by Liz Isaacson
They’d been seeing each other for a few months now, and the burden never really left her mind, even when she was thoroughly enjoying her time with him.
“I will heave myself into the kitchen and start the coffee,” Evelyn said.
“No,” Simone said. “Don’t do that, Evelyn. You’re supposed to be on bedrest. That means not making coffee.”
“I get up to go to the bathroom, believe it or not,” Evelyn said, and she was really in a mood. A bad one.
“Yeah, but Callie makes better coffee than you anyway,” Simone said, trying to lighten the mood. “And you really shouldn’t be doing anything. I don’t want Rhett to yell at me again.”
“He didn’t yell at you,” Evelyn said.
“I know,” Simone said with a giggle. But Rhett had asked Simone and Callie to make sure Evelyn followed the doctor’s orders for these last two months of her pregnancy. And that meant she couldn’t do a whole lot. She’d only been on bedrest for a week, and Simone thought the next two months were going to feel like years.
“We’re on the way,” Simone said, meeting Callie’s eyes. She was already done texting her husband, and Simone ended the call and snagged her keys from the hook next to the fridge. “Let’s go.”
Callie smiled and led the way through the front door. Simone paused for a moment, tapping out a quick text to Micah. Going to Evelyn’s for the day. Have fun at Wyatt’s.
He didn’t answer right away, because he’d be out on the ranch. He worked at Seven Sons for a couple of hours each morning. Sometimes all the way until noon. She didn’t know what he did with every minute of his day, and that was fine. She didn’t make an accounting to him either.
As she followed Callie down the steps to her sedan, Simone turned off her phone. Completely off. Without the distraction, she could focus on her core. Her gut. And she needed that right now.
“When’s Liam done with his deadline?” she asked Callie as she got in the car.
“Next week, supposedly,” she said, keeping her focus out the passenger window.
“I can take the girls tomorrow,” Simone said, though she’d have to work like a dog to make up for today. She glanced at Callie, who didn’t have the same happy glow she’d had in the past. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just tired,” Callie said with a weary smile. “Evelyn wants to get out of bed. I just want to get in.”
“Well, you can take a nap today,” Simone said. “And I’ll keep Conrad busy, so Evelyn doesn’t have to worry about him. And everyone will be happy.” Except for her, as was often the case with Simone. Growing up, she’d swallowed some of her own desires to make sure Evelyn and Callie could do what they wanted. Daddy and Gran had never known about the classes and camps she’d wanted to take, because she’d never said.
Simone was used to being last. Third. In the background. She didn’t entirely hate it, because that was where she’d always existed. But sometimes, she felt like she was drowning as she called for help, and no one came.
“Except you,” Callie said.
“What?” Simone glanced at her as she got the sedan on the highway and pressed on the accelerator. “I’m fine, Callie.”
“You left your shop open,” Callie said. “You used to lock yourself inside that thing and only open the door three inches when I came over.”
Simone’s face heated. “That’s because Jarrod was in there with me.”
“Simone!” Callie said, laughing in the next moment. “You sneaky girl.”
Simone laughed too, but she just shook her head. “It’s fun to have a secret place.” Maybe that was what she and Micah needed. He used to come to her she-shed for a kiss too, but he hadn’t in the past few months. To Simone, that was just another example of how different he was acting this time compared to last time.
She really needed to stop comparing the two relationships. This one was much healthier, and she wasn’t embarrassed of him. At all.
“So do you and Micah have a secret place?” Callie asked playfully.
“No,” Simone said. “No secrets this time.” She cut a look at Callie. “That killed us last time.”
“Hmm.”
Simone hated it when her sister hummed like that, and she made the car go a little faster in the hopes they’d get to Evelyn’s faster. Because that humming meant Callie was gearing up for a lecture.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Simone said, cutting her sister’s legs out from under her. “Okay, Callie? It’s great that you got your cowboy and your family and everything is great. I’m happy for you, I really am.”
