that lying?”
