Page 57 of Love Me Again

Because she belonged here, that was for sure.

And yeah, it was going to take something like a Christmas miracle at the very least to convince her of that.

CHAPTER 17

Josie knew she needed to make her excuses to leave. The ornaments had been hung, the cookies decimated. There was no reason to stay here in this cozy living room, warm and oversaturated with sugar.

Happy.

She hadn’t felt happiness or contentment in so long, it felt like a foreign emotion. Even before Dad had died, there’d just been worry and concern and stress. Trying to make everything all right for him while they prepared to fight cancer again.

For nearly a year, her life had just been hell. And these last few days with the Tylers was a lovely respite from all that.

But hadn’t Josie learned any lessons in her life? Every time she felt happy, she got clobbered.

She eased out of her seat, hoping she could just slip away and no one would notice. Boone was currently in a conversation with Gavin and Lou and hadn’t looked her way in a while. Surely, she could just…

Shane cleared his throat. He was standing at the entrance of the room, and that’s when Josie realized he and Cora had been missing for a little bit. Cora stood next to Shane, leaning into him a little.

“Everyone, I just wanted to let you know we’re going to head up to the hospital.”

There was an immediate and loud reaction to that. Some people jumped to their feet. Some simply expressed concern. Loudly.

Shane held up a hand, commanding everyone be quiet in his calm, efficient way. “Cora’s having some contractions. We called the doctor and she thought it best to have us come in and get checked out. It’s very possible they send us right back home. No need to worry.” He sounded very rational and in charge, but even Josie didn’t miss the glint of panic in his expression.

When Micah rushed over to the both of them, Josie knew why he was keeping that panic under wraps.

“I’m okay, sweetie,” Cora said to her son. She reached out and touched his shoulder. “You stay here, okay?”

“But what if the baby comes?” Micah demanded. “What if…” Whatever worried him, he didn’t put into words.

Deb approached Micah. She matched Shane’s calm, in-charge demeanor with none of the panic. “How about this? For now, Micah, you stay here with us. If they decide to keep your mom overnight, I’ll bring you up to the hospital.” Deb looked down at the boy. “That okay?”

He seemed to search Deb’s face, then his mom’s, then Shane’s before finally nodding. “Yeah, okay.” The boy hesitated, then threw himself forward, wrapping his arms around his mother.

“I love you, Mom.”

The lance of pain was sharp. Josie was surprised how forcefully it landed. She didn’t often think about her mother, wherever the woman might be. She had vague memories of her grandmother and missed her, but mostly having women in her life who cared about her was a non-entity.

Until she’d come to the Tyler Ranch and been folded into all this taking care by Deb and Molly.

“I love you too, baby.” Cora hugged him tight. “Don’t worry.” It looked like she’d been about to say something else, but her expression tightened and she pressed a hand to her stomach. Like she was in pain.

“Everything’s going to be just fine,” Shane assured Micah. He gave the boy a fatherly pat, but it morphed into a bit of a hug too. “Love you,” Shane said to a clearly worried Micah.

Micah nodded, muttered the words back a little sheepishly, then stepped back from his mom and stepdad. Deb came forward again and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as Shane helped Cora to the door.

Once they were gone, there was a hush, a silence in the room. Like no one knew quite what to do, herself included. Because she’d just witnessed what it looked like to be a family, and it ached in too many places to name.

Because that’s what loving did. Trusting did. It ached and it hurt.

She was so damn tired of aching and hurting. She had to get the hell out of here. She was about to blurt that out, when someone beat her to finally breaking the silence.

“Let’s play a game,” Grandma Maisey said brightly. “Unless someone wants a fencing lesson?” She looked meaningfully at Micah.

Deb curled her arm protectively around the boy. “No swords,” she said firmly. “But a game is a great idea. Micah, why don’t you pick one out?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Board games are boring.”