She sucked at the air, because she felt wildly out of control. She didn’t even know where those words had come from, and she regretted them instantly.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out next, tears following. “I’m sorry, Cal. I know everything isn’t great for you.” She shook her head, realizing she wasn’t fit for company and she should’ve stayed home to make her molten chocolate hazelnut cakes.
“I know what you’re saying,” Callie said. “On the outside, it looks like I have everything.”
“I know your life isn’t perfect,” Simone said. “I didn’t mean that. I just—I’m just frustrated with my own self.” She felt like she was coming apart at the seams. “Please forgive me.”
“I do,” Callie said. “And Simone, I think you and Micah are perfect for each other. So whatever you need to do to keep him, you should do it.”
Simone looked at her sister. “You think so?”
Callie smiled, and Simone’s relief flooded her. “Yes,” she said. “I really think so.”
Simone thought about her sister’s words the rest of the way to Evelyn’s, and they found Conrad, the almost-three-year-old sitting on the top step with Rhett’s cattle dog that he’d named after his mother. He jumped up when Simone pulled into the driveway and waved to them. And so much joy poured from him that Simone’s pity party dried up.
“Hey,” she said as she got out of the car. “Whatcha eating? Popcorn?”
“Yeah,” Conrad said.
“Come give me a hug,” Callie said.
“I can’t,” Conrad said.
“Why not?” Callie glanced at Simone as she rounded the hood. The two of them walked down the sidewalk toward their nephew.
He came down one step, then two. “Momma said not to leave the porch.”
Evelyn yelled something from inside the house that Simone couldn’t hear, and Conrad jumped down the last step and ran toward them. Callie laughed as she picked him up and hugged him, and then Simone got her turn.
The need to have a boy like this of her own overwhelmed her, but thankfully, she didn’t cry. But she couldn’t help fantasizing about what a small boy that came half from her and half from Micah would look like.
She set Conrad on the ground and took his hand. “Let’s see if your momma will let you come home with me, should we?”
“Yes!” He let go of her hand and ran toward the steps. He took them one at a time, both feet touching each step as he went up. “Momma! Momma!”
“Oh, dear,” Callie said. “Now you’ve done it.”
Simone just smiled as she went up the steps and into the house. Evelyn lay on the couch, her oversized belly the only thing Simone could look at. “You’ve gotten bigger,” she said.
“Thank you,” Evelyn said without smiling. “I keep telling Rhett I’m getting bigger and he doesn’t see it.”
“Hey, sister,” Callie said. Conrad kept talking as if any of them were listening to him, and Evelyn finally looked at Simone.
“He wants to come stay with you, is that it?”
“Yes,” Simone said. “That’s it.” She pulled out her phone and powered it up. “Now, what kind of pizza do we want?”
Chapter Seven
Micah knocked on Simone’s door, the drinks in his hands tipping sideways. He balanced them while someone on the other side of the door struggled to get it open. If he could keep the drinks from dumping down the front of him, he could reach for the knob. Simone
kept her workshop locked but rarely secured her cabin.
The door finally opened, and a little boy peered up at him. After one second, Conrad’s face broke into a smile. “Uncle Micah.”
“Conrad,” he said, surprised. “Are you…where’s Aunt Simone?”
“Right here,” she said from within the house. A timer was going off, and Simone came hurrying toward him wearing an apron over her clothes that was covered in flour and chocolate. “Come in. Oh, let me help you.” She took one of the drinks and tapped Conrad on the shoulder to get him to move back. “Let Uncle Micah in, buddy.”
The little boy fell back, and Micah went inside the cabin. “No wonder you ordered three drinks.” He smiled down at the little boy—his brother’s son. And her sister’s son.
And suddenly Micah understood why his relationship with Simone was a little odd. She didn’t seem to stutter over “Uncle Micah” this time though, so that was some progress in his opinion.
