Page 109 of Surprised By Love

“Hey, favourite sister of mine,” she says the second she answers the phone.

I laugh. “I bet you say that to all of us when we call you.”

“Not true.” She laughs, “Okay, maybe it’s true, but I mean it when I say it to you.”

I bark out a laugh. “Yeah. Okay. Whatever you say.”

“Seriously though, how are you today? You sound better,” Jess says, her voice more serious.

“I’m better. I didn’t cry this morning, so that’s a plus.”

“You bet it is. It’ll get better every day,” she says, and I know she has some experience with heartbreak, but she’s still angry at the guy who broke her heart in high school. So much so we can’t even mention his name, or she freaks out. “Any word from him?” I can hear the hesitation in her voice, as if she’s afraid I’ll break down while driving.

I let out a sigh. “No. nothing, but that’s okay. I called him just now and got his machine. I left him a voicemail and told him I had enough and I was having this baby, and it’s up to him if he wants to be a part of its life or not.”

“Okay good. Good for you, sis,” she says.

“But that’s not why I called. I’m on my way back from Pineridge.”

“Pineridge? Why’d you go to Pineridge?”

“To check out the cute little bakery they have. I’ve decided I want to open my shop.”

Jess squeals. Thank goodness the phone is on speaker and not in my ear. “Ohmygod, Ohmygod. I’m so excited! Tell me everything.”

“Well, the bakery is way too pink for me. I’m thinking teal or a pale turquoise in a retro style to match the diner.”

“Oh, I love that. Can I help? I want to help. I can start looking for retro style tables, chairs, counters, anything you need,” she says without taking a break and it makes me laugh.

“Okay.” I laugh. “You can start looking, but don’t buy anything yet. I need to figure out a floor plan and see what type of room I’ll have for seating.” I turn on my windshield wipers as large snowflakes obstruct my view. “Wow, the snow’s coming down hard. This storm came out of nowhere. Snow wasn’t in the forecast for today.”

“Maybe you need to pull over and wait it out?”

“I’m almost at the turnoff. I can make it.” My windshield wipers are working hard to clear the snow from my view. The highway isn’t very busy, but I cautiously drive slower than the speed limit.

A car in front of me swerves. “Oh my God, the car ahead of me slid off the road.” I scream, “He’s going into the ditch!”

“Are you okay?” Jess says, her voice shaky. I can tell she’s scared for me. “How far away from town are you?”

“I’m almost there. Just a few more minutes.”

I see a car speeding up behind me. “Jackass.”

“What? What is it?”

“Some ass who sped past me.” I grip the steering wheel tighter and watch as he crashes into the rear end of the car on the side of the road. “Oh my God, Jess, he just crashed into the other car.” I try to slow down. “I can’t stop. I’m sliding. Jess. I’m going to crash. Jessieee!”

Chapter Forty-One

Josh

I’msittingatmydesk at work when my phone rings. I look at the screen and see it’s my mom calling. “Hey mom. Everything alright?”

“Oh yes. Everything is fine, but are you able to come home? I need to talk to you about something,” she says in a concerned tone and has me sitting straight up in my chair.

“Are you sure everything is ok? Are the kids alright?”

“Yes. Yes. It’s not about the kids, but can you come?”

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