Page 155 of Chosen Road

She is my good thing.

I dropped my head to brush a gentle kiss over her mouth.

She is everything.

Epilogue

Amber

“Tell me one good thing,” I murmured.

Gus lay facing me, cradling my hand in both of his. Three weeks had passed since the Christmas break, and the kids were back in school. All the kids. By the end of the break, George agreed to stay with his Dad, especially when Vander promised to take him to visit his stepdad and his younger sisters regularly. Vander and Ruby were over the moon.

“Caden is moving ahead with his plans. He invited me to sit in on his investor’s meeting. He’s hoping to be up and running within the next year.”

Excitement lit Gus’s eyes at the prospect of the new venture.

“You’re excited about this,” I stated with a smile, pressing my palm to his.

“I am,” he nodded. “It’s not something I ever seriously considered before, but it appeals to me.” He paused. “I have a second good thing.” He winced. “At least, I think it’s good.”

“Tell me.” A frisson of anxiety rose like smoke, and I allowed it to float on by.

“Jacqueline is moving. She requested, through Nick, a meeting with me. I declined.”

“You don’t want to talk to her?” I questioned, wanting to be sure.

He raised his eyebrows and physically recoiled. “Fuck, no. I have no interest in anything she has to say.”

Jacqueline had tried, on two different occasions, to talk to Gus. Each time he reported it to HR. After the second time she visited his office, Nick spoke to her and offered her a letter of recommendation if she would consider transferring to a different location.

“Maybe she wants to apologize?”

“Nick said something to that affect. I have no interest. None. I do not care. I’m just happy she’s leaving. She’s going up north. Apparently, she has family up there and she’s looking to start over. She’ll be gone in two weeks.”

I pondered the new information. It didn’t give me the sense of relief I expected. I turned it over in my mind then examined my feelings from all angles and came to my conclusion.

“I don’t think I care one way or another,” I mused. I raised my eyes to meet those blue-grey eyes that saw into my soul. “I’m not at all worried about her.”

Relief softened his craggy features, and he smiled. “Good.”

“Tell me your bad thing.”

“I’ve yet to beat the boys at Mario Cart.”

I laughed, but he continued, half serious. “It’s true! I’ve made them change controllers with me. I don’t let them pick their own players. Nothing changes the results!” He complained, chuckling. Leaning forward he nipped my mouth. “You’re laughing but you should be outraged on my behalf. Tell me your good thing and your bad thing so I can punish you,” he demanded with a smile in his eyes.

“I’ll tell you my things.” I thought for a moment. “I’m not really sure where to categorize them. They are good and bad, I guess?”

He nodded encouragingly.

“I got a call from the managing director of the hospital program. They offered me Bill’s job, starting in four months.”

Gus’s eyebrows hit his hairline, but he didn’t answer. I’d noticed he gave me time to sort my thoughts and was no longer quick to jump in.

“It’s good because it shows they value my work. It would be more money than I was making before.” I paused again. “The thing is, I really want to take these courses, but I feel guilty not taking the job.”

I rested quietly in Gus’s shadow while he swept his thumb back and forth over the back of my hand.

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