While she silenced the timer, he set the remaining three drinks on her kitchen counter, which looked like someone had come in with the entire baking aisle at the grocery store and blown it up. “Baking?”
“Chocolate cake,” Conrad said, trying to climb up on the barstool. Micah hurried to help him so the kid wouldn’t fall and hit his head, and he continued all the way to the counter, unconcerned about the splatters of flour and cocoa powder already there. “It’s baking.”
“I can smell it,” Micah said, grinning at the boy.
“He helped with everything,” Simone said. “Didn’t you, Conrad? Tell him what you did.”
Conrad started to tell him, but Micah couldn’t understand very many words. He got “cup,” and “mix,” and “oven,” but that was it.
“Is that right?” he asked, glancing at Simone, who just shook her head with a smile. She put a bowl in the sink and ran water over a rag to wipe up the counter.
“Can I help you clean up?” Micah asked, thinking that if he was going to be here, he might as well be put to work. “And when are we going to unload your van?”
“Whenever you have a moment,” she said. “How’s Warren?”
“He’s great,” he said. “So much lighter than the other cousins. And so round.” He looked at Conrad, who definitely had the Foster dark genes in his eyes and hair and skin.
“And Wyatt?”
“He’s good.” Micah had enjoyed a lazy afternoon with his brother, and then he’d stopped by Jericho’s to check on his carpeting. “And my flooring will be in next Monday. So I’m going to work on the cabin all day tomorrow if you’re looking for somewhere to hang out.” He moved around the counter to stand next to her.
“I didn’t work today,” she said. “So I’ll be working too, but maybe we can take a lunch at the same time?” She looked up at him, a question riding in her eyebrows.
“I’d like that.” Micah smiled down at her, the scene in which he found himself somewhat surreal. Him and Simone, with a small boy nearby, cleaning up the kitchen after a fun family baking activity.
Of course he hadn’t been here for the family baking activity. Conrad wasn’t his son, and he and Simone still existed on shaky ground sometimes. But Micah had a very vivid imagination, and he could easily see this woman in his life long-term, with children and a kitchen and more molten chocolate cakes.
They ate cake and drank soda, and Conrad fell asleep on Simone’s lap almost the moment they put on a movie for the evening. “He’s the cutest thing on the planet,” Simone whispered, gazing down at him with an expression of such love. When she looked up at Micah, he found her the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.
He leaned toward her, and she leaned toward him, and Micah got the sweetest kiss of his life. Her lips trembled against his, and she pulled away quickly.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice barely loud enough to hear so as to not wake Conrad.
“I don’t know,” Simone whispered. She clung to Conrad and rocked him side to side slowly. “I love him so much. I want a boy just like him so badly.”
Micah lifted his arm, and Simone cuddled into his side easily, naturally. “You’ll have them, sweetheart,” he promised, pressing his lips to her temple. He could reassure her of that, but he wasn’t brave enough to say he hoped he’d get to be the father of her children.
That was so far down the line for them that Micah didn’t dare even hope for such a thing. So he just held Simone while she held Conrad, and all was right in the world for those few minutes.
The days passed, forming into a week, and Micah made good progress on his house. He was waiting on install jobs he couldn’t do himself now, and he expected the house to be finished in the next couple of weeks. He’d started packing some of his clothes and moving them into the finished master closet. He had no bed to sleep in at his place, so he still lived with Jeremiah and Whitney, but the day where he had his own house again was so close, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
When he’d left Temple, he’d put all of his stuff into storage, and he’d been in Three Rivers for a few years now. When he’d gone to the unit in town to see what there was, he hadn’t wanted any of it. He’d stood there with Skyler, staring at a lot of stuff that represented a man Micah didn’t know anymore.
“Would it be terrible if I just threw it all away?” he’d asked.
Skyler had chuckled and clapped Micah on the shoulder. “Dude, you’re a billionaire who just built his own house. Throw it all away and buy all new stuff if you want.”
