Page 81 of Dreaming About Forever

And after everything, Alicia was still standing beside him, and that meant more than anything. Whatever happened with his dad, they’d weather it together.

28

ALICIA

“Send it over. I’ll look at it in a minute.”

Alicia stared at the lines connecting the colorless tiles on the floor. She’d paced this hallway a hundred times since they arrived at the hospital. She’d never had to sit in a waiting room worrying about someone she loved before. Worrying about Grant had her stomach in knots.

She’d take any distraction Lillian could throw at her.

“Are you sure? I know you have a lot going on right now.”

Alicia rubbed the back of her neck. “Thanks, but I need to work. Send me those interview questions and the photos. How many do I need to approve?”

“Three. Four just in case.”

Sucking in a breath through her nose, the air was thick and nauseating as it clogged her throat. “What else?”

Lillian paused. “Well, there’s news about your parents.”

Alicia closed her eyes and said a quick prayer for peace. After praying for Grant on the ranch, she’d been in and out of prayer ever since. “What’s the news?”

“They’ve set a hearing date. It’s the week after Christmas. The day after your contract with Jordan ends. I talked to Nathan about it this morning. He can’t extend Jordan’s contract because Jordan has already put in his resignation with Field Inc. Do you want to offer Jordan a contract through AC Rights Management? Or do you want to extend a contract through the tour security team?”

Alicia glanced behind her, down the hall that led to the room where Jordan was sitting at his dad’s bedside. “We’ve talked about both ways, but we didn’t come to a definite decision. Let me talk to him when we get home and see what he wants to do.”

Their time was running out, and changes like this only reminded her that their peaceful time in Redemption Ridge was coming to an end. His parents’ place had become her home over the last month, and she wanted nothing more than to dig in her heels and stay.

A piercing pain shot behind her right eye. She hadn’t gotten a headache in weeks. The stress of her parents’ betrayal and the breakup with Ashton had been tempered by the welcoming she’d received from the Taylors and everyone else in Redemption Ridge.

“Can you have a contract drafted for Jordan to be hired through AC Rights Management? If we decide to go that route, I want everything to be ready to sign.”

“Of course. I can have that to you by the end of business tomorrow,” Lillian said. “You have a commercial filming with Olivia de la Cruz on January second. Your dress rehearsal and fitting are scheduled for December twenty-eighth. Have you chosen the set list for the tour? The event management team needs that finalized by Christmas Eve.”

Lillian continued talking, but Alicia’s attention faltered, flipping back and forth between worry over Grant and the long to-do list being sent to her by Lillian. If Alicia put the tasks in order, her days were packed from the day after Christmas until the end of next year.

The urge to race back to Taylor Ranch and hide was overwhelming.

“Alicia?” Lillian asked.

“Yes?”

“Did you hear my question?”

Alicia pressed two fingers to the painful spot above her eye. “Sorry. I wasn’t listening. Can you just send all of the things I need to do in an email?”

“Sure. Is there anything you want me to do?”

Caroline and Vicci sat side-by-side in the waiting room on the other side of the window. Caroline’s head rested against her mother’s shoulders, while Vicci read from the Bible. It was one of the things she’d asked Alicia to pack for her.

“Actually, can you have some meals catered for the Taylors? I think there’s a place in town that could pre-make meals. Flapjacks. They have casseroles and things like that.”

“I can do that. Anything else?”

“No, I think that’s all. If you think of anything else we can do to help them out right now, I’m all ears.”

“I’m so glad you got to spend time there. It was good for you,” Lillian said.

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