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“Hi.” I keep swaying, fighting the tears that want to break free. “Umm, I’m sorry to bother you, but Alex is in Montana, and I can’t get ahold of him, but he told me…” Clara’s cries grow wilder, and I can barely hear myself think. “He told me to reach out to you if I need anything and—”

“What’s wrong?” she asks, concern immediately sharpening her tone.

“Clara has a fever.” The words rush out. “I gave her children’s ibuprofen, but I’m worried it’s not enough. She’s so warm, and she won’t stop crying. I don’t know what else to—”

“I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” she tells me. “Take a deep breath, dear. We’ll get her taken care of.”

The calm certainty in her voice loosens the knot around my chest, if only a little. I nod, even though she can’t see me. “Okay,” I whisper. “Thank you. I’ll meet you outside.”

“Well.” Doctor Rose steps back, her lips curving down as she regards Clara. “It seems my patient has an ear infection.” She turns to the sink and washes her hands before continuing. “We’ll need to keep her hydrated and let her get plenty of rest. Since you already gave her some ibuprofen before you got here, we’ll need to wait before she can have any more.” She glances over her shoulder. “If you’d like, we can keep her here overnight so I can keep an eye on her while we wait for her fever to break.”

“Yes,” I answer without hesitation, pulling the blanket higher over Clara’s small body. She’s curled against my side, her head resting on my chest as she slowly drifts off to sleep. I glide my hand slowly up and down her back. “But I’m staying with her.”

Cecilia enters the room, tucking her phone into her pocket and holding a juice box in her other hand. “I left a message on Vin’s and Alex’s phones, so I’m sure we’ll hear from one of them soon.”

I nod, inhaling deeply.

Where are you, Alex?

She places the juice box on the table and then stands beside the bed, brushing the tips of her fingers over Clara’s arm. “Poor thing. It’s always so hard when it’s their first time getting sick.”

“The fever should start coming down soon,” Doctor Rose says. “I’m confident she’ll be back to herself within forty-eight hours.” She dries her hands and leans against the counter. “I’m going to step out and let you all get some rest, but if you need anything at all, just press the button beside the bed, and I’ll head straight here.” She offers us a reassuring smile before turning toward the door and disappearing into the hallway.

Cecilia sighs, her eyes on Clara. “I remember the first time Vin was sick.” She shakes her head. “I was completely beside myself. I demanded he be seen by every doctor in the Northeast.” A soft laugh escapes her as her fingers gently curl around Clara’s hand. “I knew his father thought I was being a bit over the top, but he never questioned me. Because no one can question the love a mother has for her child.”

I roll in my bottom lip, dropping my gaze. “We’re going to stay overnight. Just in case.”

She nods. “Do you want to go home and get some rest? I can stay with her while—”

“No.” I shake my head, my arm tightening around Clara. “I’m not leaving her.” I watch Clara’s chest rise and fall as her breathing evens out, and she drifts to sleep. “She looked so helpless earlier.” I swallow hard, the bridge of my nose stinging. “It nearly killed me not being able to do something to make her feel better instantly.” My voice falters. “I’ve never…” I pause, letting out a shaky breath. “I’ve never felt that way before.”

Her gaze lingers on me, her eyes growing glassy as she lowers herself into the recliner in the corner of the room. “You’re good for her.” A warm smile touches her lips. “For Alex, too.”

I shake my head, tucking my hair behind my ear. “I’m just trying to do my job well before I leave.”

She studies me quietly, letting the silence stretch between us before she asks, “Is that still what you want? To leave?”

My lips part, a lie already forming on my tongue, but I stop myself. Because she sees it. The way I feel about Clara and Alex must be written all over my face in permanent ink. And after everything this woman and her family have done for me, she deserves the truth, or at least a version of it. “That’s the plan,” I say softly.

Her fingers smooth over the arms of her chair. “Plans can always be altered, dear.”

I swallow against the ache building in my throat and look down at Clara. My trembling fingers gently brush over the back of her head. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do anymore,” I admit. My gaze lifts to Cecilia, my vision blurring. “These two…” My voice cracks as I glance back at the little girl curled against me. “They’ve turned my whole world upside down in the best possible way, and I…” I take a shaky breath, brushing beneath my eyes before the tears can fall. “I’m scared.”

She taps her fingers thoughtfully against the arm of the chair.

“No matter how old my children get, they’ll always be my children. And their happiness will matter more than anything else.” She regards me for a moment before saying, “Alex has always been content on his own. Perfectly happy locking himself away in his office for hours, sometimes days at a time, doing God knows what on those computers of his to keep this family safe. He simply…existed. And that’s not really a life a mother wants her child to have.” Her eyes drift to Clara. “But then she came into his life, flipping his perfectly neat world upside down.”

She smiles softly. “And everything changed. His entire world began revolving around her. And I thought, maybe she was the missing part of my son’s happiness. But then…you appeared, and for the first time in his life, a light shone in his eyes. Bright and blinding. Beautiful. When you walk into a room, his whole demeanor changes. He watches you without realizing he’s doing it. He’s calmer when you’re by his side. He’s…happier.” She rocks in her chair, deep in thought, her attention on the window beside her, before she looks at me. “What I’m trying to say is, talk to my son.” She stops rocking, her finger tapping on the fabric. “Call it a mother’s intuition, but I don’t think you’re the only one who’s scared.”

The tears I’ve been fighting finally escape, sliding silently down my cheeks. This time, I don’t bother wiping them away. “I will.”

“Good.” She smiles, then reaches over to dim the lamp beside her. “It looks like it’s going to be a long night, and I have every intention of staying, so we might as well make ourselves comfortable.” She reclines in the chair, grabs the remote from the side table, and fishes a pair of glasses from her purse. Settling them on the bridge of her nose, she points the remote toward the television before glancing back at me. “How do you feel about subtitles?”

Chapter twenty-four

Alex

My fingers drum on the rustic wood table before me, my eyes fixed on the mounted longhorn skull hanging high behind the man seated at the head of the table, while horses trot by the bay window overlooking the mountains in the distance.