Page 13 of An Endless Memory

I pinched the bridge of my nose. What was I going to do?

I was so tired.

Where in the world would I take the kids? I’d avoided my aunt and uncle’s calls and texts. They’d show up soon. They’d see I wasn’t moved out. I’d have to call my parents. I should’ve done that right away, or at least as soon as it was apparent there’d be no house to rent within my budget. Now, they’d have to rush to Crocus Valley to save me. Just like before. My brothers and sisters would hear about the trust in a frantic way and that’d stress them. Ugh. I should’ve put more thought into all this.

Part of me hoped Aunt Linda wouldn’t be so stern. She and Uncle Darren wouldn’t kick me out with a kid and a baby? Maybe?

Shit.

I glanced around the clinic and blinked. Pull it together.

Could I sleep here? How long before someone noticed?

Sutton approached me. I blinked and straightened. Did it make me look more awake?

“Are you doing okay?” She rested an arm over her belly. She had an ob-gyn appointment on Monday, and she suspected she’d be put on bed rest for good instead of reduced work hours. We’d all been doing what we could to make things easier around the clinic for her, and she’d backed off to less than a quarter of the clients she used to see. What was she doing standing and talking to me?

“I’m fine. How are you?”

She lifted a shoulder and munched on a celery stick. “Nervous. As long as everything’s okay, I don’t mind being stuck in bed.” Doubt flickered through her expression.

“I’m sure it’s scary. You’re worried about the babies but also about the business you built.”

She smiled. “Yes, it is scary. I have a really good crew, but it’s not that. I used to sit around and watch a lot of TV when I was younger, and I’m afraid it’ll feel like I’m regressing. But I have a light at the end of the tunnel with the babies.” Her grin turned dreamy. “And I won’t be alone this time either.”

“Wilder seems very supportive.” He was a doting spouse. The way he watched Sutton with an eagle eye, his gaze full of adoration, should be sickening. Instead, it was just another Knight showing me how low I had settled with Carter.

“He worked hard on being the spouse I need.” Before I could figure out what she meant by that, she looked over my shoulder and a wide smile spread across her face. “There’s my favorite guy.”

“And your second favorite, right?” Eliot’s voice washed over me like warm caramel sauce.

I didn’t know he was coming to the open house. He’d rushed away from the party a couple of weeks ago, and I thought that’d be the last time I saw him. I was sure I would be quitting my job and leaving town at some point in the next twenty-four hours.

Wilder went right to his wife’s side. He snatched a cookie off the plate, and she adopted a fake scowl until he hand-fed her. She gave him a secretive smile, and he returned it with a smoldering look.

Gah. My bar had been on the damn floor.

Cali ran up to Eliot. Her toothy grin was filling in. “Remember me?”

Eliot dropped to a squat. “Let’s see…Cooper?”

She giggled. “No.”

“Gumball?”

She shook her head, her smile firmly in place.

“You must be the really smart and strong Cali, then.”

She nodded. “Yup.”

“Having fun, boss lady?”

Cali nodded. My day certainly brightened. The only time my tired gaze uncrossed was to admire his wide shoulders. I discretely looked down at my chest. No leakage. Good.

He gave her a fist bump, and she ran off. He straightened and looked right at me with soulful brown eyes I could swim in all day. “Lily. How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know. Living the dream.”

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