And Micah had done just that, but that meant he had to wait for the furniture to be delivered, and it was set to come on Tuesday.
“Five more days,” he told himself as he drove down the lane to the Shining Star Ranch and Simone’s cabin. He’d spent a lot of time with her over the past two weeks, just as he had been doing for a few months now.
He’d asked her to go to the Valentine’s masked ball in town, and she’d accepted. They’d danced the night away, laughed in each other’s arms, and kissed on her porch until his lips felt bruised.
That was just a couple of nights ago, and tonight, they were auditioning for A Long Way Home. He turned the corner to head back to the cowboy cabins and found Simone walking toward him.
He pulled up beside her and rolled down the window. “I’m not late,” he said.
“I’m just restless.” She smiled as she pulled open the door and got in the truck. He gave her a moment to get straight and settled, and when she reached for her seatbelt, he put the truck in gear again.
Simone stayed quiet on the way to the theater, and Micah had learned that a silent Simone wasn’t a bad thing. It just meant she had something heavy on her mind, and she needed some internal reflection.
He pulled into the parking lot, glad the silence between them wasn’t awkward as it had been in the past. “Are you ready to audition for the lead?” He grinned at her, and Simone finally turned toward him.
“I’m not going to get it.”
“You never know,” Micah said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “That’s why you audition and let the director put you where she thinks you’ll be best.” He chuckled as he opened his door. “Someone told me that once, at least.”
“Okay,” she said with heavy sarcasm in her voice. She joined him at the front of the truck. “We’ve practiced. We’ve got this.”
“We have practiced,” he said. “And for me, that’s about fifty times more than what I did last time.” They went inside the building together, and Micah did like the energy in the theater. He recognized most of the people, and they smiled and shook hands, hugged, and said hello.
“I want to see all the Adelaide’s over here,” Susan called from across the room, and Simone squeezed his hand.
“You got this, baby,” he said to her under his breath, and she gave him a small smile before she walked over to Susan. So did almost every other female there, and Micah sent up a prayer that Simone would be happy with her performance.
She doesn’t ha
ve to get it, he told the Lord. Just help her do her best and be happy with what she’s done.
“Men,” someone said, and he turned toward Chandler Ross, a man who’d directed in the past. At least that was what Simone had told him. “We’ll be going into the library for our first audition. Follow me, please.” He pushed out of the theater, and all the men went with him. Micah had decided to try out for everything, and he ran the lines Chandler gave him, he sang the song with the other men, then in a group of three, then by himself.
He was glad to be put in the group with Pastor Scott, because while the man could deliver a powerful, moving sermon, he wasn’t much of a singer.
“You did great,” the pastor said, smiling at Micah.
“Thanks,” he said. “You too.”
“I need to learn those dance moves. My wife would like that.” He grinned and looked down at Micah’s feet, though their song had ended. He could step-touch with the best of them, and in fact, if there was a fiddle and a guitar and a swing going on, Micah could do that too.
There wasn’t a lot of dancing in A Long Way Home, thankfully, and Micah had finished his audition before he knew it.
“Let’s go back into the theater,” Chandler said. “I want to see Jerry, Cory, Carson, Chris, and Micah pair with a woman.” He held the door as people filed past him. “Susan will have her top five for Adelaide too, and we’re going to do the marriage scene.”
A phone rang, and Micah thought Chandler would reprimand whoever it was, as he’d already asked them to silence their phones.
“Sorry,” Scott said. “I have to take this, Chandler.”
“No problem,” he said, and Micah supposed the pastor did get a pass. He probably had a lot of people relying on him, and if there was a problem with anyone in his congregation, he’d want to know about it.
Micah smiled as he passed Chandler like he knew exactly what the marriage scene was, but he did not. He’d read the play once, weeks ago. So he wasn’t as prepared as probably everyone else there was. But it was reading lines with someone else. He could do it.