Page 25 of Summer With You

I quickly called him, finding his name in my phone book, and waited while it rang, holding the cold phone to my ear.

“Good morning, Princess.” I could hear the hustle and bustle of the office in the background and glanced at the clock on the table seeing it was already almost noon. I had been asleep for a while since he left.

“Have you seen the news?” I asked him.

“No. Ryan and I got to the office a few minutes ago and immediately got stuck in a few problems that had evolved.”

“There’s a tropical storm warning, and it’s going to evolve into a hurricane, Ace, and it’s coming straight for us! And now you are so far away! I told you something bad was going to happen!”

“Shh,” he soothed. I drew in a deep breath. “Don’t panic. Let me look into it.” There was a pause and the sound of him clicking on his keyboard came through the phone. “It won’t be hitting for a few days, and it might not even become a hurricane. Don’t stress. Take a few deep breaths. Remember the baby, Princess.”

“Ace, you need to hurry up and come back to me,” I pleaded.

“Nothing will keep me from you. I will drive through a hurricane if it means getting to you and my kids.” I swallowed the emotion growing in my throat. I knew Ace would never let me down, but the thought of going through another hurricane, especially with our children, had my stomach in knots.

“Promise me that you’ll come home before it hits us,” I begged him. “I can’t face this alone. Not after what happened last time.” Charlie stood at my doorway, motioning for me to come to the kitchen.

“I promise you that I will be home tomorrow night, holding you in my arms as this storm blows over us. Now, go eat something and call me once the kids are in the pool. I miss you already.”

“I love you.” He sucked in a breath. Charlie’s hand motions grew more agitated, so I stood and started to walk to the door, still holding the phone to my ear.

“I love you endlessly, my princess,” Ace told me. “Be strong, baby. I’ll be back with you before you know it.”

---