Page 120 of Where I Should’ve Been

A few tears fall down my cheeks. “But the clothes. The photos. They’re Abigail’s and Lucy’s, right?”

He nods, quiet but certain.

And I start to cry. “I’m so sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He pulls me back into his arms and hugs me against his chest. “All that matters to me is that you, and the baby, are okay.”

“I am. And our baby is.” I sniffle, trying to steady myself. “The doctor did an ultrasound to check. Heartbeat was strong and everything,” I update, and a new wave of tears threatens to spring to my eyes just thinking about the relief I felt when hearing our little baby’s heartbeat on the monitor.

“Thank God.” His shoulders drop with relief, and he presses a kiss to my forehead before rubbing a gentle hand over my belly. “Thank God. You’re both okay.”

“They have me on a little oxygen to be safe and something called a bronchodilator,” I add. “Randy said the doctor told him they’re doing the same for you, as well as an antibiotic and corticosteroids because your inflammation is so bad. They’re keeping us both overnight, but if our oxygen levels are okay tomorrow, we can go home. Or…well, somewhere.”

“Ha. Yeah. I’m sure Randy will let us crash with him for a little while.”

“You’re sure Randy will do what?” Tad’s brother asks, walking in our room at just the right time with Norah, Bennett, Autumn, and Logan all trailing behind him.

“Let us stay with you until we have a house again,” Tad repeats, doubling down.

“Of course.”

“You can stay with us too!”

“Good, our house is full.”

The first is from Randy, the second from Norah, and the third, of course, from Bennett.

Logan chuckles, pushing through the crowd until he makes it to the bed, leaning down to pull me into his arms. “Don’t worry, Breeze. I’m not welcome either.” It’s a long, slow hug, filled with weeks of regret and a simple conclusion that family, even at the tense times, is what matters the most. I pat him on the back and then the cheek, working my lip with my teeth when a sheen exposes the waiting tears in his normally cocky eyes.

As he pulls back, I touch his cheek, whispering. “We’ll talk, okay?”

Bennett steps forward for a hug too, followed by Norah and Autumn, and then finally Randy. Tad waves them all off, and I can’t help but roll my eyes with a laugh.

“Too manly for hugs, huh?”

“No,” Tad disagrees easily. “Too naked. I’ll hug you all tomorrow, when I’m not in this gown.”

It’s a much-needed moment of levity, but the nagging unknown of Eileen’s condition brings it to a swift end.

“How’s Eileen, Ben?” I ask. Bennett and Norah share a look before he replies.

“She’s doing okay. Shaken up. Wrung out. Doc said it was a minor heart attack. Josie’s actually still with her and says she’s going to stay for a while to keep her niece company. Eileen says…well, she says she’s retiring, but I don’t think any of us will believe that until we see it.”

“Retiring? Who the hell’s gonna run the paper, then?” Tad interjects.

“Her niece, I guess,” Randy answers with a shrug. “That’s supposedly why she’s here in the first place. Eileen said she would have been done a while ago, but she liked having lunch with you every week.”

Tad’s response makes my heart squeeze. “We can still have lunch every week. Tell her that, okay?”

I get unexpectedly teary, and Tad pulls me into a hug that buries my face in his chest. From behind me, I can hear Bennett taking charge.

“Okay, guys, let’s get out of their hair for now. Breeze, Tad, if you need anything, you call. We’ll check back on you tomorrow.”

Pulling it together quickly, I turn and waggle my hands to get hugs from Autumn and Norah and Bennett and Logan and even Randy again. Tad waves them off once more, which results in a trail of laughter as they leave the room.

His look is sly as he cups my face in his hand. “For clarification, babe…the naked thing? Not an issue when it comes to you.”

Oh yeah. I’m in love. I’m in love in a big, big way.