Page 96 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
“Next year, no eggnog,” I said. “No one drank it and I felt guilty throwing it all out. But there was no way I was going to keep it. Gross.”
He chuckled and pulled me tighter to his side. “What’s up with Everett and Maze?”
“Ah, she said he’s been kind of distant. Why?” I was surprised that he’d care about my friend’s love life.
“Seeing him with her, getting a bad vibe. First at the bar. Then tonight.”
“Yeah. He’s been a little weird when we’ve been around them lately. He’s just shy, I guess, which is a lot different than he is at work. Maybe he just puts on a good show for patients, I don’t know. But she’s, well . . . Maisy. The complete opposite of shy. They’re a lot different.”
“Hmm,” Jess muttered.
We were quiet for a few more minutes until I recalled my conversation with Sam earlier at the party. He had told me how much he liked the farmhouse now that it had been updated. He hadn’t been over since Ben lived in it. And the way he talked, it sounded like a lot had been changed over the years.
“What kind of updates did you do to the house after Ben moved away?” I asked.
“A lot. Why?”
“Sam said it looked great. He made it sound like the place was completely different. I was just curious if there was anything still left that was Ben and Claire’s.”
“Like I told you, I spent a lot of time here keeping it up. When I was still a kid, I did the stuff that didn’t cost much but my time. Then after I got back from the academy and had a paycheck, started doing more. Put up new siding and shutters outside. Tiled the laundry room and entryway. New bathrooms. New kitchens. I didn’t change the layout but other than that, everything is different from when Ben was here.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Wanted it to be different if he ever came back. I thought he wouldn’t want the same house that was his and Claire’s,” he said.
I was glad he’d done that for Ben because I think he would have been right.
“You did an amazing job, honey. I love this place.”
I was glad he didn’t have to give it up after all. That we could both enjoy the house and our time here spent together. I wondered if that is what Ben had been going for all along.
It was the week following the Christmas party and I was at work, sitting at the nurses’ station on the second floor. With Christmas just a little over a week away, we’d had a heavy flow of visitors, people coming in to see family members who were stuck in the hospital during the holidays.
I had never seen so many poinsettias before, outside of a grocery store. Not a single room in the unit was without at least two. One older lady had five and she gave me a beautiful pink one to take home tonight after work.
My last set of rounds were finished and I was double-checking I had everything done when my phone rang.
“Hi, honey,” I answered, seeing it was Jess on the screen.
“Georgia.”
My heart rate instantly skyrocketed and I started panicking. His voice was filled with pain.
“What? What is it? Is it Roe? Is it your mom?” I asked.
“They’re both fine,” he said. “It’s Wes.”
I let out a deep breath, my panic immediately subsiding, knowing my daughter was okay and nothing had happened to his mother.
“What’s happened with Wes?” I asked.
“Need you to come to the station,” he said. “Now.”
“Okay. Should I pick up Rowen first? Or will we be done in time for me to get her?”
“Leave her at school.”
“Okay, I’m just leaving. Tell me, though, are you all right?” I asked.
