Page 48 of Season of Gifts

“Thank you for your patience, Alice.I am…” A soft laugh tickled her ear.“Greatly apologetic that my own emotional regulation is in sore need of recalibrating, deeply aware of how my reactions may be affecting your own emotional state, and profoundly humbled that your personal experience in the area is cushioning my fall.I love you, dearest.I will speak to Jay about options.Safe travels.”

She sent love for him and his mom before the call winked out.Now would not be the right time to collapse into a heap.Odds of a fairy godmother magically righting all the wrongs in her world were slim and nil, and slim hadn’t come to work today.

She collected her things and grabbed her roller bag as Wade rejoined her.“Trouble at home?”

“My mother-in-law is ill, and my husband is the point person for her care.”Holy hell, those words had come sliding out of her mouth clean as a whistle.She’d had a few contacts with Wade in the last three months, but touch-base stuff.Today was the longest she’d ever spent with him.He did way more traveling than the design team.“Just getting an update.”

“Sorry to hear it.I hope she’s on the mend.”Holding the lounge door, he gestured her out first.“We’ve been through that wringer with Dad’s decline, and then Mom went to live with my sister.Vicki—my wife—is starting down that road with her folks, too.”

“Sounds like a lot of competing needs to balance.”If she’d had to bet on how she’d be spending a Monday afternoon, walking through an airport terminal while discussing her marriage would not have ranked among the options.

“Oh, it always is.”A quick glance at the signs above them, and he started them down another offshoot.“They don’t want to give up their home, and we don’t want to move our kids out of their school, so you cobble together home care services.Rideshares once you convince them to turn over their keys.”

Shehmmed agreement.Emma had sent Daniel to bring Henry’s mom for the wedding.Maybe they could hire a regular driver for—okay, yeah, now she was the kind of person who thought hiring private drivers was a normal thing.Sure wasn’t an option Mom and Dad had to get him out of the house on good days.

Wade steered them around a jerk taking a call in the middle of the walkway.“Personal shoppers when the grocery store doesn’t have well-placed benches—the thing’s a massive warehouse, and they don’t figure on shoppers in their eighties wanting to sit and rest awhile.Home delivery’s a godsend.”

“My husband’s been expanding in that area with his messenger service.”And now Henry and Jay were one person, fuck.She’d be tiptoeing that line for as many days as this trip took.“Fewer architectural and legal document drops and more elder care contracts.”

“Ah, so you know what you’re in for.That’s handy.”Wade rolled up to the early boarding lane.“We’ll try to wrap this one up fast so you can get back there.Company wants it done before the holiday break—pain in the keister to carry the project over into the new year—and I can’t say I’m keen to miss the kids’ school concerts.Number one thing about parenting is showing up.With this job, my track record on that is not great.”

She copied his behavior exactly, flashing documents, thanking attendants, hustling down the jetway to the plane.The last time she’d flown had been years ago, for Ollie’s undergrad graduation.That had been economy.Now she had business class upgrades.She stowed the roller handle and hefted the bag.

Wade wasn’t any taller than her, but he added a hand and snugged her carry-on in the bin beside his.“Aisle or window?”

The rows farther back had three seats to a side, but theirs only had two.

“Either’s fine.”The window couldn’t show her anything she didn’t already know.When they landed in Sioux Falls, she’d be sixty minutes from home.Which would make her a fairly lousy human being if she didn’t visit.Fuck.She staggered into the window seat and fumbled with the belt.“So you, uh, you travel a lot?”

She sipped her iced tea, clutched her phone against her stomach like a kid with a stuffed toy, and drifted into work talk with Wade, tossing ideas with him for the next hour.Their landing came with no dings from her phone, no message from Henry saying he’d talked to Jay.No thrilled string of emojis from Jay indicating a trip to Maine was in the offing.

The Sioux Falls airport could’ve fit neatly in the hip pocket of the Minneapolis one or the Boston one.As they cruised down the lone concourse and past the baggage carousels, Alice fired off a quick text to her spouses:Landed safe in Sioux Falls.Love you.

At the car rental counter, Wade dug out a company card.“I don’t see our contact, but we’ll give him a few.He insisted on coming out to welcome us—new in the position.It’s fine.”

“What’s he look like?”She scanned the space while he dealt with the paperwork, handing over her ID when needed.People clustered around the baggage belt, and on the far side of the main doors, people lined up to check in for their flights.

“About your age—said you sounded familiar from school.”Jangling the keys, Wade turned away from the counter.“I think that’s him near the door.Navy puffer jacket.You know him?”

Jacket boy lifted his head and waved, a Grand Canyon-size smile hurtling across his face.

Her stomach dropped to her toes.“I think so.It’s been years.”

Seven, to be exact.Seven years since she’d refused Adam’s proposal.

“Wade, hey.”Adam jogged up and extended his hand, pumping enthusiastically when Wade accepted the shake.“Great to meet you in person.And you!”He swung his arms wide, then thrust them forward like he was handing her a cake.“Blast from the past.So great.Gosh, I’d love to hear all about what you’ve been up to.Wade, you don’t mind if I steal Alice for a minute, do you?I know you’ve gotta check out that rental car—what say you bring it around front, and we’ll have the luggage out there for you lickety-split?”

“It’s been a long couple of flights.”Arching his back and rolling his neck, Wade looked completely natural.If she hadn’t seen him do the same thing already the second they hit the gate, she would’ve believed him.“Alice, you want to stretch your legs out to the rental with me or hang here with Adam for a minute?”

Without a doubt, the most Dad kind of looking out she’d ever experienced from a coworker—and ninety-five percent of her coworkers were guys.Despite the day she’d had, hugging Wade was probably not the way to go.If she put off Adam now, he’d be dogging her for however many days they spent here.The middle of the airport was as public a place as she was gonna get for whatever he wanted to say.

“Thanks, Wade.I’ll meet you out front—we’ll be work-work-work once we hit the site, so a minute to catch up first would be nice.”There.That ought to set expectations.Adam could have his minute, and then they could operate like professional folks who barely knew each other.Which they did.Seven years ago, she couldn’t have imagined her life today.

“See you in a jiffy.”Wade left his bag with her, taking only his jacket, and set off at more than walking, less than jogging speed.

Adam bumped her shoulder with his.“You’re welcome.”

Ugh.His sense of boundaries needed tuning.Stepping back, she futzed with the bags and slipped her coat on.“For what?”

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