Page 71 of Saved By the Boss

I watch as he limps toward the door, duffel bag in hand, his movements slow but determined. The crew outside greets him with nods and handshakes, and I stand there, frozen, as they help him into the passenger seat of one of the trucks. The engine roars to life, and before I know it, they’re driving away, Declan’s truck in tow.

The cabin feels impossibly quiet after that, the small space suddenly feeling empty and hollow. I tell myself it’s fine, that it’s only a matter of time before I hear from him again. But as I sink onto the couch, I can’t help but wonder how long the silence will last.

He texts me that night to let me know his cabin thankfully survived the storm with no damage. I tell him the power finally came back, and I make a nice meal and watch TV to pass the time.

The next day, I’m back in the hardware store trying not to lose my mind over him. This is where it all started, after all. It’s aslow trickle of customers, some people buying supplies to help with minor repairs after the storm.

I hear from him a couple of times throughout the day. Texts here and there, nothing too detailed. He says the storm damaged the wires near his cabin, and his service is spotty at best. I try to believe him, to rationalize that he’s not responding to all of my texts because of the spotty service. Not because he’s decided in the cold light of day that he doesn’t actually want to see me again.

We’d talked about going on a date this week, a simple hike on one of the many trails between our cabins, but he texts the next day to postpone. His ankle is in a boot now, and he says he’s not exactly in prime hiking condition. I get it. I really do. But it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed.

I don’t tell Tawny about what happened and simply tell Ron that Declan delivered the wood and I made it through the storm just fine. I’m good at keeping secrets, and this is a secret I want to keep just between Declan and me. Even so, as the days stretch out, it becomes harder and harder to believe any of it was real.

Another week passes. Then another. A few minor storms come through, nothing nearly as bad as what we experienced, but enough to delay our plans even further. There’s always something conspiring to keep us apart. Every time we try to set a date, something comes up. If it’s not his injury, it’s the weather, or the lack of service. I keep telling myself it’s just bad timing, that it doesn’t mean he’s lost interest. After all, if he did lose interest, wouldn’t he just ghost me?

I start to unpack and try and settle into this little home I’ve made and create new memories apart from those two magical days. I bring home a can of paint from the hardware store and paintthe bookshelf. I donate all the board games to a local charity, though I keep the cards. I want desperately to make this place one of happy memories, just in case we eventually decide to stop playing phone tag and call it quits.

Finally, after nearly a month, we make plans for me to go to his cabin for dinner and the thought of seeing him again, of spending time together without the chaos of a storm hanging over us, makes my chest feel lighter for the first time in weeks.

But as the date approaches, something else starts to weigh on me.

I’ve been so focused on Declan, on figuring out where we stand, that I didn’t even notice at first. But now, it’s impossible to ignore. I’m late. More than a week late. Naturally, it’ll probably start on the night of our date. That’s going to be a disaster. Not that I’m presuming that we’re going to jump back in the sack, but it would definitely put a damper on things if that is where we end up.

The day before our date, though, I wake up feeling sick. My stomach churns, and for a moment, I think it’s just nerves. But then the thought hits me like a freight train, and before I know it, I’m rummaging through the bathroom cabinet, pulling out the pregnancy test Tawny gave me as a gag gift a few months ago.

My hands shake as I open the box, the weight of what I’m about to do settling over me like a heavy fog. The whole idea of this is so unbelievably absurd. It’s all got to be coincidence. It’s probably just stress and nervousness about seeing him again. Maybe something I ate yesterday was bad.

But even I know there are only so many excuses I can make before I face the truth. I pee on the stick, praying to a God I don’teven believe in anymore that the test will be negative. The next few minutes feel like an eternity. I can’t bring myself to look at it, my mind racing with a thousand different scenarios. What if it’s positive? What if it’s not? What if this changes everything?

Finally, I force myself to look. The little plus sign staring back at me feels like a punch to the gut, knocking the air out of my lungs. I sit down hard on the edge of the bathtub, the test clutched in my hand, and for a moment, all I can do is stare at it, my mind blank. This was not in the plan.

When the shock starts to wear off, the first thing I do is reach for my phone. My fingers are shaking so badly it takes me three tries to unlock it, and I scroll through my contacts until I find the one name I know I can call right now.

Tawny picks up on the second ring. “Hey, girlie!” she answers brightly. “What’s up?”

Her voice is bright and chipper, as she’s completely unaware of the chaos swirling in my head. I open my mouth to respond, but the words catch in my throat, and all that comes out is a shaky breath.

“Jade?” Tawny’s voice sharpens with concern. “Are you okay?”

“I…” My voice cracks, and I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Tawny, I think I’m pregnant.”

The words hang there for a moment, heavy and unfamiliar, and I can hear her gasp on the other end of the line.

“Oh, honey,” she says softly. “Okay. Okay. I’m coming over. Just sit tight, all right?”

I nod, even though she can’t see me, and the line goes dead. The cabin feels impossibly quiet again, and I’m starting to wonder ifI’m the unluckiest person on the entire planet.

16

Declan

After leaving Jade’s house, one of my first orders of business was to see a doctor. I was able to get a rental car from my insurance company and I drove to the next town because our doctor was still recovering from the storm.

He took X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and everything pointed to a straightforward hairline fracture. But there was pain radiating through my ankle that wasn’t coming from the location of the fracture, and that took much longer for him to determine.

He finally realized I had a pinched nerve and some bone spurs in addition to the small break. There wasn’t much he could do besides prescribing physical therapy, but that couldn’t happen until after the fracture healed. It was a very annoying month not being able to move the way I wanted to.

The worst part is that it’s no longer a sharp, throbbing pain when I move. It’s become a persistent, low-level ache, the kind of pain I feel with every step. It’s been messing with my head, making every waking hour feel like torture. If anyone were around, Iprobably would have been a total bear.

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