Page 120 of Third and Ten

Ethan

ok.

Tenley

Just okay?

Ethan

aunt ten…i’m really sorry i left the way i did.

Tenley

I know. And I’m sorry that I made you feel like you had to leave in the first place.

Ethan

would it be okay if i came home now, like, for good? i promise i won’t run off like that again.

My eyes water as I stare down at the words I’ve been waiting to read. I’m not excited about Ethan being unhappy at Ryan’s, of course. But I’m still selfish enough to want him here with me.

Then I understand JD’s reaction to that same phrase yesterday. Because he must feel the same way, and he’s probably been praying for Ethan to come home to us.

Again, how have I been so thoughtless and insensitive? I suppress the urge to growl at myself as I resolve to make it up to JD, starting with doing whatever it takes to get Ethan back. And the first payment will include swallowing my pride. I switch to a new text window and reluctantly pull up Blake’s name.

Tenley

Hey, can we talk? I really need your help with Ethan’s situation.

Blake

Make an appointment with my receptionist.

CHAPTER 36

TENLEY

I let my fingertip brush over the fuzzy sideburns of the newborn baby I’m cradling after having spent most of the previous night helping with his delivery. He grunts in response, puckering his pink lips and nestling his head deeper into the crook of my arm, and I push the miniature “Baby Thibodeaux” hospital bracelet down before it slips up over his little fist.

“He’s perfect, Sybil,” I say to his mother.

“Hmm,” she replies thoughtfully. “Does he know?”

I glance up at her from the chair beside her hospital bed, confused.

“Mr. Right—have you told him about the baby fever?” she asks again with a knowing smile.

I sigh and return to stroking the baby’s feather-soft hair. “No.”

“And it’s bad this time, isn’t it?”

“So, so bad,” I whisper, my eyes still trained on his tiny features. “But we’re not really speaking right now. I’ve been an idiot lately.”

She grins at me. “Then call him. Or, better yet, go to him. I bet he’d be willing to help you out.”

I bite my lip, trying not to consider that last bit. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“Sure.”

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