Page 23 of Fall for You (Flirting with Forever 4)

“Mom, this is not a difficult procedure. The doctor told you that. And it could vastly improve your quality of life.”

“I know. And I’d be really happy if I didn’t have to deal with the daily pain. I’m just scared that it’ll reduce mobility, and I’ll have a hard time doing things.”

“You’re having a hard time now.” I jerk a thumb at the mess on the floor. “Case in point. There’s no denying it.” I lean down and wrap my arm around her shoulders, whispering, “I know you’re scared, but your doctor thinks it would help. You trust Dr. Stevens, don’t you?”

She nods slowly and her words come out halted and nervous. “How am I going to handle the bakery while I’m recovering, though? He said three to eight weeks in a cast. Longer to fully recover. And that doesn’t include the physical therapy sessions.”

“I’m here most days after school, anyway. We’ll hire an extra part time worker to handle the daytime shift while I’m working. Or we can have limited availability for a while. Something. We’ll figure it out.”

She winces at that. “I can’t afford time off.”

“You can’t afford not to take the time to fix this. Besides, I’ve got the extra money from tutoring, so don’t try to put it off because of the money. I think Olivia and I have two more sessions before she’s all caught up.”

Gingerly, I tiptoe through the mess so I can grab the loaf pan off the floor. After setting that in the sink, I clean up the bread batter as best I can with paper towels. I smile, wondering if Liam’s made his banana bread with Olivia yet. I’ll have to ask.

I feel Mom’s eyes on me as I fill a bucket with warm soapy water and begin to mop the floor.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“Good. We’ll call Dr. Stevens and schedule a date, then.”

Mom blows out a hard breath, nodding, as I set aside the mop and pull her in for a hug.

She knows this is for the best, but it’s still hard for me as her daughter to have to be the one to push her to do it.

Chapter 14

Liam

I’m surprised Olivia is up so early this morning. When I hear the shower start, though, I decide I have time to attempt to make her a hot breakfast before school. I’m just finishing scrambling some eggs when she comes hurtling down the stairs, backpack slung over her shoulder and stuffed to overflowing. She sets it down at the front door before coming back to have a seat at the stool across the island from me.

“Good morning. Have all of your homework done?”

“Yep. I’m doing okay now, Dad. you don’t have to worry about me.”

I quirk up an eyebrow.

“I know, I know, you will always worry about me. I’m your kid. I get it.” She gives an elaborate, exasperated sigh.

“What can I say? It’s my job.” I slide her breakfast over to her, and she digs into the bacon and eggs like she hasn’t eaten in days.

Around a mouthful of egg, she mumbles, “You’re getting better at this cooking thing.”

I chuckle. “Thanks. I thought we could maybe make that banana bread you were asking about making sometime next week after school, if that works for you.”

She glances over at the bananas on the counter and wrinkles her nose. “But they’ll be all brown and gross by then.”

“I hear that’s exactly how they should be for it. They’ll be perfect.”

She purses her lips. “Yeah, whatever. Who’d you hear that from? Unless it was a professional baker, I’m not buying it.”

Dare I tell her who gave me that tip? “Actually, it was Ms. Lockmore who explained that—and you know who her mom is, so …”

Oh boy. The little hamsters in her head are running fast on their wheels. She chews carefully on her bacon, as if she’s considering all angles of a complex equation. Finally, she swallows and wipes her mouth, pushing her plate away. Her eyes lock with mine. “I saw how close you stood to her under the umbrella yesterday. And you were talking an awfully long time.”

Well, crap. “It was raining. We were trying to stay dry. It was my fault. I asked her a question, and she stood there in the rain to answer it for me.”

“What did you ask her about?” Her face shows a hint of distress, and I wonder if she’s making assumptions about what was said. It’d seemed like Olivia was starting to open up to Quinn, and I don’t want to mess that up.

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