Page 28 of With You Forever

“Gotta get the show on the road,” Seth swaggers, only Lacey sits silent, her heart pumping double time.

She loves Seth, loves him for thinking of the future, for moving their life along when she’s barely hanging on. But suddenly the list of things to do seems so endless. So futile.

All at once she’s flashing back to today. Replaying every ounce of uncertainty over something so small, something so trivial like a bra. But it isn’t trivial. It’s her life.

Lacey breathes in, breathes out, focusing on the chatter of conversation to calm herself.

Seth leans in, a hand on her shoulder, and Lacey does her best not to jump out of her skin.

“You feel okay?” he murmurs in a low tone.

She turns to him. “Seth, if you keep asking me that I will drown you in the Cumberland.”

Normally, she’d find his fussing adorable. Yet after the day she’s had, it’s suffocating. She wants to be normal, not coddled.

“I’m fine,” she explains with a sniff. “It was a long day.”

Seth shakes his head. “Shouldn’t be workin’ on a Sunday anyway.”

Lacey sighs and taps a manicured nail against her wineglass. “I have to work, Seth. I have clients I need to finish up with before my surgery. At the very least let them all know I’d be out.”

“They understand, at least?” Luke asks, refilling Sal’s wine.

“They do. I told them I’d be back to work a week after my surgery.”

“Lacey ...” Sal exhales and looks to Seth.

Seth groans and smears a hand down his face. “Princess, you are gonna kill me.” He raises his gaze to hers and she sees the worry in his eyes. “You ain’t weak for takin’ time off, Lace.”

Her nostrils flare. This isn’t what she wants to be doing right now. Talking about being sick.

“Oh no,” Sal whispers, interrupting their stare down. The baby monitor crackles. Both she and Luke watch it with intense concentration. Finally, Luke breathes easy as Cash’s whimpers fade to silence.

Seth chuckles, says, “Kid’s got you runnin’ scared.”

“He’s finally sleeping through the night.” Sal keeps her panicked eyes on the monitor. “We can’t jinx this.”

Luke’s eyes are laughing but serious. “Keep talkin’ and I’ll send you up there,” he says to Seth.

Lacey yawns, then laughs. “You do that, you’ll never get him back down.”

Seth, noticing Lacey’s yawn, says, “Speakin’ of sleep, we should get home.”

Lacey scoffs and resets her expression. “Don’t be silly. We can stay.” She smiles at Sal. “I am having wine tonight and I am staying up.”

A muscle jerks in Seth’s jaw. He hasn’t taken his eyes off her. “Oh, that’s a good idea.” His voice is tight, his handsome smile slipping. “What you need to be is exhausted.”

“What I need,” Lacey says, taking a large gulp of wine, “is to be here with my family.”

“The doctor said—”

“I know what the doctor said, Seth. I was there, remember?”

His jaw hardens, his ocean-blue eyes burning with concern.

Luke tenses, his eyes moving to Sal, who sits frozen.

They don’t fight.

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