Page 98 of For Fox Sake

He lifts his arm and she climbs up next to him, settling into his side.

“Careful,” I say.

Jake tugs her closer. “She’s fine.”

Ari blinks at me with bleary eyes. “Are we gonna live with Jake?”

“I don’t know, baby.” I meet Jake’s eyes. “I would need a job or something.”

“You have any experience in property management?” Finley asks from the doorway. “I’ve been on the hunt for another manager to hire, even if it’s part-time, to take over some of my duties. I want to focus on teaching ice skating, not to mention my upcoming wedding. I’m looking for someone who doesn’t totally suck and it will be a bonus if you’re good with kids.” She winks.

Then the whole group of them tumble into the room.

“Look who finally decided to wake up,” Oliver says, his tone as dry as the desert.

“Have a nice nap, princess?” Archer adds.

Finley moves around the bed to the side I’m sitting on. “Sorry to butt in. We weren’t trying to eavesdrop.”

Piper is right behind her. “Right. We weren’t trying anything, we were just doing.”

“But seriously, we need to talk about this job opportunity,” Finley says to me in a low voice.

The next half hour is noisy chaos, Jake’s family assuring themselves he is, in fact, okay, and then a nurse comes in and kicks everyone out.

He’s going to be discharged later today after the doctor clears him. He’ll need to take it easy for a bit since his ribs will take four to six weeks to fully heal.

We say goodbye to his family, and I promise to take care of Jake. They are flying back to New York tonight.

Once they’re gone, it’s just Jake and Ari and me.

“So. Have you thought about it?”

I adjust his blanket. “Thought about what?”

“Momma,” Ari says, annoyed, “are we going to move to New York with Jake or what?”

I chuckle. The sass on this one is unreal sometimes. “I’m not sure. What do you think?”

“I think it makes sense.”

I choke back a laugh. “You might be right.”

Jake’s smile is blinding. “I’ll stay here with you while things are sorted out and I’m recovering. I’ll have a lot of time to make phone calls, help you with whatever you need that doesn’t involve heavy lifting, and get things in motion for us to go back to New York together. Finley might be calling you daily about working with her, so be prepared for a lot of pressure and probably some guilt trips.”

Emotions bubble up. I can’t believe we’re talking about this. I can’t believe this will happen.

“Hey.” Jake looks down at Ari and then over at me. “It’s a lot. We have a lot to think about, a lot to do, but... I love you. I love you both. We got this together, okay?”

Ari stares up at him. “Okay.”

I blink, trying not to cry. I lean forward to press my lips to his. “I love you too.”

“Me too!” Ari wiggles, planting a slightly wet kiss on my cheek before giving Jake’s chin similar treatment.

Jake’s laughing eyes meet mine. In that second, it hits me. It doesn’t matter how hard the journey ahead may be. It holds little weight compared to what we’ve both been through, the sequence of events that brought us here to this moment, together.

Whatever happens next, we have each other.

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